Indian Environment Minister Criticizes U.S. "Carbon Tariff" Plan

Jairam Ramesh, India's environment minister, yesterday said his government rejected the inclusion of a "carbon tariff" in the Waxman-Markey energy bill.

A last minute provision added to the bill allows the U.S. to impose tariffs on goods entering the country from other countries that have not enacted carbon emissions reduction legislation.

Mr. Ramesh described the provision as "pernicious" adding, "We reject the use of climate as a non-tariff barrier," the Financial Times reported ("India Attacks US Carbon Tariff Plan," July 1, 2009). He also said, "We categorically reject any attempt to introduce climate change as an issue at the [World Trade Organization]."

Climate change negotiations between developed and developing countries are almost certain to be difficult in the run-up to the U.N. climate change meeting in Copenhagen in December. India's government is particularly sensitive to the desire by developed countries to limit the growth of carbon emissions, viewing it as a means of actually stalling Indian economic growth.

"India has not polluted. We are bearing the brunt of global climate change caused by the developed countries and we are being asked to curb emissions. I find this ludicrous," Mr. Ramesh said.

A footnote to the U.S. carbon tariff provision: when French President Nicholas Zarkozy suggested that the EU should adopt a similar measure for goods coming into the EU from countries not addressing climate change, the bellyaching in Washington could be heard all the way to the Elysee Palace in Paris. Apparently, what's good for the goose (in this case the U.S.) is not always good for the gander.

Reports From "Troubled Waters:" The Niger Delta

The Niger Delta has untold riches in the form of oil and gas.  But the "community relations" and social problems associated with extracting the oil are enormous.  The Financial Times recently published a story, and accompanying videos, entitled "Interactive Map: Nigeria's Oil Heartland," that is a must read for anyone interested in the vexing issues involving this often forgotten, but immensely important, part of the world.

Financial Times' Characterization of Waxman-Markey: "Cap-and-Trade Mess"

Sometimes it is useful to look outside of one's "neighborhood" to see how an issue is playing somewhere else. This helps provide context for what may otherwise be only an "inside analysis" of a particular problem or issue.

An editorial in Monday's Financial Times, which is published in London, provides a welcome "outside" look at the recently passed Waxman-Markey energy bill. Despite the hoots and hollers by the bill's U.S. supporters, the view from the other side of the Atlantic -- and the only place, incidentally, that has a major emissions trading scheme -- raises some thought provoking observations:

"Cap-and-Trade Mess"

"The US House of Representatives has passed a bill to limit greenhouse gases. The White House lobbied hard for it: “A bold and necessary step,” said Barack Obama. Many hailed its passage as a triumph. In fact there is little to celebrate.

"Recall that cap-and-trade was expected only recently to pass in the House without difficulty. It scraped through by 219 votes to 212, with 44 Democrats voting against. Opposition to cap-and-trade in the Senate is stronger, so the chances of this bill or anything like it becoming law look slim.

"To make matters worse, the bill makes political compromises that undermine its effectiveness. Even so it passed by just seven votes. What this says about the prospects of a more forceful measure – one that dares to confront consumers with significantly higher energy costs – is discouraging.

"To curb climate change, the world needs to cut carbon emissions. It needs US leadership on the issue too. But this bill is not the way. A bewildering combination of cap-and-trade, mandates, new regulation, and every kind of open and disguised subsidy, it is too complicated, too prone to subversion and in many ways downright self-defeating.

"To soften its impact, the House first adopted undemanding targets for emissions. Debate made them milder still. Instead of auctioning emissions permits, the bill would give nearly all of them away, so the measure does little to raise needed revenue. Permits will be handed to electricity producers on condition that the windfall be passed to consumers, many of whom would see their electricity bills fall as a result.

"Learning nothing from Europe’s experience, the bill relies heavily on offsets, which let companies pay someone else to plant trees or cut emissions, so they do not have to. The still-unsolved problem is policing the system to ensure the offsets are real. The bill gives oversight of domestic offsets in farming to the Department of Agriculture – good news for farmers seeking a new trough of subsidy. To defend US competitiveness, it proposes subsidies for exporters and penalties on importers. In principle, cap-and-trade does require border adjustments, but the bill is careless and creates a gateway for protectionism.

"In short, it is a mess. The key to a better plan is understanding that you cannot cut carbon without making carbon-based fuels more expensive – an obvious point, you would think. But it is one that US policymakers still cannot face."

Doesn't exactly seem like a vote of confidence, does it.

New Course to be Offered in August: "Community Expectations in Natural Resource Development Projects"

Mining and oil and gas companies operating across the world understand that a key component of their success is tied to successfully managing “community expectations” in locations where they operate. Even where companies scrupulously comply with national law, they may find themselves in considerable difficulty where they have not achieved a “social license to operate” in the communities in which they work.

David Humphreys, chief economist for mining sector giant Rio Tinto, has observed, “[Mining] is a capital intensive industry and, generally, not a very profitable one, which can ill afford the delays, disruptions and other costs that are associated with poor community relations. At the same time, the benefits of managing community relations well prospectively confers competitive advantages on a company.”

As a consequence of the growing importance of managing community relations, the Sturm College of Law will offer “Community Expectations in Natural Resource Development Projects,” August 10-14, 2009. The course will be taught by Luke Danielson, former Director of the Mining Minerals and Sustainable Development Project at the International Institute for Environment and Development in London, and the Mining Policy Research Initiative of the International Development Research Centre.

