PennEast becomes the latest to scuttle a natural gas pipeline project, Globe and Mail ($)

SCOTT DISAVINO , REUTERS, PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 PennEast Pipeline said on Monday it would stop developing a proposed pipeline from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, the latest in a series of natural gas lines to run aground due to legal and regulatory challenges. The project was one of several proposed in recent years to draw gas

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PennEast has stopped pursuing gas pipeline project due to N.J. regulatory hurdles, Lehighvalleylive.com

Updated: 2:54 p.m. | Published: 11:50 a.m., September 27, 2021, by Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com and Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com Despite a U.S. Supreme Court victory allowing PennEast Pipeline to condemn land in New Jersey over the objections of state government, a consortium of energy companies behind the project announced Monday it would cease the project

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Dakota Access Pipeline gains win-win with court ruling and Biden inaction, S&P Global ($)

24 May 2021 | 19:02 UTC The future of the 570,000 b/d Dakota Access Pipeline is still at risk, but the primary crude artery out of the Bakken Shale is in a much stronger position after a federal court ruling kept the oil flowing and the Biden administration opted against intervening on an existing pipeline

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Dakota Access Still Faces Existential Threats Despite Court Win, Bloomberg Law ($)

Ellen M. Gilmer • May 24, 2021, 5:31 AM It’s familiar territory for the embattled Energy Transfer LP project that seems perpetually unable to shake off legal and political hazards. A federal district court last week refused to halt the oil pipeline—an important win for Dakota Access—but an appeal or agency action could change its fate. “I

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Supreme Court Feud Set To Shake Up Eminent Domain, Gas, E&E News

Niina H. Farah, E&E News reporter • Published: Wednesday, April 28, 2021 The Supreme Court today will wade into a battle over construction of the PennEast natural gas pipeline that has escalated into a clash over federal energy law and states’ rights. The justices will hear oral arguments this morning on whether PennEast Pipeline Co.

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New Jersey’s Gas Pipeline Veto, Wall Street Journal (Editorial Board) ($)

The Supreme Court hears Trenton’s claim to regulatory supremacy. By The Editorial Board • April 26, 2021 6:37 pm ET The Biden Administration is no fan of fossil fuels. But even it disagrees with New Jersey’s slick argument in a case the Supreme Court will hear Wednesday that the Constitution gives states a veto over interstate

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In the climate change fight, the Interior Department becomes a battlefield, Washington Post ($)

Administration’s review of the federal oil and gas program, personnel decisions have sparked pushback. By Juliet Eilperin and Joshua Partlow • April 16 2021 at 5:35 p.m. EDT In the weeks after President Biden’s inauguration, as the oil industry was facing a far less welcoming White House, a ConocoPhillips executive went pheasant hunting with the

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US federal appeals court denies DAPL rehearing request, S&P Global ($)

23 Apr 2021 | 15:39 UTC Houston — A federal appeals court quickly denied a rehearing request for the vacating of necessary permitting for the Dakota Access Pipeline, still leaving the fate of a potential shutdown of the Bakken Shale crude oil artery up to the federal judge who previously ordered the pipeline shuttered. MORE

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Future of ‘Broken’ Oil Program Under Review, Interior Head Says, BNN Bloomberg

Jennifer A. Dlouhy • Bloomberg News • Apr 2, 2021 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. government program for selling drilling rights on federal land is so “fundamentally broken” that changes could be needed to address climate change and ensure taxpayers get a greater value from extracted oil and gas, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said Friday. “The

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Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will cost Canadians billions, SFU study shows, Globe and Mail ($)

Emma Graney • Energy Reporter • Published April 1, 2021 EDMONTON The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion stands to lose Canada between $3.2-​billion and $18.5-billion, according to a new benefit-cost analysis study from a group of British Columbia researchers. Researchers from Simon Fraser University examined close to 20 business scenarios for the pipeline expansion, but didn’t find any in which it generates a net

