Litigation
I Skipped NY Climate Week and Read These Books Instead
The Drain is a roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
Climate World descended on New York City this week for the annual mad dash of panel discussions, press briefings, newsmaker interviews, influencer gatherings, and sponsored parties that is NY Climate Week, but I stayed home and read books instead. To be more specific, I went to my local bookstore (Village Well in Culver City!) …
Continue reading “I Skipped NY Climate Week and Read These Books Instead”
CONTINUE READINGUCLA Law Clinics File Brief in the “Mecheros” Case
UCLA’s Human Rights Litigation Clinic and Environmental Law Clinic represent experts in a long-running case that seeks to stop harmful gas flaring in Ecuador.
Guest Contributors Incia Haider and Enrique Garcia are J.D. candidates of UCLA School of Law, ‘27. This month, the Human Rights Litigation Clinic and the Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic at UCLA School of Law filed an amicus brief with the Constitutional Court of Ecuador on behalf of a group of law professors and international legal scholars: our own Kate Mackintosh of UCLA Law, …
Continue reading “UCLA Law Clinics File Brief in the “Mecheros” Case”
CONTINUE READINGThe Polluter-Pays Principle and Its Enemies
An essay by Alejandro Camacho and Robert L. Glicksman on corporate fraud, weaponizing preemption, and the survival of climate accountability.
This post by Alejandro Camacho and Robert L. Glicksman is an excerpt from an article first published in the University of Chicago Law Review. On the morning of December 30, 2021, the Marshall Fire ignited in Boulder County, Colorado. Driven by hurricane-force winds and fueled by vegetation desiccated by years of drought, it burned more than six …
Continue reading “The Polluter-Pays Principle and Its Enemies”
CONTINUE READINGThe EPA Power Plant Rule Repeal Don’t Make No Sense
The Drain is a roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
The hair-on-fire news this week was the Environmental Protection Agency announcing that it is repealing rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and fossil gas. I saw the headline (“EPA Poised to Repeal Carbon Rules for Coal, Gas Power Plants“) on Sunday evening, when Zahra Hirji, Jen Dlouhy, and …
Continue reading “The EPA Power Plant Rule Repeal Don’t Make No Sense “
CONTINUE READINGThe Rise and Fall of an Energy Emergency
Frantic federal efforts to keep uneconomical coal plants from closing met their doom in a new court decision.
According to the Department of Energy, decrepit coal-fired power plants had to be kept open to avoid “unacceptable reliability risks within five years” unless something changed. You could be forgiven for thinking that calling this hypothetical situation an emergency was something of a stretch. The legality of the orders reached the D.C. Circuit in a Michigan case involving a coal plant that seemingly everyone except Trump wanted to close. The court found no basis for the order. The opinion avoids directly calling out the government’s abuse of power. Instead, it keeps focused on basic issues of statutory interpretation. The statute clearly didn’t give DOE anything like the authority to take over the power system that it was claiming.
CONTINUE READINGThe Legal Planet Guide to Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County
UCLA Law experts explain everything you need to know about Suncor v. Boulder as the climate case heads to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court hears oral arguments on October 5, 2026 in Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County. The plaintiffs in this case are local governmental entities in the State of Colorado that face substantial and rising costs to mitigate the impacts of climate change in the form of heat waves, wildfires, droughts, and …
Continue reading “The Legal Planet Guide to Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County”
CONTINUE READINGThe National Security Scam
Just about everything gets labeled an emergency or national security threat these days. The courts may be starting to catch on.
The Trump Administration invokes national security and declares national emergencies to justify all manner of actions such as excusing violation of environmental laws. Past Administrations have gotten strong deference for their emergency claims. But this one may be quickly using up its credibility. You can pass a certain number of counterfeit bills, but a flood of counterfeits is hard to hide.
CONTINUE READINGJudge Smacks Down EPA’s Attempt to Revoke Six of California’s Waivers
She calls EPA’s legal arguments Orwellian.
Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is having none of EPA’s shenanigans in the agency’s most recent attempt to revoke four of California’s waivers to cut pollution from vehicles. On Wednesday, Howell issued a preliminary injunction — accompanied by a stinging opinion – ordering the agency to …
Continue reading “Judge Smacks Down EPA’s Attempt to Revoke Six of California’s Waivers”
CONTINUE READINGClimate at SCOTUS, Electrification Victories, Media Moves
The Drain is a regular roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
It’s not every year that climate change looms large at the U.S. Supreme Court, but it will this coming term. The Supreme Court will begin its 2026-2027 term with a case brought by a Colorado county seeking millions of dollars from oil and gas companies for their role in exacerbating climate change. The justices announced recently …
Continue reading “Climate at SCOTUS, Electrification Victories, Media Moves”
CONTINUE READINGUCLA Law Clinic Files Brief Supporting DC’s Clean Buildings Act in DC Circuit
Energy law experts explain local governments’ longstanding primary authority over local gas distribution and use.
Last Friday, UCLA’s Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic filed a DC Circuit brief in support of the District of Columbia’s Clean Buildings Act on behalf of 11 leading energy and environmental law professors: UCLA’s own William Boyd, Lincoln Davies at the University of Utah, Dan Farber and Sharon Jacobs at UC Berkeley, Alexandra Klass …
Continue reading “UCLA Law Clinic Files Brief Supporting DC’s Clean Buildings Act in DC Circuit”
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
The Drain is a roundup of climate and environmental news from Legal Planet delivered to your Inbox once a week.
