The European Union’s (EU’s) recent proposal for a new regulation on EV batteries is a groundbreaking effort, the first to focus on the entire value chain to improve product sustainability and safety throughout the life cycle. Battery producers inside and outside of the EU will have to meet a series of requirements, starting from carbon footprint declaration and related labeling to complying with life-cycle carbon footprint thresholds, for having their products placed in the EU market.

The name of the climate game right now is fast, sustained progress. The world needs this both politically and technologically to effectively fight climate change. Progress was achieved both politically and technologically with the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), which allocated $369 billion to “energy security and climate change,” amounting to the United States’ largest investment in climate action to date.

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.

In January 2021, the mining sector was made eligible for coverage under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41) program, a pilot project designed to expedite federal permitting. Although mining projects have been eligible for over two years, only recently was the first one posted on the Permitting Dashboard.

As population growth and increased electrification rapidly raise demand for power, U.S. electric grids are struggling to keep pace, and the need for more transmission capacity is pressing. The U.S. Congress has delegated its interstate commerce authority to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to regulate interstate transmission rates. Meanwhile, states regulate intrastate transmission rates. What is perhaps surprising, though, is the fact that states generally have authority over the siting and construction of interstate transmission lines.

More severe storms and rising sea levels resulting from the changing climate pose a threat to ecosystems along the U.S. coast. These include beaches, dunes, wetlands, and marshes, which provide significant environmental, recreational, and economic benefits. Practices to sustain these ecosystems are available, but are not well understood, face legal and financial obstacles, and have not been widely implemented. On January 25, 2023, the Environmental Law Institute hosted a panel of experts who explored measures and practices for sustaining beaches and dunes in the face of a changing climate.

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.

The global transition to a carbon-neutral economy will bring about a surging demand for land and for minerals required in renewable energy technologies. It brings the threat of conflict between those seeking to develop these resources and those who live on the lands and risk displacement, loss of livelihood, and environmental contamination. These risks are particularly acute in Sub-Saharan Africa, though many Sub-Saharan countries have adopted legislation to prevent and peacefully resolve disputes.

In 2015, the United Nations Member States, including the United States, unanimously approved 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. In a forthcoming book, leading legal scholars examine each of the SDGs and recommend a suite of government, private-sector, and civil society actions to help the United States achieve these goals. This Article is adapted from Chapter 7 of that book, Governing for Sustainability (John C. Dernbach & Scott E. Schang eds., ELI Press, forthcoming 2023).

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 added seven new sections to the Clean Air Act (CAA) and provided the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with substantial new authorities and resources. This Article examines these new amendments and the EPA-related provisions of the IRA, and explains the major implications of this historic legislation.