Environment & Land Use

211 posts

The Willow Project Heads to Court: Sabin Center Files Amicus Brief in Support of Plaintiffs Challenging BLM’s Approval of the Project

Last Wednesday, July 26, the Sabin Center filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs in Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic v. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Center for Biological Diversity v. BLM – two lawsuits challenging BLM’s approval of the so-called “Willow Project” on the North […]

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.

Using Attribution Science to Evaluate the Effects of Oil and Gas Emissions on Endangered and Threatened Species

  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 […]

New York Home Buyers Deserve the Right to Know Their Flood Risk

The New York Senate has an opportunity to ensure home buyers have the ability to protect their families from flooding by passing Senate Bill 5400, which would give home buyers the right to know a property’s flood risk. The Assembly has already passed a companion bill (A1967) granting home buyers […]

Sabin Center Files Amicus Brief in Support of New GHG Vehicle Emissions Standards

Following the 2007 landmark Supreme Court case Massachusetts v. EPA, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has regulated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from motor vehicles under the Clean Air Act. These emissions standards were significantly loosened in the last year of the Trump Administration. In 2021 the Biden Administration […]

Electric Resilience Toolkit: A Compilation of Resources to Enhance Climate Resilience Planning by Electric Utilities

This post was co-authored by the Sabin Center’s Romany Webb and Noha Haggag and Michael Panfil of Environmental Defense Fund. Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and the Initiative on Climate Risk and Resilience Law today released an Electric Resilience Toolkit to support […]

Incorporating Climate Change in NEPA Reviews: Recommendations for Reform

  On April 20, 2022, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) finalized revisions to the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The revisions undo changes made to the regulations during the Trump administration, which critics alleged could prevent federal agencies’ considering climate change in NEPA reviews. […]

Local Government Associations File Brief to the Supreme Court in Support of EPA’s Clean Air Act Authority

By Jacob Elkin Today, the Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors in West Virginia v. EPA, a case that is currently before the United States Supreme Court. The case concerns the scope of the United States […]