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Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will lead to $11.9B in losses for Canada, study says, CBC

SFU team says several factors mean project should be shelved but industry expert disagrees Bethany Lindsay · CBC News · Posted: Mar 31, 2021 1:00 AM PT | Last Updated: April 1 A new study from researchers in B.C. estimates that Canada will lose $11.9 billion because of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, but some industry experts question

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Alaska files to defend Tongass exemption from Roadless Rule, Seattle Times ($)

By The Associated Press • March 27, 2021 at 8:35 am | Updated March 27, 2021 at 8:36 am JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The state of Alaska and several other groups have filed to defend the Tongass National Forest’s exemption from a rule that limits development on federal land. The filing fights back against a group of

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Deb Haaland Becomes First Native American Cabinet Secretary, New York Times ($)

The Senate confirmed Ms. Haaland to lead the Interior Department. She’ll be charged with essentially reversing the agency’s course over the past four years. By Coral Davenport • March 15, 2021 WASHINGTON — Representative Deb Haaland of New Mexico made history on Monday when the Senate confirmed her as President Biden’s secretary of the Interior, making her the

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Unpacking the US CLEAN Future Act, World Resources Institute

By Dan Lashof, Devashree Saha, Karl Hausker, Greg Carlock, Kevin Kennedy and Tyler Clevenger • March 12, 2021  U.S. Representative Frank Pallone, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, together with subcommittee chairs Bobby Rush and Paul Tonko, introduced the CLEAN Future Act on March 2, 2021. While numerous climate bills are introduced in each Congress, this proposal deserves special attention: It is

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The Biden era of climate-aware forest policy, The Hill

By Mike Dombeck And Jim Furnish, Opinion Contributors • 03/04/21 04:30 PM ESTThe Views Expressed By Contributors Are Their Own And Not The View Of The Hill One of the most egregious acts of the previous administration’s public lands agenda was the October decision to revoke protections for 9 million acres of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, one

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House Democrats introduce bill with pathway to 100% clean energy by 2035, Utility Dive

By Catherine Morehouse • Published March 3, 2021 Dive Brief: House Democrats unveiled legislation on Tuesday that would bring economy-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net-zero by 2050, and cut emissions 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 or sooner. The CLEAN Future Act proposes a national Clean Energy Standard that would require all retail electric providers to generate 100% of their

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Alberta appeals federal environmental law, Globe and Mail ($)

EMMA GRANEY > ENERGY REPORTER, EDMONTON, PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 22, 2021 Alberta’s latest case against the federal government began in Alberta’s Court of Appeal on Monday, with the province arguing Ottawa overstepped its jurisdiction when it implemented a new federal assessment law it says is unconstitutional. At the heart of the case is the Impact Assessment Act,

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Port of Kalama, NWIW appeal Ecology’s methanol permit denial, The Columbian ($)

By Katie Fairbanks • The Daily News • Published: February 9, 2021, 7:28pm LONGVIEW — The Port of Kalama and Northwest Innovation Works Tuesday appealed the state Department of Ecology’s denial of a key permit for the proposed $2.3 billion Kalama methanol plant, stating the agency unlawfully applied the shoreline criteria. MORE>> 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐂𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄: https://www.columbian.com/news/2021/feb/09/port-of-kalama-nwiw-appeal-ecologys-methanol-permit-denial/

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Biden, Emphasizing Job Creation, Signs Sweeping Climate Actions, New York Times ($)

The array of directives — touching on international relations, drilling policy, employment and national security, among other things — elevate climate change across every level of the federal government. By Lisa Friedman, Coral Davenport and Christopher Flavelle • Published Jan. 27, 2021 | Updated Feb. 2, 2021 WASHINGTON — President Biden on Wednesday signed a sweeping series of executive actions —

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Biden Cancels Keystone XL Pipeline and Rejoins Paris Climate Agreement, New York Times ($)

