Among the 37 executive orders signed by President Trump in his first week in office, there are several that address the regulation of energy and the environment. While it may be too soon to know the lasting effect of these...more
In a decisive shift from the prior administration’s energy policies, President Trump has enacted a series of executive orders aimed at bolstering domestic fossil fuel production and overhauling the permitting process for...more
On December 26, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law S02129B, also known as the New York Climate Change Superfund Act (Act). This law is modeled after the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more
A number of the new administration’s executive actions are intended to implement a significant shift in energy and environmental policy, including the following, all issued on January 20, 2025. “Unleashing American Energy”...more
President Trump began his second term by issuing a barrage of executive orders, memoranda, and other directives, many of which targeted U.S. energy policy and the federal employees who implement it. Trump had campaigned on...more
The first day of any presidential administration is filled with both ceremony and bureaucracy. The first day of the second Trump Administration was no different....more
On the evening of the second inauguration of President Trump, the White House released a flurry of executive orders on a wide range of subjects. Several of them specifically concerned energy and the environment. The general...more
On December 26, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Climate Change Superfund Act (“CCSA” or the “Act”) into law. The law requires certain fossil fuel producers and refiners with sufficient connections to New York...more
Yesterday, at his Senate confirmation hearing, Chris Wright, nominee for U.S. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary, advocated for a forward-thinking “all-of-the-above” energy strategy, integrating fossil fuels with...more
With the incoming Trump administration poised for an attack on federal environmental regulations, states are quickly emerging with actions on climate change. On December 26, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into...more
In a “paradigm shift in environmental liability,” some states are seeking to legislate financial responsibility on large coal and oil & gas companies for the public costs associated with strengthening infrastructure against...more
On July 1, 2024, Vermont’s Climate Superfund Act (S 259) went into effect. The law, which is the first of its kind, imposes strict liability on fossil fuel extractors and crude oil refiners who are accountable for 1 billion...more
Greenwashing Beef Production - On February 28, New York State Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James filed a lawsuit with the New York Supreme Court against meat processing company JBS USA for misleading the public about its...more
About the same as what happened at COP27. The 70,000+ fabulists, opportunists, and assorted acolytes comprising the congregation of the Church of Our Holy Mother of the Suffering Planet celebrated another high mass in,...more
On September 16, 2023, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against five of the world’s largest oil and gas companies for allegedly denying or downplaying the harm caused by fossil fuels on climate change....more
On September 8, 2023, the United Nations published its first Global Stocktake report on the progress made by nations in addressing climate change. The report, which represents the first comprehensive assessment of nearly 200...more
On July 25, 2023, Representative Ted Lieu and 19 other Democratic lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, requesting that the Department of Justice...more
Oregon’s most populous county, and home to Portland, sued more than a dozen oil, gas, and coal companies for over $50 million in damages related to a 2021 “heat dome” the county alleges was caused by the defendants’...more
The UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) recently released its 2023 statutory report, evaluating the UK’s progress towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and meeting carbon reduction targets. This report, mandated by the...more
In a civil suit filed in Oregon state court in June 2023, an Oregon county is suing more than a dozen large oil, gas and coal companies, seeking more than $50 million in damages, in connection with a 2021 “heat dome” and...more
The explosion and fire of a tanker truck just north of Center City Philadelphia, leading to the collapse of sections of Interstate 95, one of the most heavily traveled roads in the United States and the chief highway...more
On May 9, 2023, Greenpeace, fellow climate change activist group ReCommon and 12 Italian citizens from regions affected by impacts of climate change announced their intention to file a first-of-its-kind lawsuit in Italy...more
In early April, the climate activist shareholder group, Follow This, filed shareholder resolutions seeking stronger energy transition strategies from several oil “super-majors.” The resolutions have been filed in advance of...more
A trial has been scheduled for June 12 in a case involving climate-related constitutional challenges to actions by the State of Montana, its governor, and various state agencies. In Held v. Montana, sixteen Montana...more
House Approves Republican Energy Package - Four Democrats joined with all Republicans to approve, in a 225-204 vote, a massive House energy bill on March 30. While the bill will almost certainly not advance in the Senate,...more