"If a very blue state like New York moves backwards on climate change as well, that’s a negative sign for the country. If you can’t do it here, can you do it anywhere?"-- @michaelgerrard.bsky.social [gift link]

This is insane.

Ørsted's 704MW Revolution Wind offshore wind project started delivering power to New England's electric grid yesterday: orsted.com/en/media/new... 🔌💡

The Trump administration has removed the chapter on climate change from the "Reference manual on scientific evidence", an essential handbook for judges as they weigh evidence in court. The response of the American Meteorological Society has just been published (below). And...[1/2]

To support oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, the Department of the Interior is launching the procedure to allow it to drive species into extinction. The Endangered Species Act creates a body called the Endangered Species .....

Oil prices are soaring, thanks to the war that Trump started. However, today the U.S. Department of Justice sued California to try to block a program that would advance adoption of electric vehicles. EVs are the top way 🧵

The U.S. Supreme Court just agreed to hear an appeal from Suncor and other fossil fuel companies in a lawsuit brought by the City and County of Boulder seeking money damages related to climate change and the companies' alleged deception. The Colorado Supreme Court had ruled that the case could 🧵

A coalition of public health and environmental groups has just filed a lawsuit against EPA in the DC Circuit court challenging revocation of the greenhouse gas endangerment finding. They are represented by some of the country's leading environmental litigators. aboutblaw.com/bkXr

Trump's EPA said a major justification for revoking the GHG endangerment finding is that emissions from the U.S. transport sector (cars, trucks, etc.) are so low that reducing them wouldn't make any difference to the climate. But if this sector was a country, 🧵

South Fork Wind had a capacity factor of 52% last month - on par w/ NY state's most efficient gas plants And Vineyard Wind had a 75% capacity factor during Winter Storm Fern The data doesn't lie. #OffshoreWind works - especially during cold winter months www.canarymedia.com/articles/off...

EPA isn't now denying that climate change is happening. Instead they are saying that whatever the U.S. does now will not make enough of a difference to warrant the expense to Americans. The U.S. is historically the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and is abdicating its responsibility.

The press is reporting that EPA is about to withdraw the endangerment finding, the legal basis for EPA regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. As I wrote in September, bit.ly/401lLUw, this would raise a tangle of legal issues. Among them: 🧵

From late last night: The EPA plans this week to repeal a policy that provides the legal foundation for a raft of rules regulating greenhouse gas emissions, marking Trump’s most consequential retreat from the fight against climate change. Gift link @bloomberg.com: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

"Renewable energy is central to the fight against climate change, and this suit alleges that the companies have stood squarely in the way. Michigan has opened up a whole new battleground in the climate fight" said climate law expert @michaelgerrard.bsky.social www.sierraclub.org/sierra/michi...

A federal court just invalidated the Texas law that prohibits state entities from investing in or contracting with companies that boycott fossil fuels. The court found that the law violates the First Amendment by being both overbroad and unconstitutionally vague, and "permits the State to penalize

⚖️🌏 🗣️ Call for #Presentations The Sabin Center & @climate.columbia.edu invite submissions for the Attribution Science & Climate Law Conference, June 10–11, 2026 at Columbia Law School in NYC. Learn more➡️ climate.law.columbia.edu/content/seco...

⚖️A Dutch court ordered the Netherlands to protect a Caribbean island from #climatechange. The Sabin Center’s Dr. Maria Antonia Tigre (@matigre.bsky.social) notes in an interview with @nytimes.com that “there’s a very clear state responsibility now” following the decision. 🔗 buff.ly/d0oabJU

📜 On January 26, we filed an amici brief in Renew Northeast v. US DOI, in support of plaintiffs who are challenging a number of anti-renewables federal actions that implicate wind and solar projects on rural private lands. 🍃 ☀️ Read the brief ➡️ buff.ly/vpSirJ6

Important new climate decision: A court in The Hague ruled today that the Dutch government violated European Convention on Human Rights in failing to take sufficient action to protect the residents of Bonaire, an island off the coast of Venezuela that's a special municipality of the Netherlands. 🧵

⚖️🌏💻Next Monday, February 2, the Sabin Center is hosting a #webinar, in which leading legal scholars and practitioners will explore the evolving landscape of #climatelitigation across #Asia. @matigre.bsky.social will deliver opening remarks. Info ➡️ buff.ly/JkAYwvA Register ➡️ buff.ly/CJ8sW10

The State of Michigan just launched a novel lawsuit against the big oil companies and the American Petroleum Institute. It charges them with conspiracy to restrain trade under the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act, and the Michigan Antitrust Reform Act. It alleges a coordinated strategy to ...

