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Law and the Environment

Our blog provides perspective on developments in environmental law and policy - which developments may matter to you, and how and why they matter. Whether you are a manufacturer or a power plant developer, a renewable energy developer or hoping to be a renewable energy consumer, this blog offers commentary on current issues that are important to your business.

Trump’s EPA Abandons Climate Action
Blog February 13, 2026
Yesterday, the EPA published a final rule repealing the agency’s 2009 Endangerment Finding, the legal foundation for federal greenhouse gas regulation…
Can the Administration Persuade States Not to Bring Climate Litigation?
Blog January 30, 2026
Last year, the United States sued the State of Michigan, seeking a preemptive court order preventing Michigan from filing suit against firms in the “fossil fuel industry”…
The Prospects For Climate Change Litigation Against the United States Government Continue to Dim
Blog October 21, 2025
Last year, when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a mandamus petition and ordered that the complaint in Juliana v. United States be dismissed for the second time, I acknowledged that I had become more skeptical about the prospects for citizens’ climate litigation…
Trump Administration Sues Four States to Block Climate Superfund Legislation and Climate Deception Litigation
Blog May 09, 2025
As we have noted previously, a number of states have enacted legislation and/or brought claims against fossil fuel producers seeking payment for damages resulting from climate change…
More on Climate Superfund Laws and Litigation
Blog January 13, 2025
Last week, we posted about New York State’s enactment of the Climate Change Superfund Act. We promised to continue to monitor developments concerning climate superfund legislation and to update readers as necessary. It’s been less than a week, and here we are…
One More Problem with the Climate Superfund Act
Blog January 30, 2024
In my discussion yesterday of the shortcomings of the Climate Superfund Act, I actually ignored arguably its biggest flaw…
Montana Youth Plaintiffs Prevail:  One-Off or Tidal Wave?
Blog August 15, 2023
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 what the case was actually about and what the decision says.  First, it's important to acknowledge that the decision's formal reach is limited…
The Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases Is Increasing  But Is Uncertainty Over the Measurement of Climate Impacts Artificially Depressing the Number?
Blog July 17, 2023
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 figure originally developed by the Obama administration.  The peer reviewers' views can be distilled down to two major points: It's a really solid piece of work that provide a solid technical foundation for the SC-GHG…
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ABOUT

In today’s fast changing world, almost all of us get our news – including our news about developments in environmental law and policy – electronically. This blog is not intended to be a substitute for the BNA™, or Greenwire™, or Google™, although we do hope that we will be able on occasion to let you know about issues that haven’t yet come to your attention.

What we really want to accomplish is to be able to provide some perspective on those developments. We’ll try to tell you which developments may matter to you. And why they matter. And how they matter. Whether you are a manufacturer or a power plant developer, whether you are a renewable energy developer or hoping to be a renewable energy consumer, whether you are a municipality or public agency or university, we want to comment on current issues in a way that is useful to you in your business.

Frankly, this blog also provides us with the opportunity to introduce you to Foley Hoag’s Environmental Practice Group. Our practice has been New England’s preeminent environmental practice for the past twenty years. We have the depth and capacity to handle the wide array of environmental issues that can arise in the course of your business. We will work with you to resolve any environmental issues that must be addressed in order for you to achieve your business goals – from permitting new projects to cost-effective cleanup of urban Brownfields properties to implementation of cost-effective due diligence in the support of acquisitions to navigating the emerging world of climate change regulations.

We will also assist you in the defense and prosecution of environmental litigation. As a result of our service to our clients, we have attained a national reputation in environmental matters. Our lawyers have built an impressive record resolving environmental disputes at the negotiating table and in the courtroom, and a number of our cases have produced precedents of national importance.

The scope of this blog will be commensurate with the scope of our practice. We’ll cover climate change, renewable energy, hazardous and solid waste, clean air and water, sustainability and green design. You name it, if it’s got an acronym attached to it, we’ll cover it.

As the headline indicates, we want to inform, update, comment, and discuss. In other words, while we’re going to enjoy posting, we’ll enjoy the blog more – and its usefulness will increase – if we hear from you also. Please comment on the blog entries. Let us know about developments we missed or implications of our discussions that we did not consider.

We look forward to the conversation.