Courts across the globe recognize that human-induced climate change leads to more frequent and severe extreme weather and other events, resulting in significant damages to persons and property. Although courts have therefore ordered countries and corporations to take more aggressive actions to limit their greenhouse gas emissions, no court has yet required any emitter to pay damages for injuries from a climate changerelated event. Causation issues remain a significant obstacle to such claims.

We are told the transition to a zero-carbon economy will depend upon the United States’ ability to assure a sufficient supply of rare earths and minerals such as cobalt, nickel, or lithium. The Biden Administration is intent on promoting some new form of a critical mineral policy, and calls for reforming the 1872 Mining Law have persisted for well over one hundred years. This Article is designed to provoke a meaningful conversation about a critical minerals policy informed by our past.

Environmentally conscious financiers are increasingly pursuing green ventures, especially through green bonds and stocks, social investing, and social benefit corporations. On September 21, 2021, the Environmental Law Institute hosted a panel of experts for its Environmental Law and Finance Series that explored the regulatory process for green bonds and stocks, best practices for advising stakeholders and clients interested in green bonds, and the opportunities and challenges of leveraging green financial tools to combat climate change.

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.

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.

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.