Green Patents: The patent system's "fuel of interest" and the promotion of technological innovation
*Co-authored with Cyrus Frelinghuysen.
IPLaw360 recently reported that Clean Energy Patents Reached a New High in Q2. According to the most recent Clean Energy Patent Growth Index report, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issued 274 “green” patents in the second quarter of 2009.[1] One might expect that those who regard technological innovation as a necessary tool to combat climate change would welcome the continued increase in the issuance of green patents. Nonetheless, there remains disagreement regarding whether the patent system and the enforcement of intellectual property rights will promote or hinder technological innovation with regard to climate change.
Continue Reading...Chamber of Commerce seeks public hearing on scientific evidence of climate change; EPA calls request a "waste of time"
Yesterday the Los Angeles Times reported that “[t]he US Chamber of Commerce, trying to ward off potentially sweeping federal emissions regulations, is pushing the Environmental Protection Agency to hold a rare public hearing on the scientific evidence for man-made climate change.” In its blog, the US Chamber highlighted the LA Times story on the Chamber’s “efforts to force transparency from the EPA on their finding that greenhouse gases emissions are a danger to public health and welfare.” According to William Kovacs, the Chambers’ Senior Vice President, the Chambers’ June 23, 2009 Petition for EPA to Conduct Its Endangerment Finding Proceeding on the Record Using Administrative Procedure Act (APA) §§ 556 and 557 would put “the science of climate change on trial.”
Continue Reading...API August studies indicate adoption of Waxman-Markey bill will negatively impact US refining sector and economy
American Petroleum Institute (API) published an August 21, 2009 study by EnSys Energy, entitled “Waxman-Markey Refining Sector Impact Assessment.” Based on its Refining Sector Assessment, EnSys concluded that by 2030, the US refining throughput will be reduced by 4.4 million barrels per day with refineries located in Gulf Coast and California being hardest hit. EnSys also predicts that by 2030 the US decrease in throughput will be balanced by increases of 3.3 mgd in world refining throughput. EnSys predicts that these impacts will correspond with additional negative impacts including reduced annual US refining investments by up to $89.7 billion, reduced refinery utilization (63.4% from 83.3%) and decreases in unemployment. These reductions would parallel increases in capacity, investment and employment at non-US refineries. Given these economic “translocations” a similar translocation of GHG emissions is predicted by EnSys in that the GHG emissions reductions realized in the US would be offset by increases in GHG emissions abroad.
Continue Reading...Washington Post weighs in on continuing debate over cap and trade vs. carbon tax
Today’s Washington Post (Post) published an Editorial entitled, “Cap and Rage” in which it claims that that Washington politics surrounding health care reform may doom the Senate’s ability to “tackle cap and trade legislation” in the fall. The editorial remarks that the House barely passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act in June and the Senate is having difficulty trying reconcile its members’ differing opinions on aspects of the bill ranging from the amount of allowances to provide various carbon emitting industries to whether cap and trade legislation should be stripped from the bill entirely. The Post editorial offers three reasons to support a carbon tax as an alternative to a cap and trade approach: 1) it is a simpler approach to devise and implement; 2) it requires no new bureaucracy: and 3) the revenue can be rebated to the taxpayer using different approaches.
Continue Reading...Recent DC Circuit decision limits standing of private parties to sue over climate change
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently issued an opinion in Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Department of the Interior (“CBD”). In the suit, three non-profit activist groups and one tribal government sued the Department of the Interior for failing to account for climate change when deciding to grant oil and gas leases off the Alaska coast. The ruling creates a hurdle for parties filing climate change based lawsuits. In the opinion, the DC Circuit holds that the petitioners lacked “substantive” standing to pursue their National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) claims, though it did find that they had established procedural standing. The ruling also sets out specific limits on the application of the Supreme Court’s most recent decision on the regulation of greenhouse gases, Massachusetts v. EPA.
Continue Reading...Climate change and corporate responsibility: are there long-term financial incentives for environmental reform?
The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (“CICA”), through its Risk Management and Governance Board, has commissioned a briefing entitled “Climate Change Briefing: Questions for Directors to Ask”. The stated purpose is to “increase awareness among Canadian directors about the business impacts and related governance issues resulting from climate change.” The result is a guide that focuses on business strategy, risk management, and structure.
The briefing addresses five major areas for director improvement: understanding of business issues; influence on risk management and strategy; impact on financial performance; external communications and disclosures; and the adequacy of information systems and internal controls. For each of the sections, the briefing provides relevant questions for directors to ask themselves regarding their business.
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