Your Guide to Emerging Issues in Environmental Regulation and Litigation.
Right on the heels of Earth Day, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14096, titled “Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All” (full text of the Order can be found in the Federal Register, accessible here). This “whole of government” EO will affect how the federal government oversees permitting and funding for industry … Continued
A 2022 Interagency Sea Level Rise Technical Report, authored by various governmental agencies, found that global mean sea levels could rise between one and seven feet by 2100. This would me significant impacts to the more than 40 percent of Americans who live near coastal waters. Coastal flooding can have major impacts to infrastructure, such … Continued
Since 2017, a number of state government entities from cities, counties, and states across the country have gone after fossil fuel companies in court charging them with violating state law by marketing their products as not harmful. These 11 cases have collectively been dubbed the “climate liability cases” or “climate deception cases.” Just a few … Continued
As reported in August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) is the United States’ largest (and most complex) commitment to investing in climate change to date. The 725-page law provides a number of clean-energy tax credits to qualifying companies and commits $370 billion in funds aimed at lowering energy costs and building up supply chains … Continued
Lawyers at the environmental law firm ClientEarth earlier this month personally sued the directors of one of the largest oil producers in a derivative action for their alleged failure to manage material and foreseeable climate risks. ClientEarth filed the action at the High Court of Justice in England and Wales, alleging breach of UK company law. In total, 11 of the … Continued
In 2015, California’s former governor Edmund Brown Jr. set methane emissions-reduction targets for the state. Senate Bill 1383 requires that California reduce organic waste disposal 75 percent by the year 2025. Although most Californians did not begin to understand what these targets meant, 2022 marked the beginning of new waste disposal requirements for many statewide. These requirements … Continued
$600 Billion. That is the amount of money directly attributed to weather events brought on or exacerbated by climate change over the past five years. Now a coalition of states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Wisconsin, and led by California (the Coalition), are pushing for the U.S. Securities and … Continued
On April 28, 2021, the U.S. Senate voted 52-42 to restore regulations on the oil and gas industry to address methane emissions. Specifically, the regulation will seek to limit methane gas leaks relating to drilling operations by establishing stricter monitoring requirements and requiring corrective actions when leaks are detected. While methane only represents 10 percent … Continued
On May 20, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order on climate-related financial risk, in which the new president directs the federal government to develop a strategy to curb the risk of climate change on public and private financial assets in the United States. The order notes that it is the policy of the administration … Continued
On April 16, 2021, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland issued two Secretarial Orders intended to prioritize battling the effects of climate change by promoting cleaner energy and modifying the decision-making process concerning federal energy development projects. SO 3398 aims to bolster implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The order directs Interior Department offices to … Continued