Access to water is a fundamental climate change issue in North America and internationally. It is related to significant political, social, and ecological struggles that indigenous peoples face, and governments and courts so far have done little to address these inequities.
Climate change has important implications for the management and conservation of natural resources and public lands. The federal agencies responsible for managing these resources have generally recognized that considerations pertaining to climate change adaptation should be incorporated into existing planning processes, yet this topic is still treated as an afterthought in many planning documents. Only a few federal agencies have published guidance on how managers should consider climate change impacts and their management implications.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed in part a lower court's decision that a climate scientist may go forward with his defamation suit against two journalists for writing articles that criticized his conclusions about climate change and accused him of deception and academic and scientific misconduct. The journ...
A district court adopted a magistrate judge's recommendations and denied motions to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a group of young people against the U.S. government for failing to protect them from climate change. The plaintiffs alleged that the government has known for decades that carbon dioxide (...
The Ninth Circuit upheld NMFS' decision to list a distinct population segment (DPS) of the Pacific bearded seal under the ESA based on future impacts of climate change. Using climate projections, NMFS determined that even though the species is not presently endangered, the loss of sea ice over shall...
A New York court ordered an oil company and its financial consultant to turn over documents in response to a subpoena issued by the New York Attorney General in connection with his investigation of the company's alleged misrepresentations about the impact of climate change on the company's business....
A district court ordered an oil company and the Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) to produce more documents in a suit involving a civil investigative demand (CID) over the company's alleged attempts to cover up research about climate change so that the court could determine whether the case should...
Massachusetts' highest court held that the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) failed to issue regulations setting limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as required by Massachusetts' Global Warming Solutions Act §3(d). DEP claimed it complied with its statutory mandate by establi...
A magistrate judge recommended that a district court deny motions to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a group of young people against the U.S. government for failing to protect them from climate change. The plaintiffs alleged that the government has known for decades that carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution ...
A Washington court held that the public trust doctrine applies to the protection of the atmosphere, including limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but denied minors' petitions for stricter GHG regulations because the state agency has already commenced rulemaking. The court held that the state h...