Environmental advocates challenge permit for Centralia coal plant
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:34 Eastern
On November 2, EarthJustice filed a petition asking the EPA to block the renewal of an air pollution permit for TransAlta Corporation’s coal-burning power plant in Centralia, Washington. The Southwest Clean Air Agency (“SWCAA”) had
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SEC's Division of Corporate Finance revises guidelines for shareholder proposals covering climate risks
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:47 Eastern
On October 27, 2009, the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance revised its guidelines regarding the grounds on which a public company can exclude from its proxy materials shareholder proposals relating to environmental, financial or health risks,
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EPA rejects permit for BP Whiting refinery
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:07 Eastern
On October 16, responding to a petition filed by environmental groups, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson objected to the operating permit issued by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) for BP Nor
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US Chamber of Commerce, National Automobile Dealers Association Seek Review of EPA Decision Allowing States to Regulate Emissions
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:53 Eastern
The US Chamber of Commerce and National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) have filed a petition seeking review of the EPA’s decision to allow states to regulate automobile emissions. In a Nonbinding Statement of Issues filed Oct. 13, 2009,
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Fifth Circuit reverses Comer, joins Second Circuit in approving tort-based climate litigation
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:54 Eastern
In a long-awaited appellate decision in Comer v Murphy Oil, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Friday found that tort-based global warming litigation against insurance, oil, coal and chemical companies presents justiciable cl
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Kivalina global warming litigation dismissed on political question grounds
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:34 Eastern
In a carefully watched case in the Northern District of California, Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong has issued a ruling dismissing the Kivalina climate change lawsuit on grounds that: (1) it raises a non-justiciable political question, and (2) plaintif
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New York Green Building Construction Act shifts responsibility for setting green building standards
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:33 Eastern
New York Governor David Paterson recently signed into legislation the State Green Building Construction Act. The Act amends previous green building legislation by affording the Office of General Services (“OGS”) the responsibility of prom
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Public Citizen lawsuit seeks to require Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to regulate greenhouse gases
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:40 Eastern
On Tuesday, the environmental group Public Citizen filed a lawsuit against the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”) seeking to require it to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The lawsuit is believed to be t
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Petition asks EPA to regulate GHG emissions from "factory farms" under Clean Air Act
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:19 Eastern
The Humane Society and a coalition of other environmental groups have filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that seeks to classify factory farms as a source of greenhouse gases and regulate them accordingly under the Clean A
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US State Department sued over permit approval for "Alberta Clipper" tar sands oil pipeline
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:23 Eastern
Four environmental and Native American advocacy groups have filed suit challenging the US State Department’s August approval of Enbridge Energy’s plans to build the Alberta Clipper tar sands pipeline. The pipeline would pump 450,000 barre
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What's Next in Connecticut v. AEP? Causation?
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:03 Eastern
The Second Circuit's decision remanding Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co. (see previous post) to the district court raises the specter of future causation battles. Notably, the Second Circuit relied heavily on statements
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Second Circuit reversal in Connecticut v. American Electric Power enables significant climate change litigation to proceed
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:38 Eastern
In a long-awaited decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has reversed the district court's decision in Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co. (“AEP”), a public nuisance lawsuit filed by eight state attorneys gen
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Lawsuit targeting Dominion Virginia coal-fired power plant forces revised permit, but GHG emissions challenge unsuccessful
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:41 Eastern
A recent victory for environmental activists in a lawsuit against Dominion Virginia Power may turn out to be less significant than it first appeared. The case, filed in Richmond Circuit Court by the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition, challenged the
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Lawsuit alleges California's cap-and-trade plan fails to minimize GHG emissions
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:10 Eastern
A lawsuit by several environmental advocacy groups against the California Air Resources Board (CARB) (09-509562) continues to wend its way through the San Francisco Superior Court, with a scheduled hearing on the Environmental Defense Fund’s mo
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Tennessee Valley Authority ordered by EPA to revise permit for coal-fired plant
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:50 Eastern
The US Environmental Protection Agency has sided with environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity, and ruled that a permit for a Tennessee Valley Authority coal-fired plant in Drakesboro, Kentucky fail
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Ohio Edison agrees to repower coal plant with biomass, reducing carbon emissions
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:47 Eastern
Ohio Edison Company has agreed, as part of a consent decree, to retrofit one of its coal-fired power plants to use primarily biomass. The agreement was reached in federal court in the Southern District of Ohio and announced by the US Justice Departme
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NYU Law School sponsors cap-and-trade petition; proposes market-based approach to controlling motor vehicle emissions
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:22 Eastern
The Institute for Policy Integrity (IPI), a nonprofit advocacy think-tank organization at NYU School of Law, has filed a petition for rulemaking with Lisa P. Jackson, the Administrator of the EPA. The petition proposes a cap-and-trade system to contr
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National Research Council recommends use of "full fuel cycle" measurements in setting appliance efficiency standards
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:17 Eastern
The National Research Council (NRC), part of the National Academy of Sciences, recently released a report advising the Department of Energy (DOE) to update its criteria for setting appliance energy-efficiency standards. The new analysis would incorpo
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Green Patents: The patent system's "fuel of interest" and the promotion of technological innovation
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:50 Eastern
*Co-authored with Cyrus Frelinghuysen.
IPLaw360 recently reported that Clean Energy Patents Reached a New High in Q2. According to the most recent Clean Energy Patent Growth Index report, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issued 274 “g
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Chamber of Commerce seeks public hearing on scientific evidence of climate change; EPA calls request a "waste of time"
Global Climate Law Blog's Newsfeed
Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:22 Eastern
Yesterday the Los Angeles Times reported that “[t]he US Chamber of Commerce, trying to ward off potentially sweeping federal emissions regulations, is pushing the Environmental Protection Agency to hold a rare public hearing on the scientific e
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