Climate Change and Tribes:

Places at the Table;

Roles in the Action Plan
2015 National Environmental Justice Conference

Dean B. Suagee
Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker LLP
dsuagee@hobbstraus.com
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

Overview of Presentation
Tribes as Sovereign Governments
Places at the Table
Federal Review Processes
The Big Picture
Roles in the Action Plan
A Better Buildings Challenge for Indian Country
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

Natural Resources & Environment

American Bar Association,
Section of Environment, Energy & Resources

Tribal Self-Determination in a Low-Carbon Economy, 2010

Consulting with Tribes for Off-Reservation Projects, 2010
Solar Energy: Lets Get Passive!, 2011
Tribal Climate Crisis Tax-Exempt Bonds, 2013
A Better Buildings Challenge for Indian Country, 2014
The Climate Crisis, the Renewable Energy Revolution, and
Tribal Sovereignty, Chapter 3 in TRIBES, LAND, AND THE
ENVIRONMENT (Krakoff and Rosser, eds., 2012)
www.hobbsstraus.com/articles
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

Tribes as Sovereign Governments

Power to Make and Enforce Laws
Inherent tribal sovereignty
Delegated federal authority

Governmental Service Programs

Federal assistance for tribal governments
Federal assistance for state & local govts

Power to Raise Revenue

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

Tribes as Sovereign Governments

Power to Make and Enforce Laws
Inherent tribal sovereignty
Like states but different
The importance of cultural identity

Limits imposed by federal law

Acts of Congress
Treaties
Implicit Divestiture
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

Tribes as Sovereign Governments

Governmental Service Programs
Federal assistance for tribal governments
Self-Determination contracts
Self-Governance compacts

Federal assistance for states & local govts

Tribes are often overlooked
In some cases, parallel programs
Sometimes included, but awkwardly
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

Tribes as Sovereign Governments

Power to Raise Revenue
Limits on ability to tax
Legal, e.g. implicit divestiture
Practical limits

Limits on use of tax-exempt bonds

Tribal Climate Crisis Tax-Exempt Bonds, 2013

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP

WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

Places at the Table

Federal Review Processes
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
regulations, 36 CFR part 800
Can be used to bring traditional ecological knowledge into
federal agency decision-making processes

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

CEQ regulations, 40 CFR parts 1500 - 1508
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

NHPA 1992 Amendments

Places of religious and cultural significance for tribes
(and Native Hawaiian organizations) may be eligible
for the National Register of Historic Places
Such places may be traditional cultural properties that are
(a) rooted in a communitys history and
(b) important for maintaining cultural identity
National Register Bulletin 38 (by National Park Service)
Significance may derive from medicine plants, wildlife habitat

Places need not be TCPs to trigger right of tribes to be

included in the section 106 process
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

National Environmental Policy Act

Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
Guidance Documents
Consideration of GHG emissions and effects
of climate change in NEPA reviews
Revised draft, Dec. 24, 2014, Federal Register

Programmatic NEPA reviews

Final, Dec. 23, 2014, Federal Register

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP

WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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THE BIG PICTURE

National Climate Assessment

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP

WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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National Climate Assessment

Impacts on Indigenous Peoples
Reduced access to traditional foods
Decreasing water quality and quantity, less
predictability
Declining sea ice many impacts in Alaska
Thawing permafrost stressing traditions,
damaging infrastructure
Relocation, in Alaska and other coastal areas
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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National Climate Assessment

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP

WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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National Climate Assessment

To meet the lower emissions scenario,
global CO2 emissions need to peak at
44 billion tons per year
and decline thereafter
On current path, the world will exceed
44 billion tons per year within 10 years
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP

WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change
A scenario that limits GHG concentrations to
450 ppm CO2 equivalent is likely to limit
warming to 2 degrees C over the 21 st
century relative to pre-industrial levels
Requires emissions reductions of 40 to 70%
from 2010 levels by 2050, further reduction
to near zero or below by 2100
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Carbon Tracker Initiative

carbontracker.org
Unburnable Carbon 2013: Wasted capital
and stranded costs (June 2013)
Through 2050, only 20% of existing fossil fuel
reserves can be burned.
Remaining carbon budget for a 2 degrees C
world in 2050 is 900 GtCO2
existing reserves are 2,860 GtCO2
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Global Warmings Terrifying New Math

