ESG Essentials: What You Need To Know Now - Episode 18 - The Reshaping of ESG & DEI
Environmental Agencies, Superfund Cleanups, and Managing Enforcement Actions
Drinking Water on Tap: Money, Morality, and More with Tracy Mehan from the American Water Works Association - Reflections on Water Podcast
In recent years, states and municipalities have attempted to hold fossil fuel companies liable for their alleged impacts on climate change. Numerous states and municipalities have sued fossil fuel companies, alleging that...more
The U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits against New York and several other states, challenging their newly enacted state Superfund laws (Superfund lawsuits). The laws aim to address the environmental damages attributed...more
States are increasingly turning to “Climate Superfund” laws as a potential mechanism to offset the growing costs of climate-related disaster recovery and the construction of more climate change-resilient infrastructure. These...more
From executive orders to state laws, elements of ESG are being transformed. Podcast hosts David Colvin and Karen Davis, who also co-chair the firm’s ESG Practice Group, explore the impact of the New York Climate Change...more
We previously reported on New York State’s enactment of the Climate Change Superfund Act (the “Climate Superfund Act” or the “Act”), groundbreaking legislation that seeks to recover $75 billion from fossil fuel producers for...more
A coalition of industry associations and 22 state attorneys general (AG), led by West Virginia AG JB McCuskey, filed a lawsuit against the State of New York in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York...more
On February 6, 2025, twenty-two states and four energy industry organizations and businesses filed a lawsuit challenging New York’s “climate superfund” law. This law, signed on December 26, 2024 by New York Governor Kathy...more
As climate adaptation and mitigation costs escalate, a wave of state climate superfund legislation is emerging across the United States. This novel approach to climate accountability, pioneered by Vermont and New York,...more
A group of 22 Republican AGs, along with several coal, oil, and gas companies and industry trade associations, sued New York over the state’s Climate Superfund Act, which authorizes the state to levy billions of dollars in...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
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
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
On December 26, 2024, New York enacted a law requiring certain energy companies to contribute cumulatively $75 billion to a climate "superfund" over the next 25 years....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
State governments increasingly engage on climate issues. In search of a new source of funding for hundreds of billions of dollars in anticipated climate adaptation costs, a recent New York state law could impose $75 billion...more
Clean Energy Meets Market Turbulence: A Week of Transformation. China’s EV Milestone: China will hit its 2035 EV sales target by 2025, a decade early—signaling the rapid end of the traditional ICE cars, at least in China. New...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
The 2024 New York State legislative session has concluded. The end of the session was largely overshadowed by Governor Hochul’s directive to the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) to halt the implementation of congestion...more
Vermont passed a first-of-its-kind law requiring energy companies to pay for part of the damages from extreme weather events, but the law likely will face legal challenges....more
Last week, Vermont became the first state to enact a “Climate Superfund” law. As I noted in January, I fear that this will not end well. It seems odd to model a statute on a law frequently given the accolade – deserved, in my...more
In my discussion yesterday of the shortcomings of the Climate Superfund Act, I actually ignored arguably its biggest flaw. While the Act certainly looks much like a tax, I failed to point out that the Act omits what is...more
As I’ve noted many times, criticizing CERCLA is like shooting fish in a barrel. Apparently, however, my criticism is not universally shared. According to WBUR, some legislators around the country are so pleased with how...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM) oversees policy and guidance for the EPA’s hazard response and waste programs. In October 2022, OLEM released its Environmental Justice...more
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) reflects the Biden Administration’s attention to issues of environmental justice and environmental equity. The IRA, directly and indirectly, invests in environmentally overburdened...more
The U.S. Senate on Aug. 7, 2022, passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). This comprehensive legislation is the result of many months of negotiations among Democrats to advance some of President Joe Biden's highest...more