General
The Sleepwalking COP
Thoughts on COP27, this year’s climate conference
It’s two weeks since the end of this year’s annual Conference of the Parties to the international climate treaties, COP27, held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. You might have noticed an odd vagueness in accounts of this year’s COP. These annual meetings are huge media events — understandably, since they are the highest-level international event on …
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CONTINUE READINGRealizing Equitable Outcomes in Climate Action Plan Implementation
As my colleagues Katie Segal, Ted Lamm, and Ross Zelen have described, our team at CLEE released an analysis earlier this month detailing how San Francisco can fund implementation of its Climate Action Plan. Katie provided an overview of the city’s Climate Action Plan (CAP), describing how San Francisco will need to secure tens of billions …
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CONTINUE READINGIs a Green Trade War Brewing?
The Inflation Reduction Act has inflamed trade tensions around the world, just as we predicted in 2015
It is rare that a law professor gets to say with some justification, “I told you so.” But… Wait for it… I did tell you so. Or, more precisely, Mark Wu and I predicted the current conflict pitting the United States against the rest of the world in our 2015 Northwestern Law Review piece, “Next …
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CONTINUE READINGFunding & Financing San Francisco’s Ambitious Climate Action Plan
New CLEE analysis recommends revenue, equity, and implementation measures for city climate action
Cities are leaders in climate policy and planning, and many cities have developed local climate action plans (CAPs) that envision strategies to reduce emissions and increase resilience in a changing climate. Hundreds of local governments in California have adopted such plans, ranging from dense Bay Area cities to rural Central Valley counties. However, few of …
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CONTINUE READINGTomorrow’s Elections: What Enviros Should Watch For
Who will control the House and Senate — and why it matters. [WITH NOV. 10 UPDATE]
Will Biden be able to pass new climate legislation in the next two years? Will EPA be shut down due to budget disputes? Will he be able to add any new judges to balance Trump’s anti-regulatory appointees? Can Biden appoint new administrators to serve the next two years? How much will the Administration be hammered …
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CONTINUE READINGDo Trump-Appointed Judges Differ when Deciding Environmental Cases?
Student analysis identifies disparities in judicial outcomes
(This post was authored by Grayson Peters, a JD candidate at Berkeley Law and CLEE research assistant.) Do federal judges appointed by former President Trump rule differently in environmental disputes than judges appointed by other presidents? An analysis by two Berkeley Law students finds that they do in a few key areas of judicial decision-making. …
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CONTINUE READINGHappy 50th Anniversary, Federal Clean Water Act
One of America’s Foundational Environmental Laws Has Proven Transformational, But Requires Updating a Half-Century Later
The Clean Water Act (CWA), one of the nation’s most important environmental laws, is 50 years old today. It’s proven to be one of the most successful of America’s bedrock federal environmental statutes. But the CWA is far from perfect, needs some important updating, and will probably never fully achieve the aspirational goals Congress proclaimed …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Do Pig Pens Have To Do With Environmental Law?
Constitutional Challenge to California’s Animal Welfare Law Could Have Profound Impacts on State’s Environmental Laws
Today the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in an animal welfare case from California that could have profound, negative impacts on a host of the Golden State’s environmental laws and policies. The case is National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, No. 21-468. The National Pork Producers Council litigation arises from an initiative measure–Proposition …
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CONTINUE READINGHow Much Is Nature Worth?
Federal Government Launches Major Accounting Initiative
When we bite into a juicy apple we may think of the farm’s orchard, but not of the natural pollinators that fertilize the apple blossom so the fruit can set. When we drink a cool glass of water from the tap we may think of the local reservoir, but the real source of the water …
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CONTINUE READINGOn the First Monday in October, the Sacketts Head to the Supreme Court a Second Time
Sackett v. EPA–the Most Important Environmental Case on the Justices’ Current Docket–Will Answer the Key Question of How Far Federal Wetlands Regulation Extends Under the Clean Water Act
Today the U.S. Supreme Court formally begins its 2022-23 Term. First up on the justices’ docket this morning is a major environmental case: Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 21-454. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Over the past half-century, no single CWA issue has proven more contentious and …
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