Climate News
Monday, May 17th, 2010
Two important climate change actions occurred at the federal level recently. The much-anticipated Kerry-Lieberman climate legislation, the “American Power Act”, was released while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a “Tailoring Rule” that sets thresholds for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from large sources, such as power plants—the next step in a process of regulating greenhouse gases through the Clean Air Act that was launched by a Supreme Court decision in 2007. Read more »
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Friday, March 5th, 2010
"Chicago’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2000", copyright CNT, 2010.
When CNT set out to inventory Chicago’s greenhouse gas emissions, our goal was to give the Mayor’s Task Force on Climate Change the information it needed to better understand where Chicago’s emissions come from and to establish a baseline for comparison in future years. In addition to that, we created a portfolio of emissions reductions measures to better understand the scale and scope of actions that needed to be taken to meet the city’s emissions reduction targets.
Beyond the City-commissioned research, our broader goal is to make our climate change analysis transparent and available for cities around the world to take action on reducing their impact on climate change. Soon this research will be available in the Journal of Great Lakes Research and it is our belief that the valuable information in this peer-reviewed, scientific journal can serve as a useful tool for cities to use a model.
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Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Despite recent announcements from the Senate leadership that climate change legislation will be put off until spring of 2010 and questions about the fate of the international climate negotiations in Copenhagen, CNT is not discouraged about the future of climate action in the U.S. Yes, it is frustrating that Senate action may not occur until a year after the House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act in June 2009, and that the Copenhagen talks may result in just an agreement to create a future agreement—rather than binding targets. But global warming is a problem we have created over many years and we are not going to solve it overnight.
CNT has been directly working on climate change issues for a decade and a half and indirectly working to address the problems that impact climate for our entire 31-year history as an organization. Despite recent setbacks, climate action is more on track today that it has been at any time since the Kyoto Protocol was signed (and maybe even before then, since the U.S. never ratified Kyoto).
Why such climate optimism despite the doom and gloom in the news? Many positive advancements are occurring that are not necessarily making the headlines. These examples are paving the way to not only a more definitive climate policy but to a broader awareness to the behavior changes we must take to reduce our greenhouse gas impact.
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Thursday, September 24th, 2009
“Cities can really benefit from each other’s experience taking action on climate change,” states Julia Parzen, author of a new publication, “Lessons Learned: Creating the Chicago Climate Action Plan.”
This report, which documents the Plan’s process up until its public release on September 19, 2008, summarizes key lessons learned and provides a timeline and observations about each step. The City of Chicago benefited from the work of other cities as it created the Chicago Climate Action Plan. Because of funding from the Clinton Climate Initiative, Chicago was able to document the three phases—research, planning, and implementation—of the Chicago Climate Action Plan process. The report is being co-released by the Global Philanthropy Partnership, the City of Chicago, and ICLEI.
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Thursday, July 9th, 2009
Last Friday, H.R. 2454 – the American Clean Energy & Security Act (ACES), also known as the Waxman-Markey Bill – successfully passed in the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 219 to 212. This Thursday, a Senate counterpart to the plan was officially unveiled by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
The bill calls for an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, along with programs to encourage renewable energy production. This landmark legislation is the first to focus on comprehensive and direct solutions to climate change. The bill successfully targets climate change by focusing on short-term solutions like provisions for creating energy-efficient buildings—solutions that can reduce energy usage and save Americans money.
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Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
At first glance, cities may appear to be a big source of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. But new research by CNT, which compares greenhouse gas emissions of city and suburban households, yields some surprising results.
CNT looked at emissions of carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas, stemming from household vehicle travel in 55 metropolitan areas across the U.S. When measured on a per household basis, it found that the transportation-related emissions of people living in cities and compact neighborhoods can be nearly 70% less than those living in suburbs. See how this compares in your region at our newly redesigned Housing + Transportation Affordability Index site.
Read the full Press Release or try out the new site.
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Friday, April 17th, 2009
Scott Bernstein, President of CNT, was invited to participate in a public announcement of President Barack Obama’s national high-speed rail (HSR) master plan. The President, joined by Vice President Joe Biden, who has commuted to D.C. on rail every day for his national elected career, thanked the select group of leaders who have been working tirelessly on bringing high-speed rail to the United States. President Obama presented a vision that challenges Americans to imagine traveling at 100 mph or more by train, then making local connections by walking or transit. “The Obama administration is moving quickly to advance high-speed rail as the most sustainable and cost-efficient mode of innercity transit,” said Bernstein. “By investing in high-speed rail, the Obama administration is not only addressing transportation issues but also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
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Thursday, April 16th, 2009
CNT CEO, Kathryn Tholin, joined U.S. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and Max Muller, Program Director for Environment Illinois, in outlining how President Obama’s budget “means a cleaner, greener, and more prosperous future for Illinois.” Tholin applauded the commitment to a clean energy future reflected in the President’s budget, and helped outline Environment Illinois new report, “Vision 2010: President Obama’s Budget, Clean Energy and the Environment”, released today at a press conference at CNT.
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Friday, March 6th, 2009
On March 3, CNT staff took part in a press conference in Springfield, IL to help outline the policy agenda for the new briefing book released by the Illinois Environmental Council. Priorities for a Healthful Illinois: 2009 Illinois Environmental Briefing Book offers specific policies and legislative action for these top environmental priorities: global warming and energy, open space and natural areas, transportation, environmental health and clean water.
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Friday, September 19th, 2008
The City of Chicago launched its Chicago Climate Action Plan Thursday at the Shedd Aquarium with the backdrop of the city skyline and blue skies. The release is a major milestone for CNT’s climate change work. CNT led the mitigation research team for the Chicago Climate Change Task Force that developed the report.
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