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August, 2011, New Executive Director Franz Litz joins Pace Energy and Climate Center
Pace Energy and Climate Center is pleased to announce the arrival of our new Executive Director, Franz Litz!
Franz has advised more than 30 states and provinces in North America on climate change and energy policy matters. His recent work has focused on the potential for greenhouse gas reductions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the states under the Clean Air Act, as well as other federal authorities. Franz is an accomplished and sought after facilitator who has convened state and provincial officials, environmental advocates and business interests around climate and energy policy. He has advised all three regional climate initiatives in North America, including the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) and the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord. Franz remains active in bringing states and provinces together from across the U.S. and Canada to cooperate on energy and climate change policy issues.
Before joining the Energy & Climate Center in 2011, Franz was a senior fellow at the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C. He led WRI’s state and regional climate change initiatives, as well as WRI’s engagement with the U.S. EPA.
He also previously led the climate change efforts of New York State from a post within the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, where he was instrumental in forging the 10-state RGGI program to reduce emissions from the power sector. Prior to that, Franz was an energy and clean air lawyer for New York’s environmental agency and for the large Boston law firm Brown Rudnick. Franz is a graduate of Boston College Law School, cum laude, and Union College, magna cum laude.
Franz has recently been featured in the news. To read the articles, click on the following links:
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Ex-climate-chief-joins-law-unit-1618745.php
January 29, 2010, Biomass Guidebook Released
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Issues Guide To Develop Renewable and Sustainable Biomass Energy.
Francis J. Murray Jr., President and CEO of NYSERDA was quoted as saying “I applaud the Pace Energy and Climate Center for developing this invaluable resource to help New Yorkers maximize the potential of this renewable resource and help New York reach Governor David Paterson’s ambitious clean energy goals.”
The Guidebook focuses on three biomass-to-electricity technologies that offer significant potential to increase New York’s use of renewable fuel and create economic benefits for dairy farmers and local communities. These technologies include anaerobic digester gas-to electricity, biomass combustion and biomass gasification.
For more information about this press release, please click on the following link. http://nyserda.org/Press_Releases/2010/PressReleas20100127.asp
For more information about the Biomass Guideline, please click on the following link. http://www.nyserda.org/publications/Report09-07SitingSmallBiomassProjects.pdf
December 20, 2009, James Van Nostrand interviewed by WNYC concerning NY's State Energy Plan.
Click here for the complete story.
December 2009, Notes from Copenhagen
Dean Emeritus Richard L. Ottinger, co-director of the Center for Environmental Legal Studies and founder and faculty supervisor of the Pace Energy and Climate Center, is currently in Copenhagen serving as one of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) delegates to the environmental summit. He is blogging about his conference experiences and summit developments. Pace Law SJD candidate Shakeel Kazmi has been appointed to Pakistan’s delegation; third year law student Joanne Kalas is serving as the UN Mission for the Marshall Islands delegate; and third year law students and master’s degree candidates in Pace Law School’s joint degree program with Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Matthew Jokajtys and Chris Aung are participating as observers. Click here to read the Copenhagen Blog.
November 2009, Jackson Morris Joins Energy and Climate Center
The Energy and Climate Center is pleased to announce the appointment of Jackson Morris as Senior Policy Advisor, effective in early November 2009. Jackson will be based in Albany, and will represent the Center and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in advancing clean energy policies in the state capital, through direct engagement with state agencies, the Executive Chamber, the New York State legislature, and the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), as well as working with other energy, environmental, health and consumer organizations. Jackson previously was the Air & Energy Program Director at Environmental Advocates of New York. For a more complete description of Jackson’s background, see our staff page.
“We are excited to have Jackson joining us at this critical period in the New York energy scene,” stated Jamie Van Nostrand, Executive Director of the Energy and Climate Center. “Jackson has a tremendous reputation in Albany as an effective advocate for clean energy polices, and it is a strategic time for us to invest in a full-time on-the-ground presence in Albany to promote energy efficiency, renewable energy, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. State government leaders have wisely committed to develop a Climate Action Plan to address global warming, and we need to be active to ensure that this commitment is fulfilled and that elements of the Plan are promptly implemented.”
The Albany-based position was made possible with the financial support of NRDC. “We appreciate the assistance from NRDC to enable us to pursue this initiative,” said Van Nostrand. “We look forward to working with NRDC and Jackson to advance wise energy and environmental policies in Albany that will reduce the State’s global warming emissions
On October 14 and 15, 2009, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority held its sixth biennial EMEP Conference in Albany, New York, entitled “Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation, and Protection in New York: Linking Science and Policy.” Zywia Wojnar, Research Director at the Pace Energy and Climate Center (PECC), with assistance from Matthew Guenther, a PECC intern earning his masters degree at Bard College, played crucial roles in organizing this successful conference. Tom Bourgeois, Deputy Director at PECC, gave a presentation entitled “Assessment of Market-Based Trading Programs” during the first plenary session of the conference. The PECC team also included Todd Olinsky-Paul, Energy Policy Analyst; Anne Marie Hirschberger, Energy Research Fellow; and Alex Casadonte, Intern.
On June 16, 2009 PECC welcomed its newest addition to its family. Executive Director, James Van Nostrand is the proud lessee of a BMW 450 MINI E. He was selected to provide feedback to MINI as part of a one-year study. Jamie intends to research the policy and planning implications of increased use of electric cars in NY. According to Jamie, “On the automaker side MINI is doing its part to make sure that sustainable, environment-friendly vehicles become a reality. It is now up to legislators and regulators to do what is necessary to make sure that proper utility pricing is in place to accommodate the demands that will be placed on the electric system by these types of vehicles when they are ready for mass production.” For more information about this project, please click here.
August 6, 2009 - Philadelphia Inquirer: Professor Jamie Van Nostrand was quoted in the article “Senate reaches deal to extend 'Clunkers' program,” about how the “Cash for Clunkers” program wasn’t focused enough on helping to protect the environment.
August 9, 2009 - Argus Leader: Jamie Van Nostrand, executive director of the Energy and Climate Center, was quoted in the article “South Dakotans will pay more in effort to curb climate change,” on the change to a more carbon conscious world.