Environmental Justice

9 posts

Environmental Justice Is under Attack: We Need Local Advocacy Power Tools

NEW Community Advocacy Tools Released by WE ACT for Environmental Justice and Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law In January of 2025, the Trump Administration removed almost 80 crucial executive orders, including those supporting environmental justice, and set into motion a false “energy emergency” and directives to “Unleash […]

Sabin Center Files Amicus Brief Amid Trump Transition to Support EPA’s Heavy-Duty Vehicle Standards 

Yesterday, January 21, 2025, the Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of the National League of Cities (NLC) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2024 greenhouse gas emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles (the “HDV Rule”) that went into […]

Model Environmental Justice Bills Released by WE ACT for Environmental Justice and the Sabin Center

In an effort to advance environmental justice solutions across the United States, the Sabin Center has partnered with WE ACT for Environmental Justice to launch a suite of model state environmental justice bills for legislators and advocates to introduce and adopt in their state’s 2024 legislative sessions.

New Sabin Center White Paper Recommends Legal Steps to Help New Jersey Meet GHG Reduction & Environmental Justice Goals

In a new white paper, we analyze New Jersey’s implementation gap in both the climate and justice space and offer some key recommendations to align executive action with the state’s bold promises. The paper’s findings and recommendations are potentially applicable to the many other states who have set climate and justice goals without robustly embedding them into their existing legal and administrative landscapes.

Guest Commentary: Dobbs v. Jackson and Juliana v. United States: “Innumerable Human Lives”

Dobbs v. Jackson and Juliana v. United States: “Innumerable Human Lives” By Julia Olson and Andrea Rodgers* There’s a maritime myth in our culture, made romantic by the Titanic and other disasters, that men will “save the women and children” first. The arguments before the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. […]

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Extreme Heat Protections Should Include Incarcerated Workers

By Jacob Elkin This past year has seen significant developments in how we understand and address the risks facing workers in an era of extreme heat. Multiple reports, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Change and Social Vulnerability in the United States, have highlighted the risk that extreme heat […]

Using Smart Surfaces to Reduce Heat and Promote Equity in Urban Areas: New Sabin Center White Paper

The summer of 2021 underscored that we are all affected by climate change impacts, whether in the form of heatwaves, fires, or extreme flooding. But some Americans are more affected than others. Urban centers are hotter than rural areas due to urban heat island effect, a phenomenon caused by pavement, […]