Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · 18d

Governor Newsom just reauthorized California’s centerpiece climate policy - cap and invest - for the next two decades, reducing pollution and electricity prices in the world’s 4th biggest economy. This is now the US’ most important climate policy.

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · 24d

California Assembly and Senate just passed AB 1207, extending and strengthening the state’s centerpiece climate policy - cap and invest- for the next 20 years. Now onto the governor’s signature!

#climatesky #energysky

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · 25d

Without GHGRP, we are blind to what's happening to US GHG emissions.

#climatesky #energysky

Reuters @reuters.com · 25d

US EPA proposes end to mandatory greenhouse gas reporting reut.rs/3JYUgq4

US EPA proposes end to mandatory greenhouse gas reporting

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed on Friday a rule to end a mandatory program requiring 8,000 facilities to report their greenhouse gas emissions - an effort the agency said was burdensome to business, but which leaves the public without transparency around the environmental impact of those sources.

reut.rs

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · 25d

Dr. Kyle Meng, UC Santa Barbara: “This is the most important U.S. climate policy for the foreseeable future. These bills send a signal that California is doubling down on its climate commitments for the next two decades with a practical approach that meets both climate and affordability goals.”

What they’re saying: Overwhelming support for historic climate and energy affordability legislation | Governor of California

www.gov.ca.gov

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Reposted by Kyle Meng

Tatyana Deryugina @tderyugina.bsky.social · 26d

Hey, #EconSky! Got a policy-relevant paper that you want folks in DC to see? Present & publish it with NBER's Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy.

Submission deadline is Oct 20.

Conference is in DC on May 21, 2026.

More details below.

conference.nber.org/confsubmit/b...

Submission: 8th Annual NBER Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy Conference, Page 1 of 2 - MyNBER

conference.nber.org

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · 27d

Many thanks to Gov. Newsom, CA legislators, & staff for their tireless efforts to get us here.

Mighty proud to be a Californian today. /n

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · 27d

This is a strong bill. It double downs on CA’s climate commitment for next 20 years—balancing ambition & affordability.

It may also well be the most important U.S. climate policy for the foreseeable future. 9/

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · 27d

5. Tackling leakage 

Previously, free permits granted regardless of industry’s leakage risk. 

But too many free permits mean less revenue.  

Now, post-2030 free allocations must consider each sector’s leakage risk. 8/

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · 27d

4. Smarter offsets 

Offsets lower costs but raise integrity concerns. 

AB 1207 has a new idea: for every offset used, the cap tightens. 

Emissions stay under the cap and compliance costs fall vs. banning offsets outright. 7/

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · 27d

3. Making electricity more affordable  

Electricity in CA is too costly, slowing electrification and making adaptation expensive.
 
AB 1207 directs more revenue to the CA Climate Credit, boosting bill relief, especially during hot months when families need it most. 6/

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · 27d

2. Explicit link to CA climate targets 

For the first time, CA carbon market is explicitly tied to CA GHG goals:

-40% cut by 2030 (vs 1990)
-85% cut (vs 1990) & net-zero by 2045

This means financial consequences if CA fall short 5/

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · 27d

1. Extension to 2045 

Past renewals every 10 yrs cause market crashes & uncertainty. 

AB 1207 extends program to 2045. 

A 20 year carbon price signal for clean investment in the world’s 4th-largest economy. 4/

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · 27d

AB 1207 reauthorizes the core of CA’s carbon market and reinforces it in 5 key ways.

Here’s what’s new: 3/

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · 27d

Cap-and-invest is California’s centerpiece climate policy.

It ensures the state hits its climate targets affordably  & generates billions in revenue.

It is also a pillar  with other carbon markets for global climate cooperation. 2/

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · 27d

Today marks a major development in U.S. climate policy.

