UPDATED: OMB’s Pause on Climate Grants, Loans, and Other Financial Assistance: Legal Issues and Next Steps for Federal Awardees

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 […]

Trump 2.0, Day One: Considerations for Cities and Community Partners

As expected, a newly sworn-in President Donald Trump spent the afternoon following his inauguration signing executive orders (EOs), many of them intended to unwind climate and environmental initiatives enacted by former President Joe Biden. In the EOs, President Trump orders federal agencies and personnel to take certain actions – or […]

A Duty on Public Bodies to Prioritize Climate Action? Coolglass Windfarm Limited v. An Bord Pleanala

Planning law has proven to be a useful tool for climate activists seeking to block or challenge new fossil fuel developments. However, it has also been used to frustrate efforts to accelerate the renewable energy transition by delaying the construction of new renewable energy infrastructure (see here). Ireland has been […]

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 […]

Trump Executive Orders on Energy and Environment: A Quick Summary

On the evening of the second inauguration of President Trump, the White House released a flurry of executive orders on a wide range of subjects. Several of them specifically concerned energy and the environment. The general thrust of these is to encourage the rapid development of fossil fuel resources and […]

Sabin Center Report Highlights Key Climate Cases and Litigation Themes in 2024

Today, the Sabin Center published a report that looks back on climate litigation developments since the beginning of 2024. This second installment in our year-end series revisits significant cases and rulings from around the world and connects them to overarching themes. The report draws from the Sabin Center’s United States […]

International Governance of mCDR: Small Steps Forward, but Much More Work to do

Late last year, members of the international community convened in London to discuss issues relating to implementation of the 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (“London Convention”) and the 1996 Protocol to that Convention (“London Protocol”). Among the topics up for […]