Climate Law Blog

By Dena Adler The escalating costs of damages from extreme weather events, many exacerbated by climate change, makes poignant a question with a serious price tag: who will be on the hook to pay for climate damages? In 2018, a host of lawsuits wound their way through the courts seeking an answer, including several from […]

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 # 117. FEATURED CASE […]

By Michael Burger and Jessica Wentz As you know, in Juliana v. United States twenty-one individual youth plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Oregon against the United States, the president, and various other federal officials and agencies, claiming that the “nation’s climate system” is critical to their rights to life, liberty, and […]

By Jessica Wentz and Romany Webb On Thursday, December 6, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published proposed revisions to its New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for electric utility generating units (2015 NSPS). The proposal affects new, modified, and reconstructed fossil fuel-fired steam generating units, most of which use coal to generate electricity, either by burning […]

By Romany Webb Two days after making landfall in the Florida Panhandle, Hurricane Michael has now moved out to sea, leaving behind damage that could take years to repair. In Florida’s Mexico Beach, where Michael first hit as a category four storm, entire blocks of homes and businesses have been destroyed. Further inland, more structures […]

By Ama Francis Five sports entities explained why they have become industry leaders by engaging with voluntary carbon offset markets at Friday’s Sports and Climate Change Summit. The New York Yankees, New York Mets, NASCAR, U.S. Tennis Association (USTA), and Major League Soccer (MLS) are each purchasing carbon offsets from cookstove projects in low-income African […]

By Romany Webb On Tuesday, September 18, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) finalized changes to its so-called Methane Waste Prevention Rule (“Rule”). The Rule, which was adopted in November 2016, aimed to prevent the loss of natural gas through venting, flaring, and leaks on public lands. BLM estimated that, as […]

By Romany Webb On Tuesday, September 11, EPA published proposed revisions to its New Source Performance Standards (2016 standards) for new and modified sources in the oil and natural gas sector. The standards, which were finalized in June 2016, formed a central plank of the Obama administration’s strategy for reducing methane emissions. EPA estimated that, […]

By Jessica Wentz On Tuesday, August 21, EPA published a proposed rule to replace the Clean Power Plan. The proposal, entitled the “Affordable Clean Energy Rule,” would establish a framework for controlling CO2 emissions from existing power plants which is significantly less effective and environmentally protective than its predecessor. Here are six important things to know […]

By Romany Webb The U.S. is currently in the midst of a natural gas boom, with production growing dramatically in recent years. The resulting glut of natural gas has led to a decline in prices which has, in turn, prompted increased gas use in electricity generation and other applications. Many see this as a positive […]