Climate Law Blog

Guest blog by Andrew Ratzkin* The time for a carbon tax is now.  The coronavirus hasn’t just created the opportunity; it’s created the imperative. The Imperative.  State budgets are in crisis.  Revenues—whether derived from sales taxes, individual and corporate income taxes, capital gains, dividends, tolls, airport fees, mass transit fares, hotel stays, casinos, real estate transactions, […]

Today, the Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of local governments in support of state and environmental petitioners in American Lung Association v. EPA, the lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s repeal of the Clean Power Plan and the dangerously weak replacement rule.

By Hillary Aidun and Malia Libby Last Tuesday, April 14, thirteen states, New York City, and the District of Columbia sued the Department of Energy (DOE) to challenge revisions to the rule governing energy efficiency updates. A similar suit was filed by a coalition of green groups. As discussed below, DOE’s new “process rule,” if […]

By Romany Webb A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), published on March 31, shows that global methane emissions from the oil and gas sector increased by nearly four percent from 2018 to 2019. That trend could continue in 2020 and beyond due, in part, to the economic downturn resulting from the COVID-19 […]

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 # 132. FEATURED CASE Fourth […]

By Romany Webb Last Thursday, March 26, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a temporary policy on environmental enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy declares that EPA will “exercise enforcement discretion” – code for “take no action” – in relation to certain civil violations of environmental law “caused by COVID-19.” The policy identifies several […]