[GWSG] HFC ruling clarified; supply chain C footprint; winning faster; E cars already cheaper; Moody's includes climate

[Tilley, Al]

1. Patrick Parenteau of the Vermont Law School disentangled my statement in the last news list on the judicial ruling concerning restrictions on hydrofluorocarbons. "Clarification on this statement: 'You may remember that a federal court had blocked US participation in the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol...' I think the case you are referring to is Mexichem Fluor v EPA. It actually dealt with a rule under the Clean Air Act, not the Kigali amendment. The DC Circuit struck the rule down on the ground that the CAA provision in question did not authorize EPA to require manufacturers of a non-ozone depleting chemical like HFC with chemicals that have less global warming potential. Though it was an Obama rule the Trump administration defended it because US manufacturers would benefit from the substitution (the case was brought by foreign corporations that manufacture HFC). That is why Trump is supporting ratification of Kigali -it fits his America First agenda. And luckily for the climate it fixes the problem the court saw in the CAA."



2.  The Buy Clean California Act is the world's first legislation requiring attention to the carbon footprint of the supply chain when purchasing.  The act covers steel, flat glass, and building insulation, and requires analysis of carbon emissions wherever the materials are manufactured. http://www.governing.com/topics/transportation-infrastructure/gov-california-targeting-supply-chain-emission.html



3. In Winning Slowly Is the Same as Losing, Bill McKibben argues that we must face an uncomfortable pace of change if we are to deal with our climate mess. "Precisely because we've waited so long to take any significant action, physics now demands we move much faster than we want to." We can move that fast, and are giving some signals that we intend to. Trump's clumsy bluster may even be disrupting the fossil fuel corporate theme of gradual solutions. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/bill-mckibben-winning-slowly-is-the-same-as-losing-w512967



4. Electric cars are already cheaper to buy and run than gas or diesel cars in the UK, US, and Japan. Right now the advantage depends on government subsidies, but by the time those phase out, battery and manufacturing savings are expected to replace them. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/01/electric-cars-already-cheaper-to-own-and-run-than-petrol-or-diesel-study



5. Moody's, the large credit rating agency, is increasing the role climate change plays in their assessments. Municipalities and states could suffer if they do not plan and act to counter the effects of climate. Thanks to Tom Larson for the article. http://www.businessinsider.com/moodys-credit-ratings-could-drop-without-preparation-for-climate-change-2017-11 ?

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