Federal appeals court strikes down California law regulating natural gas
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Monday struck down a Berkeley, California law that prohibited the installation of natural gas piping in newly constructed buildings. The California Restaurant Association brought suit against the City of Berkeley alleging that the law, enacted in 2020 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, was preempted by Congress’s [...]
EU governments Saturday agreed to implement reforms to the Emissions Trading System (ETS). The reforms aim to reduce industrial emissions and invest in more climate friendly technologies as the EU progresses towards climate neutrality. The EU’s new law highlights its “polluter pays” principle as a way to tackle climate change. As part of the “Fit [...]
Biden administration proposes climate regulations to lower US vehicle emissions
The Biden administration Wednesday unveiled two initiatives aimed at decreasing passenger and heavy duty vehicle emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule making details two initiatives to target greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, applying to model years 2027 to 2032. Those affected by the rule include vehicle manufacturers and vehicle importers. The White House [...]
The First Circuit Court of the State of Hawai’i Thursday rejected a motion to dismiss by the Hawai’i Department of Transportation to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the department is violating the state constitution by failing to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Judge Jeffrey Crabtree ruled that the plaintiffs in the case alleged a viable cause [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Wednesday vacated a preliminary injunction blocking Executive Order 13990. The order re-established an interagency working group to calculate the “social costs of greenhouse gases” for consideration by federal agencies during policymaking. The plaintiffs are a group of Republican-led states, including Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, [...]
Aidana Tastanova is a Kazakhstan national and a 3rd year law student attending the Moscow State Institute of International Relations under a Kazakh government scholarship. Last week Kazakhstan brought an action for violation of environmental protection against North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), the consortium leading development of the country’s massive Kashagan oil field, in the [...]
Biden administration approves $8B Alaska oil development project
The Biden administration Monday officially approved the Willow Project, an $8 billon oil development project proposed by ConocoPhillips in the Alaskan arctic. While proponents of the project lauded the decision as a crucial source of job creation and revenue, some environmental groups and lawmakers derided the project as a “carbon bomb,” which severely undercuts President [...]
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen Wednesday announced the passage the Climate Change Response Act, codifying the nation’s goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The act passed its third reading in January and aims to establish a more well-rounded coping mechanisms in response to climate change while minimising and monitoring the emission of greenhouse gases. [...]
Environmentalists petition for review of US approval of Texas deepwater oil port
A group of environmental activist groups Thursday filed a petition in the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for the review of the US Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) decision to license the Sea Port Oil Terminal located off the coast of Texas. The deepwater terminal is projected to expand oil-production in an oil-rich region of [...]
Law students and law graduates in Pakistan are reporting for JURIST on law-related events in and pertaining to their country. University of London law graduate Seemal Hameed files this dispatch from Islamabad. Climate change is an existential threat to life on earth. The past eight years are on track to be the warmest on record, fuelled [...]
