Test Your Knowledge of Climate Law

In case you’re stressing out over the election –and you should be, whichever side you’re — this little quiz could offer a welcome diversion.  Climate change is inevitably a complex subject. Test your own knowledge of the legal aspects of the subject by answering a few quick questions.

Don’t worry if you have trouble. Our audience isn’t just people who live and breathe climate law. We do our best to make sure that you don’t need to know the answers to any of these questions to understand Legal Planet posts.

On the other hand, if you’re an environmental law student and you miss most of the answers, you might want to hit the books again.

Here are the questions:

1. 1. What is a renewable portfolio standard? A. A requirement that utilities buy renewable energy. B. An ESG guideline for investing in the stock of renewable energy companies. C. A requirement that gasoline contain a certain percentage of biofuel. D. A form contract for installation, maintenance, and replacement of rooftop solar.
   2. How did the EPA get its power to issue climate change regulations? A. The Supreme Court upheld EPA’s decision to regulate greenhouse gases. B. The Supreme Court overturned EPA’s refusal to consider the dangers of greenhouse gases. C. The General Welfare Clause of the U.S. Constitution requires agencies to address serious risks. D. An executive order by President Obama gave EPA authority to regulate.
   3. What is AB 32? A. The 2032 target for reducing carbon emissions. B. A greenhouse gas, Acrylic Bicarbonate-32. C. Section 32 of the Paris Agreement. D. A California law.
   4. What was the subject of the 2022 ruling in West Virginia v. EPA? A. An EPA regulation that banned strip mining. B. An Obama climate regulation applying to power plants. C. A public nuisance lawsuit brought by EPA against oil companies. D. Biden’s executive order on the social cost of carbon.
   5. What is the meaning of the phrase “major question”? A. A case warranting Supreme Court review. B. A legal dispute involving at least $100 million. C. An agency decision of extraordinary importance. D. A legal issue that is not governed by existing precedent.
   6.  What is does IRA stand for? A. The UN’s Intergovernmental Regulatory Agency. B. Inductive Radiative Augmentation, a form of geo-engineering. C. The Inflation Reduction Act. D. Iradium, a rare earth element used in EV batteries.
   7. Which Supreme Court Justice wrote the  majority opinion in Massachusetts v. EPA? A. Justice Amy Barrett B. Justice Brett Kavanaugh C. Justice William Brennan D.  Justice John Paul Stevens
   8. What EPA action relating to climate change was NOT rolled back in Trump’s first term? A. The Endangerment Finding B. The Clean Power Plan C. The California Preemption Waiver D. The Methane New Source Standard

Key: 1 (A), 2 (B), 3 (D) , 4 (B), 5 (C),6 (C), 7 (D), 8 (A).