Trump Administration
Trump is Trying to Make Us Pay More for Gas
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
At a White House photo op last week, surrounded by rich auto executives and congressional Republicans, Trump delivered his latest blow to Americans’ pocketbooks by announcing a policy change that could cost us consumers up to $185 billion when filling up our tanks at the pump. If you’re scratching your head trying to recall this …
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CONTINUE READINGThoughts on COP30
What have we learned about the future of climate negotiations?
we can only expect incremental progress from the U.N. unless or until China takes a leadership role, particularly while the U.S. is also on the sideline. Incremental progress is better than no progress, obviously. But we’re going to have to look elsewhere for productive international action.
Basically, that’s going to have to rely on something less than the international consensus that drives COP. That means doubling down on some other options: bilateral climate agreements between countries, action by coalitions of interested countries, and subnational agreements including states, provinces, and cities around the world.
CONTINUE READINGScience and Democracy
The scientific process is crucial for a well-functioning democracy.
Beyond its utility, science also models some important features of democracy. It aspires to a marketplace of ideas in which everyone with the needed background knowledge can participate, and in which conclusions are based on debate and data rather than power. As a recent D.C. Circuit case illustrates, the law calls on government agencies to make decisions in the same, considering all the scientific evidence and arguments, then providing a reasoned explanation for its decision.
CONTINUE READINGIs Trump Running Out of Ideas?
The hectic pace of the first few months seems to have turned into a slow walk, if not a crawl.
The intimidating scale of Trump’s initial actions has now slipped into the routine of ordinary government, allowing the opposition to recover from its initial paralysis.
One downside of “shock and awe” is that you risk a perception of declining momentum later on. It’s like starting the fireworks show with the grand finale; after you’ve shot off all your big rockets, the rest of the show seems dull, and the audience may just wander away.
Trump’s Baffling Free Pass for Coke Oven Pollution
Even for the Trump Administration, this seems really weird.
Trump just gave coke ovens a free pass for their toxic air pollution. What makes this so weird is not Trump’s reversal of a public policy protecting public health or of an action taken under Biden. Both of those are routine these days. Nor is it weird that Trump did so without the slightest factual basis. That’s also par for the course these days. What is weird is doing this after Trump’s own EPA director, who has no evident scruples about favoring industry, said no. There is no indication Trump was even aware of this fact. And it is even weirder, in that industry didn’t have a compliance problem in the first place and would save only pocket change from the postponement.
CONTINUE READINGEverything is Awesome!
Well, not really, but China’s astonishing progress in curbing emissions points to a technological way forward — and how the United States is being left behind.
There is so much that is awful, so let’s see some good news for once: China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were unchanged from a year earlier in the third quarter of 2025, extending a flat or falling trend that started in March 2024. The rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) saw CO2 emissions from transport fuel drop by 5% …
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CONTINUE READINGYes, Secretary Noem, We Really Do Need FEMA
An advisory committee suggests upgrading FEMA, but Noem still hopes to gut it.
The Washington Post reported yesterday that a special advisory council has recommended that FEMA be strengthened and taken out of DHS. Secretary Noem is unconvinced and seems to be trying to bury the recommendations. She’s wrong. FEMA really is needed, and the reasons tell us a lot about what kinds of reforms make sense. First responders are usually state and local – they’re already nearby – and much of the work of reconstruction is also overseen locally. So why do we need FEMA? Let me count the ways.
CONTINUE READINGTurning Conservative Legal Theories Against Trump
Is the risk of legitimizing bad ideas worth it? Maybe so, under the circumstances.
Conservatives have been obsessed with the idea of a runaway federal government crushing everything in its path. They’ve been successful in promoting ideas to rein in Leviathan, at a time when by our lights the government actually was behaving very reasonably. But now we really do have a rampaging federal government. Conservative ideas could be very useful tools right now, and we shouldn’t hesitate to use them.
CONTINUE READINGThe Lingering Legal Issue of California’s Limits on Vehicle Emissions
The issues are complex, but the state has some strong legal arguments on its side.
The odds are high that the Trump Administration will withdraw California’s power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks – and along with it, California’s effort to become all-electric. This is a crucial issue for the state because transportation accounts for about 40% of the state’s emissions. It’s also crucial for the other states have exercised the option of adopting California standards. The issues are complex, involving an unusual statutory scheme. Here’s what you need to know, and why I think California should win this fight.
CONTINUE READINGGood COP, Bad COP in Belém, Brazil
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
The United Nations mega-conference focused on climate change known as COP (“Conference of the Parties”) is well underway in Belém, Brazil with 193 countries plus the EU, 57 heads of state, 39 ministers and hundreds of governors, mayors, and local officials participating. Two of my UCLA Law colleagues are on the ground in Belém this …
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