Climate Law Blog

By Romany M. Webb On Tuesday, January 28, House Democrats published a draft of the so-called “CLEAN Future Act” which aims to “achieve a 100 percent clean economy by not later than 2050.” The Act’s authors describe it as a “comprehensive” plan for achieving “net zero greenhouse gas pollution, while also . . . revamp[ing] […]

This week, Daniel Metzger joins the Sabin Center as a Climate Law Fellow.  Daniel’s work will focus on, among other areas, international climate change litigation, climate risks and opportunities in the reinsurance industry, and the law and science of climate change attribution. Before joining the Sabin Center, Daniel practiced with Selendy & Gay representing clients on […]

By Hillary Aidun Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) issued a draft report sharply criticizing the analysis underpinning the agency’s proposed rollback of new motor vehicle standards. The report is one more piece of evidence that the Trump administration EPA is seeking to enact environmental policies that sideline science. This […]

The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law posted its Summer/Fall 2019 Semi-Annual Report, which includes a summary of the Center’s key activities between June and December 2019. It is available for download here. Below are some key highlights from the report: The Sabin Center launched several new projects: the Cities Climate Law Initiative, Legal Pathways to […]

By Hillary Aidun & Ama Francis  A decision last week by the UN Human Rights Committee indicates that if climate impacts worsen in the future, countries may not return climate migrants to their home states where their right to life is threatened. The decision represents a step forward since climate migrants currently fall outside the […]

By Susan Biniaz With Madrid behind us and Glasgow on the horizon, it is a good time for Parties and others to consider the future of the annual COP. (By “COP,” I mean the climate conference writ large, rather than the “Conference of the Parties,” the narrower technical name for the Parties to the UN Framework […]

By Margaret Barry and Hillary Aidun Each month, Arnold & Porter and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law collect and summarize developments in climate-related litigation, which we also add to our U.S. and non-U.S. climate litigation charts.  If you know of any cases we have missed, please email us at columbiaclimate@gmail.com. HERE ARE THE ADDITIONS TO THE CLIMATE CASE CHART SINCE UPDATE […]

By Jessica Wentz and Michael Burger On January 9 the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published a proposal to dramatically overhaul the federal regulations governing environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The proposal represents a significant departure from CEQ’s prior interpretation of NEPA as well as decades of agency practice, case law, […]

By Amy Turner In July 2019, Berkeley, California made news with the first-ever municipal ban on new natural gas hookups in the U.S. Hailed as “momentous” and a “landmark move,” Berkeley’s ordinance inspired other municipalities in California and beyond to consider and enact similar bans. At latest count, more than 50 municipalities – mostly in […]