The Overlooked Precedent Supporting EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases
Even Roberts and Scalia agreed that Mass. v. EPA is the law
An important precedent has been overlooked in the coverage of the Trump EPA’s repeal of the 2009 Endangerment Finding. The 2009 finding was based on Massachusetts v. EPA, in which the Court had held that the Clean Air Act covers air pollution and directed EPA to determine whether greenhouse gases are harmful. One reason to worry about the forthcoming litigation over the repeal is that the conservative Justices all dissented from Massachusetts v. EPA. But there’s an...
CONTINUE READINGA.I. Pollution in the Air — and the Public Comments
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
Artificial intelligence has already replaced some artists, translators, and podcast hosts. Now it’s coming for… concerned citizens? That’s right. AI-assisted campaigns have started flooding the inbox of government agencies that seek to engage with the public. Do you remember last June when the South Coast Air Quality Management District Board killed two common sense clean air quality rules? I do, because I sat on the Zoom and watched hours of IRL public comm...
CONTINUE READINGRecapping “Our Climate Future”: A California Gubernatorial Candidate Forum
How four top candidates plan to tackle affordability, environmental justice, and clean energy and continue California’s leadership
Californians will elect a new governor in November. The race presents state voters with a wider variety of potential outcomes for climate policy–from increased ambition to continuity to changed priorities–than any election since 2010. To help voters understand where the candidates stand on our most pressing environmental challenges, the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment (CLEE) recently co-moderated a gubernatorial forum organized by California Environmental...
CONTINUE READINGCan the Endangerment Finding be Repealed? Not While MASS. v. EPA Still Lives.
On any fair reading of Justice Stevens’s opinion, the Endangerment Finding is valid.
EPA has implicitly admitted defeat in terms of overturning the science behind the Endangerment Finding. Instead, it relies on a series of legal arguments. I tease apart those arguments in a Regulatory Review essay. Here, I want to make a different point: It is impossible to square those arguments with Justice Stevens’s 2007 Supreme Court majority opinion in Massachusetts v. EPA. Below, I’ll prove my point by lining up quotes from the Trump EPA and the Su...
CONTINUE READINGIs China a Climate Hero? It’s complicated
UCLA's Alex Wang explains China's climate strategies and contradictions in his new book, Chinese Global Environmentalism.
Though China was once viewed as a climate villain, the country now dominates the global supply chains of solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles. Just this month, Chinese manufacturer BYD overtook Tesla as the world’s biggest maker of EVs. It’s the latest example of how China’s focus on clean technology is setting the pace for the rest of the world as the Trump administration hits the brakes. This reversal may seem relatively new, but it is actually t...
CONTINUE READINGThe Affirmative Case for Finding Endangerment
Despite hairsplitting by the current EPA, finding endangerment is a no-brainer.
The repeal of the Endangered Finding is shocking mostly because it’s so blatantly wrong. For EPA to decide that vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions aren't harmful is like NASA deciding the earth isn’t round after all. Let’s not get mired in the legal weeds. It’s crazy that this issue is even being raised. In 2007, the Supreme Court told EPA to do two things: (1) consider whether GHGs endanger human health and welfare, and (2) if the answer is yes, regulat...
CONTINUE READINGIn the Cross Hairs
The Right has taken umbrage at some of the important work of environmental law professors and centers.
I’ve posted before about the importance of the work on climate issues coming out of law schools, often from environmental law centers. The fossil fuel industry and its conservative allies seem to have woken up to this fact. Their response is to try to repress this valuable work. This is a backhanded acknowledgement that law schools are making a difference. This campaign has targeted some of the law schools with the most prominent environmental law programs. The ...
CONTINUE READINGHow to Create Permit Certainty?
What might be a good path forward for the FREEDOM Act?
This is the third post in a series looking at the most recent proposed legislation for permit certainty, the FREEDOM Act. Part one, discussing why Congress is considering permit certainty and its importance, is here. Part two, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the bill, is here. The good parts of the bill – making judicial review speedier, setting timeframes for permit decisions that are enforceable by courts – are a step forward. The permit revocati...
CONTINUE READINGAnalyzing the FREEDOM Act
Permit certainty bill has beneficial judicial review provisions, but problematic provisions for damages and compensation.
This is the second post in a series on the FREEDOM Act, a bill in the House of Representatives to address the issue of permit certainty. Part one, explaining why permit certainty is now a hot topic in Congress, is here. All of the reforms in the FREEDOM Act turn on the creation of a timing structure, under which an applicant gets a determination by the agency that their application is complete, which in turn starts a clock that runs for the agency to make a decisi...
CONTINUE READINGThe FREEDOM Act and Permit Certainty
Permit certainty bill has potential, but also some problems that could make it unworkable
As one advocate for permitting reform aptly noted, “permit certainty” is now a prerequisite for any action on permitting reform in this Congress. That’s because the Trump Administration’s war on renewable energy means that Democrats have no desire to do a deal that would not, in practice, make a difference for investment in new clean energy sources, whether on federal land or private land. Permit certainty refers to a range of possible concepts, from ensurin...
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
