[Podcast] Catching Up on Canadian Environmental Regulation
The Great Green North: A Discussion on Canada’s Environmental Regulations
Recent Actions on Ag Biotech by EPA’s Emerging Technologies Branch
In this month’s update, we’re discussing cases involving climate change, hurricanes, cryptocurrency, and aerial spraying. We begin in Hawaii where that state’s high court became the first to decide whether greenhouse gas...more
This week, the Hawaii Supreme Court--in response to certified questions of law from the federal district court in Hawaii--held that the insurance policies purchased by fossil fuel companies in Hawaii would not provide...more
The ACOEL webpage “About Us” states that we are to be “Advocates for environmental law and process for a better environmental future.” Allow me to throw down this gauntlet to Members: What “better environmental future” is the...more
On May 21, 2024, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) published what has been deemed as an “historic” and “unprecedented” advisory opinion on climate change, international law, and on state obligations...more
On April 25, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") finalized four rules to regulate pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. EPA's stated goal was to provide a framework on which power plants can rely for...more
The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently finalized a rule to significantly reduce on-site fossil fuel–generated energy consumption in federal buildings with a required reduction of 90% for new construction or major...more
On January 9, 2024, a Delaware state court judge issued his opinion on the various motions to dismiss filed in the case brought by the State of Delaware against the major fossil fuel companies. (This case is one of...more
In recent years, the global concentration of methane present in the atmosphere has increased dramatically. In fact, in 2021, methane increased by almost 18 parts per billion in the atmosphere, the largest single year increase...more
On August 14, 2023, a Montana state court issued a first-of-its-kind judgment in the United States in favor of young plaintiffs in climate litigation. The action Held v. Montana featured 16 youth plaintiffs alleging that...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
Confusion persists among industry stakeholders regarding the correct structuring approach to renewables. The truth is that renewables traverse sectors and is not a sector itself. Electrical power generated through sustainable...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing actions to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from new and existing fossil-fuel-fired power plants in a bid to expedite the U.S. clean energy transition....more
On January 9, 2023, the Council for Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) published interim National Environmental Policy Act Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change (hereafter, “guidance” or “GHG...more
A recently-issued multi-agency report highlights a path for the U.S. government to replace fossil fuel-based jet fuel with renewable sources to address climate change and encourage infrastructure development. The U.S....more
On June 29, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an arcane portion of the Clean Air Act (“CAA”), infrequently used by the EPA, could not serve as appropriate delegation of legislative authority to regulate greenhouse gas....more
EPA’s latest proposed rule targeting NOx emissions from fossil-fueled electric generating units (EGUs) is a classic study of diminishing returns. It marks the seventh round of NOx controls for the EGU sector since 1990. The...more
On April 28, 2022, the California Attorney General launched an investigation into the “fossil fuel and petrochemical industries for their role in causing and exacerbating the global plastics pollution crisis.” As a first...more
New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) was enacted in 2019 to eliminate 100% of climate pollution caused by humans in New York State. The CLCPA set a target of 85% reduction in greenhouse gas...more
Over the past number of weeks, a variety of legislative proposals, from both sides of the aisle, have been released that, if enacted, could drastically impact the US energy industry and, in many cases, the taxation of energy...more
Focus - U.S. judge bars Trump administration from approving hydraulic fracturing off California coast pending further environmental review - SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE - Nov 9 A federal judge last Friday barred the Trump...more