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Environmental Legislation

Multimedia
What Does Environmental Justice Look Like? Two Case Studies
The RAND Corporation has partnered with community organizations and activists in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and San Diego, California to show how community engagement can contribute to environmental justice for residents affected by neighborhood disinvestment.
Apr 19, 2023
Commentary
California's Ambitious Decarbonization Plan Hasn't Been Future-Proofed
California has an ambitious blueprint to make the state carbon-neutral by 2045. But there's been no integrated stress test of the whole plan. The state needs and deserves a future-proofed, stress-tested plan that all Californians can trust to achieve its climate goals.
Dec 15, 2022
News Release
Disadvantaged Groups Could Fall Further Behind in the Emerging Green Economy
A new report from RAND Europe shows that disadvantaged groups risk being left behind in the growing movement across Europe to increase job opportunities that benefit the environment—or “green the economy”—unless local leaders take concerted action to make sure such job opportunities are more inclusive.
Oct 27, 2022
Report
Green jobs and skills development for disadvantaged groups
This report explored green jobs and skills development for people from disadvantaged groups in 10 European cities.
Oct 26, 2022
Report
Is Los Angeles County Prepared for California's Edible Food Recovery Mandate?
Experts in food recovery discuss findings from a RAND study into Los Angeles County's preparedness for a new law that requires California to significantly reduce organic waste and recover some edible food from going to landfills by 2025.
Jul 18, 2022
Multimedia
Preparing for California's Edible Food Recovery Mandate: Findings from the Los Angeles Food Recovery Study
Under a new state law, California must significantly reduce organic waste and recover some edible food from going to landfill by 2025. Is Los Angeles County prepared for the new mandate?
Jun 21, 2022
Report
California's Edible Food Recovery Mandate: One Solution for Two Problems
Organic waste in landfills emits 20 percent of California's methane, and about 1.1 million tons of potentially donatable food were discarded in 2018. California's food recovery mandate, Senate Bill 1383, could make an important contribution toward mitigating the climate crisis and food insecurity.
Jun 21, 2022
Project
The Risks of Geoengineering
Geoengineering—the intentional manipulation of the climate—could help curb global warming, but it could also have world-altering consequences. In a new animated video, RAND artists-in-residence Juan Delcan and Valentina Izaguirre take a lighthearted look at this serious issue.
Apr 27, 2022
Multimedia
Observed Impacts, Future Risks, and Adaptation Solutions
An overview of testimony by Robert J. Lempert presented before the Minnesota House of Representatives Committee on Climate and Energy Finance and Policy on March 10, 2022.
Apr 13, 2022
Testimony
Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation Solutions to Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change brings together scientists from around the world to assess the current state of knowledge regarding climate change, and potential consequences and solutions. Its recent report has a strong focus on adaptation solutions but also describes where adaptation is falling short.
Mar 10, 2022
Commentary
To Help Climate Migrants, We Must First Recognize Them
Despite the large and growing population displaced by extreme weather, there is no common definition of a “climate migrant.” Once we get a clearer sense of just who is a climate migrant, policy efforts should begin focusing on the full fabric of life in our communities, creating systems that will help migrants become a part of that fabric in safe and dignified ways.
Jan 28, 2022
Essay
Manipulating the Climate: What Are the Geopolitical Risks?
Geoengineering technologies that could block the sun's rays or siphon huge amounts of carbon from the air are not that far out of reach. Yet the international community has not established the kinds of guardrails you might expect for potentially world-changing technologies.
Dec 29, 2021
Report
Addressing Climate Migration
As the effects of climate change increase in scope and severity, more people will relocate to preserve or enhance their lives and livelihoods. A review of how six countries are managing climate mobility provides options for policymakers considering the needs of climate migrants and their host communities.
Dec 7, 2021
Commentary
Achieving Decarbonization and Energy Equity Through Reconciliation
The past two years have witnessed increasingly vocal calls for rapid decarbonization of the global economy through a clean energy transition. How can Congress ensure that new costs associated with a clean energy transition do not fall disproportionately on lower-income ratepayers?
Sep 9, 2021
Report
Developing the Great Lakes National Center of Expertise for Oil Spill Preparedness and Response: An Opportunity to Reduce Risk and Impacts of Future Spills in Freshwater
In 2016, Congress directed the U.S. Coast Guard to establish the Great Lakes National Center of Expertise for Oil Spill Preparedness and Response. This report makes recommendations for the center, its staffing, potential partnerships, and location.
Aug 31, 2021
Report
What Are the Geopolitical Risks of Geoengineering?
Geoengineering is the intentional manipulation of an environmental process on Earth to counteract the effects of climate change. Geoengineering implementation could introduce geopolitical risks. This raises the question of whether existing international governance mechanisms can manage these risks.
May 25, 2021
Commentary
How Voters Can Assess New Climate Plans
While the U.S. government has announced its intention to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, most presidential candidates and many states have proposed climate plans of their own. How might voters determine if any of these plans can seriously address climate change?
Nov 14, 2019
Dissertation
Ammonia Emissions from Industrial Hog Farming: Efficacy of Voluntary Control Strategies
This dissertation explores the externality of ammonia emissions from the Iowa hog industry and investigates the possible impact of voluntary environmental policies to encourage ammonia control technology adoption.
Oct 1, 2018
Commentary
When It Comes to Climate, Look for Vulnerabilities in Policy, Not Science
Federal policymakers have picked up on the concept of red teaming — actively seeking out one's own vulnerabilities. While red teaming may not make sense for climate science, it does offer great benefits when weighing climate policy options.
Aug 4, 2017
Commentary
Impact on the Environment from President Trump's First 100 Days
President Trump's actions have not yet resulted in demonstrable change in environmental conditions or funding. But the groundwork is being laid to unwind major regulations and diminish staff at the EPA and other federal agencies with climate-related research in their portfolios.
May 4, 2017

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RAND Topic:
Environmental Legislation

Topic Synonyms:
Environmental Law

Researcher Spotlight

Debra Knopman

Adjunct Engineer

Debra Knopman is an adjunct engineer at the RAND Corporation. She served as vice president and director of RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment, later called Justice, Infrastructure, and Environment, from 2004 to 2014, and then as a principal researcher from 2014 to 2022.
Craig A. Bond

Research Quality Assurance (QA) Manager, RAND Arroyo Center

Craig Bond is an applied microeconomist who specializes in natural resource and environmental economics, including stochastic dynamic modeling, resource valuation, consumer and producer choice, and applied welfare economics.

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