A district court granted a group of youths' motion for leave to file a second amended complaint in a lawsuit alleging the U.S. government failed to act on climate change and violated their right to a safe climate. The youths had argued that the government violated their constitutional rights under t...
The D.C. Circuit dismissed industry groups' petitions to review EPA's decision not to reconsider its 2009 finding that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from motor vehicles contribute to climate change and thus endanger public health and welfare. The groups initially petitioned EPA to reconsider its fi...
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.
The D.C. Circuit granted oil and gas groups' petition to review a Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) safety standard that requires their members to install remote-controlled or automatic shut-off valves in some types of new or replaced gas and hazardous liquid pipelines. ...
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a splintered 5-4 decision, affirmed dismissal of a constitutional challenge to a California law that forbids in-state sale of pork meat from breeding pigs that are "confined in a cruel manner." Out-of-state pork producers challenged the law on dormant Commerce Clause groun...
In China, the year 2022 witnessed the further evolution of environmental protection and development of legislation and rulemaking. This mainly included adoption of the Black Soil Protection Law and the Yellow River Protection Law, as well as revision of the Animal Husbandry Law and the Wildlife Protection Law. This Comment summarizes some of the year’s major developments.
The Fifth Circuit, 2-1, affirmed a district court ruling that denied the Sabine River Authority (SRA)-Louisiana's motion to dismiss a lawsuit concerning its release of water from a reservoir on the Sabine River between Texas and Louisiana. Property owners in both states argued that SRA-Louisiana and...
The Hawaii Supreme Court affirmed the Public Utility Commission's (PUC's) decision denying an energy company's request to supply energy to Hawaii Island using a biomass power plant. The company appealed, arguing the PUC misunderstood its mandate and held it to an unfair standard. The court disagreed...
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling granting the state of Minnesota's motion to remand to state court a climate liability lawsuit alleging that fossil fuel producers fraudulently marketed their products and misinformed customers about the dangers of fossil fuel use. Minnesota sued th...
The Fifth Circuit dismissed Louisiana's challenge to the Biden Administration's interim estimates on the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions. Louisiana initially sought to preliminarily enjoin the interim estimates from being used, arguing they were procedurally invalid, arbitrary and capricious...