In a burst of climate orders, the president also ordered federal agencies to begin the process of reinstating environmental regulations reversed under the Trump administration. By Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman • Published Jan. 20, 2021 Updated Feb. 19, 2021 WASHINGTON — President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday recommitted the United States to the Paris climate agreement, the international accord

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Millennium parent company files for Chapter 11; Columbia River site goes back to Alcoa, The Columbian ($)

By Marissa Heffernan • The Daily News • Published January 19, 2021 10:15AM LONGVIEW — After Millennium Bulk Terminals’ parent company filed for bankruptcy this month, the fate of the proposed coal terminal on the old Reynolds Aluminum Co. site is again in doubt, with opponents to the terminal calling the project dead. On Jan. 8, a

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Biden to Cancel Keystone XL Pipeline in Inauguration Day Executive Order, New York Times ($)

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. is expected to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline permit on his first day in office, quickly reversing his predecessor’s approval of a project to move oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico long opposed by environmentalists, according to a person familiar with Mr. Biden’s plans. Opponents of the nearly

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Bankrupt coal firm fails to find buyer for West Coast export terminal, Casper Star Tribune

Camille Erickson • Jan 11, 2021 | Updated May 26, 2021 Wyoming’s long-held dream of exporting Powder River Basin coal from a West Coast terminal was recently dashed when the project’s owner filed for bankruptcy and failed to find an interested buyer. Lighthouse Resources Inc. petitioned for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 3. The company owns the Decker coal mine

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Trans Mountain project remains on safety stand down, Kamloops This Week

In addition to an Oct. 27 death in Edmonton and a Dec. 15 serious injury in Burnaby, there have been 91 confirmed cases of COVID-19 along the construction route, with 12 of those cases being active as of Dec. 28. Christopher Foulds / Kamloops This Week When the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project shut down earlier than

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B.C. restricts pipeline, dam restarts due to COVID-19 risk, Northern Sentinel

Tom Fletcher • Coastal GasLink, Trans Mountain, Rio Tinto, Site C slowed for holidays B.C. public health officials are extending a holiday season slowdown on major northern B.C. construction projects to break the cycle of COVID-19 infections at large work camps. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has posted a new order setting out a

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The Trans Mountain project faces a year of challenges and opportunity, CBC News

Safety concerns, Keystone XL uncertainties and unresolved Indigenous ownership questions linger over pipeline David Thurton • CBC News After a hiatus of about two weeks, construction on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is expected to resume today, but with a restricted workforce. The return to work marks the beginning of a critical year for the federal government-owned pipeline. In 2021,

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Investigation continues around oil-train derailment, fire in Custer, Whatcom County, Seattle Times ($)

By Elise Takahama , Ron Judd and Lynda V. Mapes • Dec. 22, 2020 at 12:46 pm | Updated Dec. 22, 2020 at 9:44 pm Jenny Reich was preparing to open her glass shop in Custer, Whatcom County, on Tuesday afternoon when there was a loud noise and suddenly “everything was shaking.” Reich, a longtime Custer resident, said she is so

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Ottawa defers $844M in Muskrat Falls payments, almost all due by end of year, CBC

Federal government again said it will help make hydroelectric project stable, but offered few details Stephanie Tobin · CBC News · Posted: Dec 17, 2020 11:32 AM NT | Last Updated: December 17, 2020 The federal government is again saying it will take steps to make Newfoundland and Labrador’s Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project financially stable — including waiving immediate payments

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U.S. nets $46,000 on Trump’s California oil, gas drilling auction, Reuters

By Nichola Groom (Reuters) -U.S. taxpayers netted less than $50,000 on Thursday in bids for oil and gas leases in California as the Trump administration held the first federal drilling auction since 2012 in the Democratic and environmentally minded state. The auction for drilling rights on seven parcels covering 4,100 acres (16.6 square kilometers) generated $46,148.64,

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Trump administration rushes sale of California oil leases despite certain legal battle, LA Times ($)

