Earlier this year, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was sued for its approval of a major oil drilling operation known as the “Willow project”. The project is controversial due to its contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and its location on the North Slope of Alaska, which happens […]
Jessica Wentz
137 posts
Over the past five years, there has been significant growth in litigation aimed at holding fossil fuel companies accountable for their contributions to climate change. In the U.S., dozens of state and municipal governments have filed tort and consumer protection lawsuits seeking equitable relief as well as financial compensation […]
On Friday the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) unveiled new draft guidance on the consideration of climate change in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews. This is intended to replace the final CEQ guidance that was issued by the Obama administration in 2016 and subsequently revoked by President […]
By Dena Adler, Jessica Wentz, and Romany Webb On Wednesday, June 19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its so-called Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule. The ACE rule repeals and replaces the 2015 Clean Power Plan (CPP) which aimed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants by […]
The Trump administration has undertaken a sweeping portfolio of actions aimed at weakening federal climate protections and promoting the development and use of fossil fuels. A new report from Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law takes a critical look at what this effort has actually accomplished. It […]
This week, the Sabin Center and a group of scientists with expertise on carbon capture and sequestration (“CCS”) technologies submitted comments on EPA’s proposal to weaken the CO2 performance standards for new coal-fired power plants. As discussed in a previous blog post, the current standards, which were promulgated in 2015, […]
Today, the Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of local governments in support of state and environmental petitioners in California v. EPA, the lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s revised determination on the appropriateness of the greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards for light-duty vehicles (commonly […]
By Jessica Wentz On December 28, 2018, California adopted comprehensive amendments to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, which include a suite of provisions aimed at improving the analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change impacts in state environmental reviews. These provisions touch on both climate change […]