Your Guide to Emerging Issues in Environmental Regulation and Litigation.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York on Aug. 31 invalidated New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act, holding that the law is preempted by federal law. The ruling in West Virginia v. James is a significant win for a coalition of 22 states and fossil fuel industry groups. What the Act Did Enacted …
The Supreme Court of Maryland recently affirmed the dismissal of three climate change lawsuits brought by state municipalities against various energy companies, finding that the claims were displaced and preempted by federal law. According to the court, “state law can’t be used to impose liability for global greenhouse gas pollution” and that, “at bottom, the …
To effectively regulate and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, gathering clear, accurate, and verified corporate emissions reporting data is essential. New York’s Senate Bill S9072A, known as the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (CCDAA), aims to do just that. In February 2026, the bill passed the Senate and moved to the Assembly for consideration. If …
In August 2024, the NJDEP introduced the Resilient Environments and Landscapes (REAL) rule amendment package as part of the Protecting Against Climate Threats (NJPACT) initiative. These rules are meant to reform New Jersey’s environmental land-use regulations by including current and projected climate-change impacts, such as sea-level rise, chronic flooding, and extreme weather, into all major …
The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to determine whether a Colorado climate tort claim against Exxon Mobil Corp. and Suncor Energy Inc. can proceed in state court, a decision that may determine whether state efforts to impose climate liability are federally preempted. The city and county of Boulder, Colo. filed suit against Exxon and Suncor …
In 2023, the California State Assembly approved two bills – SB 253 and SB 261 – as part of the state legislature’s climate accountability package. SB 253 mandates that public and private companies doing business in California with annual gross revenues above $1 billion disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, and SB 261 requires that companies …
When Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica last week it was one of the strongest recorded hurricanes in the Atlantic at 185 miles per hour. For perspective, Hurricane Gilbert in 1980 tops the record at 190 miles per hour. A recent study conducted by the Imperial College in London England, using an Imperial College Storm Model called …
Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced two grant opportunities totaling $26 million for projects aimed at addressing the impact of climate change and protecting water quality across New York State. Twenty-four million of these funds will be made available through the Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program (CRF), and the remaining $2 million will be provided through …
A South Carolina State Court judge in City of Charleston v. Brabham Oil Company, Inc., et al., dismissed on Aug. 6 an action against nearly two dozen oil and gas companies. The suit, initially filed in 2020, alleged the defendants contributed to harmful climate change and deceived people about the dangers of their fossil fuel …
In a unanimous decision on July 23, 2025, the fifteen judges on the United Nations’ International Court of Justice (“ICJ”), also known as the “World Court,” concluded that the production and consumption of fossil fuels “may constitute an internationally wrongful act attributable to that state.” The opinion also stated that limiting global warming to 1.5C …