By Anna M. Phillips Staff Writer • Dec. 9, 2020 6 AM PTWASHINGTON The Trump administration on Thursday plans to hold the first oil lease sale in California in eight years, part of a last-minute rush to auction off as much federal land as possible before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in. The Bureau of

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PG&E bills to rise over $160 per year on average to fund wildfire risk reduction, SFGATE

Roland Li • Dec. 4, 2020 | Updated: Dec. 4, 2020 7:49 p.m. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will raise rates by an average of 8% for residential customers to fund improvements to reduce wildfire risk. The California Public Utilities Commission approved the rate hike, which is set to begin in March, on Thursday. Households are

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Researcher raises Muskrat methylmercury alarm, but Nalcor contractor says levels safe, CBC

1 year after Muskrat reservoir filled to capacity, biologist says no surprises being found Terry Roberts · CBC News · Posted: Nov 24, 2020 7:00 AM NT | Last Updated: November 24, 2020 There’s mixed messaging emerging from the debate over methylmercury contamination in Labrador, with a U.S. researcher again raising the alarm about the toxic organic compound, while a contractor monitoring the

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Federal judge knocks down two permits needed for proposed $2 billion Kalama methanol plant, Seattle Times ($)

By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff reporter • Nov. 24, 2020 at 9:49 am | Updated Nov. 24, 2020 at 9:49 am A U.S. District Court judge in Tacoma struck down Army Corps of Engineers permits for a proposed $2 billion methanol plant in Kalama, Cowlitz County, because they were not the result of a full review of

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Canada Energy Regulator projects there may be no need for Trans Mountain expansion or Keystone XL, Financial Post ($)

Report says if more climate policies put in place, oil output will grow until 2039, but only enough to need Line 3 Mia Rabson • The Canadian Press • Nov 24, 2020  •  3 minute read OTTAWA — A new report from the Canada Energy Regulator projects that if Canada strengthens its climate policies to cut more

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Canada Energy Regulator projects there may be no need for Trans Mountain expansion or Keystone XL, Financial Post ($)

Report says if more climate policies put in place, oil output will grow until 2039, but only enough to need Line 3 Mia Rabson • Nov 24, 2020   OTTAWA — A new report from the Canada Energy Regulator projects that if Canada strengthens its climate policies to cut more greenhouse-gas emissions, neither the Trans Mountain

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Trump Administration Lifts Protections For Largest National Forest In US, NPR

Emily Kwong, Madeline K. Sofia, and Rebecca Ramirez • November 17, 2020, 4:00 AM ET The Trump administration has eliminated federal protections for the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world, the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. In late October, the U.S. Forest Service, part of the Department of Agriculture, cleared the way for

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Trump Rolled Back 100+ Environmental Rules. Biden May Focus on Undoing Five of the Biggest Ones, Inside Climate News

Together, the five regulations, if not reversed, would release an additional 1.8 billion to 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by 2035. By Marianne Lavelle • November 17, 2020 Even if President-elect Joe Biden can reassemble the pieces of climate policy shattered by President Donald Trump, it is not likely to be

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PennEast Cert Petition Challenging Third Circuit Opinion Remains Pending, Law.com, The Legal Intelligencer

PennEast Pipeline Co. continues to await a decision on its petition for certiorari challenging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit’s opinion in In re PennEast Pipeline, 938 F.3d 96 (3d Cir. 2019). By Megan S. Haines and Emily Davis • November 12, 2020 at 01:03 PM PennEast Pipeline Co. continues to await a decision on

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Biden EPA likely to confront tough Clean Air Act choices for US power sector, S&P Global Market Intelligence

By Zack Hale • 10 Nov, 2020 With razor-thin control of the U.S. Senate resting on the outcome of two special elections in January 2021, President-elect Joe Biden will likely be forced to pursue much of his energy and climate agenda through executive orders and administrative rulemakings. And that may require the U.S. Environmental Protection

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The Trump Administration Is Reversing More Than 100 Environmental Rules. Here’s the Full List, New York Times ($)