Gov. Newsom, the CA Assembly & Senate just released the final cap-and-trade—now called cap-and-invest—reauthorization bill: AB 1207. 1/

#climatesky #energysky

leginfo.legislature.ca.gov

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Reposted by Kyle Meng

Erika McEntarfer @erikamcentarfer.bsky.social · 28d

The big story here is of an agency of dedicated statisticians and public servants working tirelessly to improve economic data in a climate of budgetary cuts to data collection. They have been very innovative in meeting that mandate. But we should also just fund our economic infrastructure.

Ben Zipperer @benzipperer.org · 28d

Important to remember that thanks to the dedicated public servants at BLS, employment estimates have become MORE accurate over time

And the final version of the preliminary revision reported today will probably be smaller when it is incorporated early next year

Ernie Tedeschi @ernietedeschi.bsky.social · 28d

The preliminary benchmark revision of -911K amounts to -0.6% to March 2025 payroll employment. Combined with 2-month revisions, recent total revisions are big but hardly unprecedented, & smoothed over the business cycle the payroll survey has gotten more accurate over time.

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · 29d

California has a little over 24 hrs to release legislative language on cap & trade reauthorization.

Hard to imagine the most significant U.S climate policy in the foreseeable future with such stakeholder and political support is cutting it this close.

#climatesky #energysky

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Reposted by Kyle Meng

Neale Mahoney @nealemahoney.bsky.social · 29d

I'm hiring predocs to work with me on econ policy research projects starting in Summer 2026. Topics include healthcare, consumer finance, energy markets, housing, and childcare.

You'll be part of an awesome community of @siepr.bsky.social predocs.

Details here:
siepr.stanford.edu/programs/sie...

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Reposted by Kyle Meng

Andrew Dessler @andrewdessler.com · Aug 28

Our comment on the DOE CWG report is done. It tips the scales at 439 pages, approx. 3x longer than the DOE report.
This is related to Brandolini's law: The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.

Example: refuting one sentence.

DOE CWG STATEMENT (second paragraph of section 2.1.1, page 3): “Piao et al. (2020) noted
that greening was even observable in the Arctic.”
COMMENT: This statement implies that the Arctic greening signal was caused by elevated CO2
,
however that is not the scientific consensus. Piao et al. (2020) attribute the greening trend in the
Arctic predominantly to growing season length driven by warmer temperatures (see also Y.
Zhang et al., 2022). Piao et al. (2020) also note that this positive impact of increasing
temperatures appears to have weakened over the past four decades, “suggesting a possible
saturation of future greening in response to warmer temperature” (see also comment on
greenness trends related to Section 2.1.1, first sentence of Page 4). It is also important to put
Arctic greening more broadly into the context of the carbon cycle and other impacts. While
above-ground plants may have displayed more leaf area over the past decades, rising
temperatures also thaw permafrost and drive accelerated decomposition in highly carbon rich
soils (Turetsky et al., 2020), a process which is expected to accelerate as climate continues to
warm (Miner et al., 2022). Thus even with Arctic greening, high latitude terrestrial systems may
become net carbon sources to the atmosphere, causing an amplifying feedback (Braghiere et
al., 2023). Other risks to the Arctic linked to higher CO2

levels and rising temperatures are not
mentioned in this report (Virkkala et al., 2025). The Arctic is warming at a rate of 2 to 3 times the
global average, leading to thawing of permanently frozen soils (permafrost), with downstream
impacts including loss of structural support for buildings and subsidence, threatening
communities, roads, runways, and other assets across Alaska (Manos et al., 2025; University of
Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Northern Engineering US Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District
& Laboratory, 2019).

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · Aug 27

Recent CA Assembly movement in cap-and-trade bill may have propped up permit prices in today's CARB auction.

But CA still losing revenue from C&T uncertainty: today's revenue could have been ~$300M more under last year's prices.

CA policymakers need to reauthorize C&T.

#energysky #climatesky

Press Release: Sluggish Auction Results — Market Still Waiting for Leadership to Recommit to California’s Cap and Trade Program — Clean and Prosperous California

CAP California Press Release on August 2025 Auction Results  

www.cleanprosperousca.org

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Kyle Meng @kylemeng.com · Aug 23

#climatesky #energysky