As more advisory services, investment companies, and public companies have publicized their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a set of new rules intended to create a consistent, comparable, and reliable
Law & The Environment
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Montana Youth Plaintiffs Prevail: One-Off or Tidal Wave?
By Seth Jaffe
Yesterday, the plaintiffs prevailed in the Montana climate litigation. Time will tell whether the decision will end up being seen as a watershed moment or just a blip. In trying to answer that question, it does seem worth briefly reviewing…
How Much Are We Willing to Pay to Save the Oregon Spotted Frog?
By Seth Jaffe
Greenwire (subscription required) reported this week that the Fish & Wildlife Service Recovery Plan for the Oregon spotted frog estimates that the cost to achieve recovery of the frog will be roughly $2.7 billion over 40 years. This post isn’t…
Boston Bans Fossil Fuels in New and Renovated City Buildings
By Kevin Chen
On July 31, 2023, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu signed an executive order ending the use of fossil fuels in new construction and major renovations of city-owned buildings. Although city buildings comprise a small percentage of overall carbon emissions in Boston,…
Does EPA Have Authority to Include Narrative Criteria in NPDES Permits? Yes, For Now.
By Seth Jaffe
Earlier this week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed EPA’s NPDES permit issued to San Francisco’s Oceanside sewer system. San Francisco had challenged the permit on the ground that EPA does not have authority to impose narrative prohibitions related…
Proposed NEPA Rules Address Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and Efficiency of Environmental Reviews
By Aaron Lang
On July 28, 2023, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations governing how federal agencies review the environmental effects of major federal projects. The proposed rules follow amendments to NEPA itself…
The EJ Movement Wants to Tighten the NAAQS. Will It Happen?
By Seth Jaffe
The White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council recently weighed in on EPA’s decision whether to lower the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM2.5 and ozone.
Specifically, with respect to PM2.5, WHEJAC recommended that the annual primary standard be lowered…
Can We Afford to Mitigate the Impact of Climate Change? Can We Afford Not To?
By Seth Jaffe
I’ve posted previously about the importance of extreme heat among the impacts of climate change. Much of the popular literature focuses, rightly, on the public health impacts. Without at all minimizing the public health impacts, I thought it worth noting…
Maine Gov. Mills Signs Bill to Procure 3 GW of Offshore Wind by 2040
By Joshua Rosen
Early this afternoon, Governor Janet Mills signed into law LD 1895, legislation directing the state to procure up to 3 GW of offshore wind by 2040. The final version of the procurement bill emerged after several weeks of negotiations…
The Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases Is Increasing — But Is Uncertainty Over the Measurement of Climate Impacts Artificially Depressing the Number?
By Seth Jaffe
Yesterday, Climatewire (subscription required) released a peer review letter on EPA’s Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (SC-GHG), which got a fair bit of press last year, because EPA’s metric was $190/ton, even though the Biden administration was using the $51/ton…