Governments are increasingly discussing climate change, including resilience to climate impacts and how to promote the energy transition. Less common are governmental commitments to take concrete steps to address climate...more
Below, we break down three recent decisions and explain why the regulated community should pay attention to them: the first from the Southern District of New York in City of New York v. Exxon Mobil Corporation; the second...more
5/24/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
False Advertising ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Human Rights ,
New York ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SCOTUS ,
Sustainability ,
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
The Biden Administration’s embrace of a “whole of government” approach to address environmental justice (EJ) issues occasioned litigation across the country.
One of the hottest series of disputes has been the tag-team...more
On January 31, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued two proposed rules to facilitate the targeting of PFAS.
The first proposed rule would add certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds to...more
In the United States, environmental and public health measures often correlate to variables like education, income, and a community’s racial makeup. In the five decades since Congress began to create comprehensive...more
7/7/2023
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
CERCLA ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Equal Protection ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI ,
Title VII
Executive branch priorities are clearly set out in agency budget requests. While the amount budgeted generally changes when Congress has its say, the original request provides unique insight into how agencies perceive what...more
3/22/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Budgets ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
SCOTUS ,
West Virginia v EPA
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was passed to help citizens stay informed about government activities. While improving the availability of information under FOIA has been a long-term goal for the executive branch,...more
Citizen suits begin with private parties sending “notice letters” to potential defendants apprising them that, if a specified action isn’t done within a certain period, litigation will be filed. A primary purpose of these...more