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President Obama announced today that the Federal Government will reduce greenhouse gas pollution from indirect sources, such as employee travel and commuting, by 13% by 2020. This commitment expands beyond the Administration’s greenhouse gas reduction target from direct sources set in January, 2010, such as Federal fleets and buildings, by 2020. Cumulatively, greenhouse gas pollution reductions from Federal government operations will total 101 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the emissions from 235 million barrels of oil. A good discussion of what that may mean for overall emissions can be found here.

New PACE programs in California will make financing renewable energy and energy efficiency easier by allowing customers to repay loans on their property tax bill. While Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have recently expressed opposition to this type of program due to concerns about tax liability on foreclosed homes, the California attorney general’s office rejects this claim. This dispute will need to be resolved before California’s PACE programs can move forward.

Today the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord, and the Western Climate Initiative have released a proposal for uniform offset standards.

Robert Bryce, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, is the author, most recently, of “Power Hungry: The Myths of ‘Green’ Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future” has written a very insightful editorial on the feasibility of carbon capture and sequestration from US coal power plants

The U.S. Council on Environmental Quality has released draft rules for incorporating climate change impacts into NEPA guidelines, just as California did beginning in January, 2010. These guidelines, which will fundamentally change the EIS process, are currently available for public comment.

There is a fabulous podcast that features the author of a new book Ecological Intelligence and UC Berkeley researcher Dara O’Rourke in a discussion about the role of life cycle analysis in analyzing everyday products. It’s a must listen!

The EPA just issued a new report entitled Climate Indicators in the United States, including information on 24 indicators that show how we know our climate is already changing.

There have been several articles over the past year concerning the use of rare metals and how they might be a bottle neck in the global production of renewable energy technologies. In response to China’s limits and bans on some rare metals recently, this problem has been magnified. But an article in the NYT suggests that new rare Earth mines may come online in the foreseeable future, raising prospects about the availability of these necessary, but rare materials. This means that the costs of renewable technologies that depend on them are likely to fall.

CARB has completed a new study on the impacts of AB32 implementation on small businesses, and found no significant negative effects, and some positive effects through creation of new jobs and lower fuel costs.

The EPA is making it clearer every day that carbon dioxide will soon be regulated. What is unknown is whether Congress will pass legislation or whether the EPA will do it using its authority under the Clean Air Act.