The Republican-led “anti-ESG” (environmental, social, governance) movement over the last two years has largely been a legislative effort, comprised primarily of state-level bills that attempt to halt the consideration of climate risk and other commonplace factors in investment decisions connected with government funds, contracts, and pensions. Hundreds of these proposals […]
Litigation
47 posts
Today, the Sabin Center filed two amicus briefs—one on behalf of the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and a second on behalf of experts in carbon capture and storage (CCS) science and technology—in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in West Virginia v. […]
Over the past few years, opponents of offshore wind energy have filed at least 15 lawsuits against 5 projects in federal court. One tactic that plaintiffs in these lawsuits sometimes use is to move for a preliminary injunction to halt construction until the court reaches a final decision on the […]
In the first months of 2024, legislators in four states—Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont—have pushed for legislation that would collectively require large fossil fuel producers and refiners to pay for hundreds of billions of dollars of state-level climate adaptation infrastructure. E&E News reports that similar legislation may soon be […]
The Fifth National Climate Assessment recently concluded that, to meet national and international climate targets, United States net greenhouse gas emissions will need to decline by over 6% per year and reach net zero by roughly 2050. In order to achieve this target, the United States will need to greatly […]
As the frequency and number of climate change cases continue to rise, a robust body of legal precedent is forming, shaping a well-defined field of climate law. Today, the United Nations Environment Programme (“UNEP”), with support from the Sabin Center, has published a survey of global climate change litigation that […]
On July 21, 2023, the Sabin Center launched its latest report, Modelling Climate Litigation Risk for (Re)Insurers. This report, which forms part of the Sabin Center’s broader Climate Law and Finance Initiative, provides a toolkit to help academics, attorneys, insurance practitioners, and industry regulators model (re)insurer climate litigation risk. Insurance […]
On Monday, April 17, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit handed down a decision in California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley. The court overturned a District Court ruling to invalidate a Berkeley, California, prohibition on natural gas infrastructure in newly-constructed buildings. Berkeley’s so-called “natural gas […]