Bill McKibben, Rolling Stone (July 2012)
Three key numbers
2 degrees Celsius, 3.6 degrees F
Target temperature rise over pre-industrial level
565 Gigatons of carbon dioxide
carbon budget by mid century
2,795 Gigatons
Proven fossil fuel reserves
About 80% of known fossil fuel reserves must be left in place
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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350.org

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP

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http://arxiv.org/abs/0804.1126
Open Atmos. Sci. J (2008), vol. 2

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WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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CO2 reductions from energy efficiency

and renewable energy

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP

Source: ASES, Tackling Climate Change

WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Path to a Sustainable, Renewable Energy Future

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP

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Jobs in Renewable Energy

International Renewable Energy Agency working
paper (2011)
Renewable Energy Jobs: Status, Prospects &
Policies; Biofuels & Grid Connected Electricity
More labor intensive (by output & investment)

Environmental and Energy Study Institute

Fact Sheet: Jobs in Renewable Energy and Energy
Efficiency (2013)

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP

WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Dont Even Think About It:

Why Our Brains Are Wired to
Ignore Climate Change
By George Marshall (2014)
climate conviction.org
Rational brain v. emotional brain
Information doesnt do it
Trustworthiness of the messenger
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Connecting Some of the Dots

The Big Picture
U.S. GHG Emissions by Sector 1990 - 2012
Electricity
32%
Transportation
28%
Industry
20%
Residential & Commercial 10%
Agriculture
10%
Source:
EPA Inventory of U.S. GHG Emissions (April 2014)
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Big Picture - C02 Emissions by End Use

Buildings

44.6%

Industry

21.1%

Transportation 34.3%

Source: Architecture 2030, from U.S. Energy Information Administration

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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ROLES IN THE PLAN

Presidents Climate Action Plan
Cut Carbon Pollution in America
Prepare the United States for the Impacts
of Climate Change
Lead International Efforts to Address
Global Climate Change
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Presidents Climate Action Plan

Cut Carbon Pollution in America
Deploying Clean Energy
Building a 21st Century Transportation System
Cutting Energy Waste in Homes, Businesses,
and Factories
Reducing Other Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Leading at the Federal Level

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP

WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Presidents Climate Action Plan

Cutting Energy Waste in Homes,
Businesses, and Factories
A New Goal for Energy Efficiency Standards
Reducing Barriers to Investment in Energy
Efficiency
USDA RUS Energy Efficiency & Conservation
Loan Program

Expanding the Presidents Better Buildings

Challenge
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Big Picture - C02 Emissions by End Use

Buildings

44.6%

Industry

21.1%

Transportation 34.3%

Source: Architecture 2030, from U.S. Energy Information Administration

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Links to print as pdfs

Big Picture - C02 Emissions by End Use

Source: American Solar Energy Society,

Tackling Climate Change in the U.S. (2007)
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Net Zero the Architecture 2030 Challenge

Carbon Neutral through Design (energy efficiency, passive solar)

Renewable energy (on-site, off-site)
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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A Better Buildings Challenge

for Indian Country
Include Tribes in the DOE Building Energy
Codes Program
International Energy Conservation Code, a minimum

Make Net Zero fossil fuels the standard

Meeting the need for homes for Indian families can be
part of the solution

Make sure the USDA RUS EE&C Loan Program

reaches Indian country
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Native American Resources Committee

Online Newsletter, ABA SEER
Rural Utilities Service Creates New
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan
Program
(78 Fed. Reg. 73356 (December 5, 2013)
Volume 11, No. 1 (Oct. 2014)

A Planned Issue on Climate Change

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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A Better Buildings Challenge

for Indian Country
200,000 net zero homes for Indian
families
Equals annual savings of about
17.9 trillion Btu
Or 5.24 billion kWh
Or 3.09 million barrels of oil
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Local Government Action Plans

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP

WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Local Government Climate Action Plans

Energy management
Transportation
Waste reduction
Land use

HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP

WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Climate Change Blues

tune of Honky Tonk Women
(second verse)
Science tells us that we are the problem
Weve got to cut emissions of greenhouse gas
In Washington theres another kind of problem
Politicians with their heads stuck in
the sand
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Dont Even Think About It:

Why Our Brains Are Wired to
Ignore Climate Change
Climate change is not just an
environmental issue,
its also an economic, health, justice,
national security, and human rights issue
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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Climate Change and Tribes:

Places at the Table;
Roles in the Action Plan
2015 National Environmental Justice Conference

Dean B. Suagee
Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker LLP
dsuagee@hobbstraus.com
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP
WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA

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