Climate Litigation

261 posts

Failure To Take Climate Action Is Not Only Morally Wrong, It’s Illegal

Michael Burger Executive Director Today marks the official beginning of the long-anticipated 21st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, in Paris, France. As in the past—Copenhagen in 2009, Kyoto in 1997—hopes are high that government leaders will sign an international agreement that puts the planet on course to avoid […]

Washington State Court Affirms that Climate Change Affects Public Trust Resources but Denies Relief

On November 19, the Washington State Superior Court issued a decision in which it affirmed that climate change affects public trust resources in the state, but ultimately held that the state was fulfilling its public trust obligations by engaging in rulemaking to establish more comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) standards. The […]

Rep. Lamar Smith Accuses NOAA of Potentially Violating Its Own Scientific Integrity Policies, And Threatens “Compulsory Process”

Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) is continuing his campaign for internal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) documents, including new claims from an unnamed whistleblower that NOAA scientists “potentially violat[ed] NOAA’s scientific integrity policies.” Rep. Smith has also now threatened to use an unspecified “compulsory process” to obtain the desired documents […]

Litigation Seeking Climate Scientists’ Emails for “Transparency” Has Been Secretly Paid for by the Coal Industry

In March 2015, an Arizona trial court validated the University of Arizona’s denial of massive records requests by Energy & Environment Legal (“E&E Legal”), which sought 13 years of climate scientists’ emails under Arizona open records laws.[1]  E&E Legal, formerly named the American Tradition Institute, claimed it wanted these emails […]

New Decision from West Virginia Supreme Court on Academic Freedom versus Freedom of Information Laws

The federal Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) and state open record law equivalents are designed to promote government transparency by allowing citizens to request copies of administrative records. Increasingly, they are also used to obtain otherwise private documents from government or public university scientists. FOIA laws can expose misconduct,[1] but […]