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Renewable Portfolio Standard Outcomes and the Dormant Commerce Clause

Over the last few decades, 30 states and Washington, D.C., have enacted renewable portfolio standard (RPS) programs. These programs vary substantially, with most states having a restriction or preference with respect to whether renewables are located in-state or in-region. This Article takes a cross-disciplinary approach to analyzing these programs: first, by looking at how geographic limitations may run afoul of the dormant Commerce Clause (DCC); and second, by considering empirical research on how geographic provisions affect RPS programs’ cost-effectiveness.

EU Carbon Border Adjustments and WTO Law, Part Two

In July 2021, the European Commission published a proposal for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), part of a wider package of laws aimed at implementing the European Union (EU) Green Deal. The exact design of the CBAM is in flux, and priorities will have to be set. The chief concern is the compatibility of a CBAM with the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This Article explores whether and how the various CBAM design options under consideration can be reconciled with WTO requirements, focusing on a possible import border adjustment scheme.

Rebutting Administrator Wheeler's Denial of a NAAQS for Greenhouse Gases

In 2009, when carbon dioxide (CO2) levels were at 387.43 parts per million, the Center for Biological Diversity and 350.org submitted a citizen petition calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take steps necessary to institute a national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under §§108-110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). For 12 years, the petition was simply ignored. Then, the day President Donald Trump left office, outgoing EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler issued a letter denying the petition.

Hoboken, City of v. Exxon Mobil Corp.

A district court remanded to state court a climate liability lawsuit brought by the city of Hoboken, New Jersey, against large oil and gas companies. The city filed suit in state court, alleging the companies' decades-long campaign to downplay the effect of fossil fuel usage on climate change had da...

Missouri v. Biden

A district court dismissed a challenge to the president's Executive Order No. 13990, which established an interagency working group on the social cost of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and directed the group to publish interim estimates for the social costs of GHG emissions. Thirteen states challenged the ...

Connecticut v. Exxon Mobil Corp.

A district court remanded to state court a climate liability lawsuit brought by the state of Connecticut against an oil company. Connecticut sued the company in state court, asserting eight claims under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. The company removed the suit to federal court based o...

BP P.L.C. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore

The U.S. Supreme Court held, 7-1, that an appellate court erred in concluding it lacked jurisdiction to consider all of energy companies' grounds for removing to federal court a climate liability lawsuit brought against them. The city of Baltimore sued in state court, arguing the companies concealed...

Exxon Mobil Corp.

The D.C. Circuit denied an oil company's petition for permission to appeal a district court order remanding to a local District of Columbia court a climate change lawsuit brought against it., full_html...

California v. Environmental Protection Agency

The D.C. Circuit granted the Biden Administration's motion to voluntarily vacate and remand the Trump Administration's 2021 rule limiting facilities that the U.S. government could regulate for greenhouse gas emissions., full_html...