Last week, Texas v. BlackRock (E.D. Tex.), the first antitrust case challenging climate collaborations by financial institutions, reached an initial resolution. Texas Attorney General (“AG”) Ken Paxton announced that one of three institutional-investor defendants, Vanguard, had settled. As part of the settlement, Vanguard pledged not to “direct” its portfolio companies’ […]
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While federal policy can have a significant impact on renewable energy development, local policy—and local sentiment—can be just as consequential. Between 2018-2023, at least 30% of utility-scale wind and solar projects were cancelled during the siting process, largely because of community opposition, local ordinances, and zoning. For the last five […]
The reconciliation process for the fiscal year 2025 federal budget is underway and, unsurprisingly, various provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) are at risk. On May 11, 2025, the House Committee on Energy & Commerce introduced proposed text for the reconciliation bill, which will be considered at […]
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), one of the most critical climate spending programs in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), has come under significant fire from the Trump administration. In the span of twenty days, EPA has blocked GGRF awardees from accessing their grant accounts, made baseless accusations of program-wide […]
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 […]
On Monday, January 27, 2025, the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Memorandum-25-13 relating to a “Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan, and Other Financial Assistance Programs.” The memo references several of President Trump’s January 20 executive orders (EOs), including the “Unleashing American Energy” EO. It directs federal […]
Over the last five years, at least 25 states have expressly preempted local governments from enacting requirements, or even incentives, to construct new buildings that do not rely on natural gas as a fuel source. On December 6, 2024, two local governments finally fought back in court. Seattle and King […]
In a blog post last month, I wrote about the growing interest in ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR), and the complex legal issues it raises. Much of the legal complexity surrounding ocean CDR stems from the fact that the ocean is a shared resource in which all countries, both coastal […]