By Nadja Popovich, Livia Albeck-ripka and Kendra Pierre-louis • Updated Jan. 20, 2021 Over four years, the Trump administration dismantled major climate policies and rolled back many more rules governing clean air, water, wildlife and toxic chemicals. In all, a New York Times analysis, based on research from Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School and other sources, counts

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Energy Transfer pushing ahead on Dakota Access expansion, bullish on litigation, S&P Global ($)

Author: Jordan Blum • 04 Nov 2020 | 23:47 UTC Houston Houston — Energy Transfer executives said Nov. 4 they still plan to expand the controversial Dakota Access crude pipeline in 2021 — the same day that plaintiffs argued in a federal appeals court for shuttering the 570,000 b/d pipeline entirely. The Dallas pipeline operator is

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Colorado Coal Mine Road Construction Blocked by Tenth Circuit, Bloomberg Law ($)

Mountain Coal Co. LLC can’t continue road work as part of a coal mine expansion in western Colorado, the Tenth Circuit ruled in a win for environmental groups who argued the Arch Resources Inc. subsidiary was violating the court’s mandate. The Sierra Club, WildEarth Guardians, Center for Biological Diversity, and others sought an injunction after

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In Colorado, Federal Judges Block Coal Mining Construction in Protected Roadless Forest, Earthjustice Press Release

Victory: The injunction prevents Mountain Coal from further destruction of the roadless forest in the West Elk Mountains until a challenge from conservation groups is resolved DENVER, CO The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today blocked further construction for a coal-mine expansion in the Sunset roadless area of Colorado’s Gunnison National Forest. The injunction prevents Mountain Coal,

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Federal Judge Denies Bid to Halt Work on Keystone XL, Pipeline & Gas Journal

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge has denied a request by Native American tribes to halt construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada over worries about potential spills and damage to cultural sites.  Work started this spring on the long-stalled pipeline that would carry oil sands crude from Hardisty, Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska.

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Kamala Harris’s Fracking Record Scares Big Oil But Attracts the Left, Bloomberg ($)

Less than two hours after Kamala Harris was named Joe Biden’s running mate, President Donald Trump had cast the California Democrat as an oil industry and fracking foe. “She is against fracking. She’s against petroleum products,” Trump said at a White House news conference Tuesday. “I mean, how do you do that and go into

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Trans Mountain pipeline expansion could be at least two months late, National Observer ($)

By E. McIntosh | News, Energy, Politics, Ottawa Insider Last week, Trans Mountain said its pipeline expansion project is on schedule to be done by the end of 2022. But the environmental non-profit Wilderness Committee says it appears Trans Mountain has missed its window to start key construction work in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, meaning the project is at

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Trump Administration Releases Plan to Open Tongass Forest to Logging, New York Times ($)

The effort to open the Alaskan wilderness area, the nation’s largest national forest, has been in the works for about two years. By Coral Davenport • Published Sept. 24, 2020 | Updated Dec. 1, 2020 WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Friday finalized its plan to open about nine million acres of the pristine woodlands of Alaska’s Tongass National

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California Plans to Ban Sales of New Gas-Powered Cars in 15 Years, New York Times ($)

The proposal would speed up the state’s efforts to fight global warming at a time when California is being battered by wildfires, heat waves and other consequences of climate change. By Brad Plumer and Jill Cowan California plans to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars statewide by 2035, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday, in a sweeping move

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In a decarbonizing world, does it still make sense to spend taxpayer dollars on oil pipelines? Globe and Mail ($)

Thomas Gunton, Carolyn Fischer and David Wheeler • Published September 22, 2020 | Updated September 30, 2020 Thomas Gunton is professor and director of the Resource and Environmental Planning Program at Simon Fraser University. Carolyn Fischer holds the Canada 150 Research Chair in Climate Economics, Innovation, and Policy at the University of Ottawa. David Wheeler

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