The objectives of the course, which will meet from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week, are:

• Understanding the strategic importance of successful community relations.
• Creating a multi-disciplinary examination of community relations, including consideration of social, legal, and economic issues.
• Analyzing the “tool box” of ideas and concepts available to successfully manage community relations.
• Exploring how to avoid problems and what to do when community relations problems arise.
• Understanding the role of law and lawyers in dealing with these issues.
• Introducing students to a simulated community relations exercise.

The course is open to all DU JD, LLM, and MRLS students. It is also open to other professional and graduate students from other universities as well as the public more generally. Course tuition will be about $3,500.

Don C. Smith, Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy Graduate Program (ENRGP) at DU, said, “The growing importance of how companies successfully manage community relations cannot be understated. Many stakeholders – including communities, governments, financial institutions, NGOs, and shareholders – are more closely than ever before monitoring companies’ actions in this area. Consequently, the downside of poorly handling community relations can be disastrous. Mr. Danielson, who is recognized internationally as an expert in this field, will provide students a first-hand overview of this key, but often neglected component of natural resources development efforts.”

This three-credit one-week “short course” represents the ENRLP’s second of several offerings aimed at “non-traditional” LLM and MRLS students. This course in combination with another short course to be held Aug. 3-7, 2009, and several on-line offerings means that LLM and MRLS students can earn substantial credit in DU’s prestigious Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy Graduate Program without committing to a year of study in Denver. “This is a new step in our efforts to reach out to a world-wide community who can benefit from our program,” Lucy Daberkow, Assistant Director, said.

Individuals who would like to earn LLM or MRLS credit for the course should first seek admission to the ENRGP program by mid-July. Admissions information can be found by clicking here or by contacting Mr. Smith at dcsmith@law.du.edu or Ms. Daberkow at ldaberkow@law.du.edu. In addition, those who have general questions about the course should contact Mr. Smith or Ms. Daberkow.

Adios a Nuestro Amigo Diego Parravicini/Goodbye to Our Friend

One of the great attributes -- and joys -- of the environmental and natural resources graduate program is the opportunity it provides to expand our own horizons, both in personal and community terms. Last night is a good example of how we all benefit personally and in a communal sense.

Diego Parravicini (LLM graduate 2008) will soon be returning to his home country, Argentina, to join one of South America's leading law firms, Estudio Beccar Varela. Diego has been a wonderful member of our community since first coming to Denver in August 2007, and I wanted to wish him well on his return home. So what better reason for a mid-summer (in the northern hemisphere at least!) cook out.

Joining me in saying goodbye -- at least for now -- were other members of "our community:" Fred Cheever, DU Professor of Law and newly appointed Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Pedro Camacho (LLM 2009, who hails from Spain) and his wife Olga; Cesar Conde (LLM 2008, Mexico); Lucy Daberkow, Assistant Program Director, her husband Eric, and los angeles Amelie and Emma); Kevin Van Dyke (LLM 2008, U.S.) and his wife Meaghan; Denver attorney and nationally known environmental lawyer Lori Potter (whose law firm Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell LLP employed Diego for the year following Diego's graduation) and her husband Eric; and Ines Vergara (LLM 2002, Argentina).

These occasions are bittersweet in many ways. On one hand, those of us who live in Denver are sad to see a friend and colleague leave. But on the other hand, the community that the graduate program represents is a vibrant and energetic one and just because one is not physically here does not mean that they are not here in spirit. Moreover, as all of us in the program work to establish an even more dynamic community, we are reminded about how our lives will likely intersect again in the future based on our shared interests in the environment, in the careful development of natural resources, and in the health of the planet more broadly.

Those who study in the program will never really be "gone" in the sense our community is a global one. Obviously, for some months or years we may reside in one place -- Denver in this case -- and then move to another place. But the ties that bind us as members of this community are strong and enduring.

And so we say to our friend Diego, "Buen suerte en Buenos Aires y hasta muy pronto!" (Good luck in Argentina and see you very soon!)

China Establishes "Experimental Environmental Courts"

China, a country with enormous environmental challenges largely related to the rapid development of its economic basic, has established several experimental environmental courts.

According to a report in a recent issue of the BNA Daily Environment Report ("Experimental Environmental Courts in China Start to Take Shape as New Legal Authorities," June 26, 2009), the country has set up test courts in the provinces of Guizhou, Jiangsu, and Yunnan.

An attorney in the Natural Resources Defense Council Beijing office, Gao Jie, told the Daily Environment Report:

"Looking back at the original intention for establishing environmental courts in places like Guizhou, we can see that the institutions began with a highly experimental nature.  Good results could then lead to wide implementation, and any problems and challenges revealed by the first set of environmental protection courts could influence directional changes and policy modifications."  

The entire article is worth reading for those interested in how these courts are working.

One thing is for sure: there will be no lack of work for these courts.  

The European Chemicals Agency has published a new series of shortened versions of the REACH Guidance Documents and Fact Sheet.

The first two publications are "Requirement for Substances in Articles" and "Dossier Handling."

The ECA, which is located in Helsinki, Finland, manages the registration, evaluation, authorization, and restriction processes for chemical substances to ensure consistency across the European Union.