Energy

277 posts

State “Climate Superfund” Bills: What You Need to Know

In the first months of 2024, legislators in four states—Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont—have pushed for legislation that would collectively require large fossil fuel producers and refiners to pay for hundreds of billions of dollars of state-level climate adaptation infrastructure. E&E News reports that similar legislation may soon be […]

Federal Court Limits State Authority to Deny Interstate Transmission Projects

The Fifth National Climate Assessment recently concluded that, to meet national and international climate targets, United States net greenhouse gas emissions will need to decline by over 6% per year and reach net zero by roughly 2050. In order to achieve this target, the United States will need to greatly […]

DOE Proposes to Expand the Fast-Track Lane for Certain Clean Energy Projects–But Excludes Wind

On November 16, 2023, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a proposed rule to expedite the environmental review process for certain renewable energy infrastructure projects through the use of categorical exclusions. DOE’s proposal would apply to: (1) installing, operating, modifying, or decommissioning solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on buildings or other […]

Pipeline crossing wetlands. Photo by Steve Hillebrand, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Permitting CO2 Pipelines: Overcoming State and Federal Barriers to CO2 Pipeline Networks

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 directed the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to support the development of four regional “direct air capture hubs” (DAC Hubs)—networks that connect direct air capture projects with sequestration facilities and commercial users of captured carbon dioxide (CO2). To support these DAC Hubs, […]

Experts Identify Best Practices for Negotiating and Drafting Community Benefits Agreements

Today, the Sabin Center has published a best practices guide for negotiating and drafting Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs), as well as a database of 50 example CBAs from climate-related projects and other types of infrastructure. For background, CBAs are legally binding contracts between developers and host municipalities or community groups […]

Photo of Offshore Oil and Gas Facility

Decommissioning Offshore Oil and Gas Infrastructure in the Face of Climate Change and the Energy Transition

On August 31, 2023, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), as part of their broader Climate Law and Finance Initiative, published two reports analyzing legal and contractual regimes governing decommissioning of offshore oil and gas infrastructure projects and identifying decommissioning-related risks […]

Image of lake and mountain in New York with text reading "CLCPA Scoping Plan Tracker"

New Tool to Monitor Implementation of NY’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act Launched by Sabin Center

The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School has launched a new tool tracking the implementation of the New York Climate Action Council (CAC)’s recommendations in the Scoping Plan for the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The CLCPA—New York’s ambitious climate law signed in 2019—called […]

Report Finds 228 Local Restrictions Against Siting Wind, Solar, and Other Renewables, as Well as 293 Contested Projects

Renewable energy projects have encountered significant opposition in at least 45 states.  In addition, at least 228 local laws, ordinances and policies have been enacted in 35 states to restrict renewable energy projects, according to a report, Opposition to Renewable Energy Facilities in the United States, issued on May 31 […]