Mulvaney argues that ‘streamlining’ environmental reviews could actually hamper clean energy production
In his recent article for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Dustin Mulvaney argues a counterpoint to the common narrative that “the weight of environmental regulation is slowing down the pace of energy transition”. He writes, “the reality is that projects move through environmental review quite swiftly, so nearly all proposed energy projects that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions get environmental permits on time, with few exceptions.”
“Reform advocates rightly emphasize the need for rapidly constructing wind, solar, geothermal, energy storage, and transmission. The problem is that streamlining environmental rules and regulations could have the opposite effect, unless the “streamlining” is achieved via planning processes that include stakeholder feedback. More important, permitting reform as proposed in recent legislation would undermine effective tools used to protect air, water, and climate from the most damaging new infrastructure under consideration—namely oil, gas, and tar sands pipelines.”