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Judicial Remedies for Climate Disruption

This Article, adapted from the Climate Science and Law for Judges Curriculum, examines the status and viability of judicial remedies in climate change litigation. It focuses on climate cases that are seeking science-based remedies specifically related to climate mitigation (actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or draw down atmospheric carbon) and climate-change adaptation (actions to reduce the negative impacts of climate disruption on human and natural communities).

West Virginia, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Future of Climate Policy

In June 2022, in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that on “major questions” the U.S. Congress must legislate with far more clarity and specificity than previously demanded. The Court held the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may regulate power plant carbon emissions in traditional ways, but the novel approach taken in the Clean Power Plan required clearer authorization than Congress had provided. Six weeks later, Congress enacted the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

88 FR 41477

FERC adopted a reporting requirement to direct transmission providers to file one-time informational reports describing their current or planned policies and processes for conducting extreme weather vulnerability assessments.

88 FR 41262

FERC directed the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to develop a new or modified reliability standard to address reliability concerns pertaining to transmission system planning for extreme heat and cold weather events that impact the reliable operation of the bulk-power system.

88 FR 36349

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy notified the Earth Observations community that a draft of the congressionally-mandated National Plan for Civil Earth Observations will be released for a short national review period in Summer 2023.

This Permit Reform Already Works. Why Aren't More Mining Projects Using It?

In January 2021, the mining sector was made eligible for coverage under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41) program, a pilot project designed to expedite federal permitting. Although mining projects have been eligible for over two years, only recently was the first one posted on the Permitting Dashboard.

Climate Compliance Versus Action 2023

The Inflation Reduction Act and Federal Buy Clean Initiative have each inspired states and municipalities to regulate embodied carbon (Scope 3) using “Buy Clean” policies and legislation. Reducing embodied carbon has become mainstream, and environmental product declarations (EPDs) have surfaced as the tool. Are EPDs alone enough? Is the compliance timeline sufficient? On February 1, 2023, the Environmental Law Institute hosted a panel of experts that provided an update on Buy Clean policy, green funding, the status of carbon emissions, and a primer on EPDs.

88 FR 35841

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office expanded the Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program to include innovations in any economic sector that are designed to make progress toward achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, increased the filing limitations for petitions under the program, and extended the duration of the program.

88 FR 34419

DOE issued an interim final rule establishing regulations necessary to implement the Energy Implementation Reinvestment Program and other categories of projects authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for Energy Policy Act Title XVII loan guarantees; revising provisions directly related to DOE’s implementation of the Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program as expanded by the IRA; amending provisions to conform with the broader changes to the program; and revising certain sections for clarity and organization.

88 FR 31773

HUD and USDA announced and seek comment on a preliminary determination regarding energy efficiency standards for new construction of HUD- and USDA-financed housing as a first step to require compliance with these standards in HUD and USDA housing covered by the Energy Independence and Security Act.