Carbon offsets allow polluters to pay someone else to reduce, avoid, or remove emissions to counterbalance their own emissions. For some, carbon accounting concerns render offsets a necessary evil to be tightly regulated on the path toward decarbonization. For others, moral and political concerns render offsets a dangerous mistake to be thrown out of the climate law toolbox.
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In an unpublished order, the Fifth Circuit, 2-1, stayed EPA's disapproval of SIPs submitted by Texas and Louisiana following the Agency's 2015 revision to the ozone NAAQS. The states moved for a stay pending review of EPA's disapproval. The court found a stay was appropriate because the states made ...
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 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...
The U.S. Supreme Court held, 6-3, that Montana landowners' challenge to an easement allowing public access to a road running through their property was not time barred. The landowners sued over the scope of the easement under the Quiet Title Act (QTA), arguing the road's public use intruded on their...
A robust and growing commercial space sector is moving ahead at warp speed. While the industry today primarily offers satellite and launch services, tomorrow will bring manufacturing, research and development, resource extraction, and space tourism. What do these developments mean for the earth’s biosphere, as well as for the environments of other celestial bodies finally within humanity’s reach? This is the role of planetary protection, the principle of safeguarding both terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments from humanity’s propensity for introducing pollution into any habitat.
This Article explores the environmental justice, climate justice, and sustainable development implications of the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act, which encourages domestically produced and processed minerals for the country’s energy transition from fossil fuels.