Building codes have a major influence on how local governments respond to climate change. They prescribe enforceable requirements for the materials that buildings are made of, for how living and working spaces are designed, and critically, for what kinds of environmental possibilities new buildings must be prepared to accommodate. For […]
Litigation against major corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters has proven extremely tough. Even as successful cases against governments have blossomed, private suits face significant barriers. A civil law breakthrough came in 2021, with the ruling of a Dutch court against Shell. In Smith v Fonterra, decided by New Zealand’s Supreme […]
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 […]
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 […]
This piece previously appeared in EDF’s Climate 411 Blog. Disasters that are fueled by climate change, like fires, floods, and hurricanes, increasingly pose risks to the U.S. financial system, including the derivatives market. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulates the derivatives market and is now considering updates to […]
Negotiations at the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai, UAE, wrapped up early last week. Much has been written about the “UAE Consensus” that was adopted on the final day of COP28 and met with mixed […]
Today, the Sabin Center published an end-of-year report on the state of climate change litigation in 2023. The report, titled Climate Change in the Courts: A 2023 Thematic Retrospective, examines key cases and rulings that have shaped the legal discourse on climate change in 2023 or that are poised to […]
This piece previously appeared in the CLS Blue Sky Blog. In the global effort to protect the earth’s climate, the pace of regulation is rivaled only by the speed of technological innovation. What seemed improbable just a few years ago – requiring large companies to measure and report annual greenhouse […]