🏙️📉 Today, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law releases a new report titled Navigating State Law in Local Climate Action, which unpacks key state-local preemption issues in 19 states. 📰Press release: buff.ly/PZkpFCJ ✍️Blog: buff.ly/wMSG0dD #Cities #climatelaw #climateaction

🚀🎯Today, we & @csldf.org relaunch the #SilencingScience Tracker, a tool that tracks attacks on science. 8 years, 3 administrations, 700+ entries later, we bring you a new & improved platform: silencingscience.org 📰➡️ buff.ly/MaSdIFc ✍️➡️ buff.ly/09VeKPD

One year ago today, Trump's second inauguration day, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law launched our Climate Backtracker to track his actions in moving backwards on climate action. As of today it has exactly 300 items. That's 1.15 for every working day. climate.law.columbia.edu/content/clim...

As this chart shows, the eleven warmest years since measurements began in 1850 are the eleven most recent years.

NEW: Another judge has blocked the Trump admin’s offshore wind stop-work order, which had stalled development of the Empire Wind project in New York waters. Read more here: substack.com/profile/1044...

📰🌪️Proliferation of climate-related disasters points to the urgent need for climate resilience leadership. Sabin Center's Michael Burger, Columbia Climate School's Jeffrey Schlegelmilch & Lucia Bragg outline how FEMA could be a source: scholarship.law.columbia.edu/sabin_climat...

🚇💳NYC’s iconic #MetroCard has officially been retired after 30+ years, making way for contactless tap-to-pay OMNY. It began as a tech leap over subway tokens and ended as a beloved piece of NYC transit history. Michael Gerrard shares his reflections: blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechang...

NEWS: Judge Royce Lamberth ruled against the Trump admin, allowing Orsted to continue construction on its Revolution Wind offshore wind farm. He said Orsted is "likely" to succeed on claims the admin's stop work order targeting offshore wind violates the Administrative Procedures Act.

Trump pulled US out of Paris Climate Agreement in 2017 & again (after Biden rejoined) in 2025. Now he withdraws US from UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as Project 2025 wanted. In 1992 the Senate unanimously ratified & President GHW Bush signed it. Re-ratifying requires a 2/3 Senate vote.

"Ecuador is the only country in the world whose constitution recognizes nature’s rights to exist, regenerate and be restored, though hundreds of court rulings, local laws, nonbinding declarations and other initiatives worldwide recognize nature’s rights in some form. " 🐸

The retirement of the MetroCard at midnight tonight is bittersweet for me. In 1983, as a young lawyer, I took a year's leave of absence from my law firm to serve as special counsel to Richard Ravitch, chairman of the NY MTA. He gave me the task of leading a study ...

Endless lies 🤥

👇👇

Thanks, Nate. I'm glad that you found my paper to be useful. It's still in draft, so any comments are welcome.

December issue of Sabin Center for Climate Change Law's litigation newsletter: bit.ly/4iK4eJ4. 11 new court decisions from the U.S.; 18 new lawsuits and filings in the U.S.; numerous cases in Brazil and Australia; and cases in Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, UK, European Court of Human Rights.

EVs beat petrol cars on lifetime emissions — even on “dirty” grids. Battery production is carbon-intensive, but EVs quickly repay that debt and end up 21–71% cleaner over 250,000 km. We can’t wait for perfect grids: electrify transport and clean the grid now.

"The study found that, from January through June 2025, average daily maximum PM2.5 concentrations in Manhattan’s CRZ declined by 3.05 micrograms per cubic meter – a reduction of 22% compared to a projected average of 13.8 micrograms per cubic meter had congestion pricing not been implemented."

Good news in court: U.S. District Court in Massachusetts rules that Trump's order issued on Inauguration Day blocking new offshore wind projects is arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law, and vacates it. bit.ly/48tCcy0

It's very important that prospective home buyers and tenants have information about the climate risks of where they are considering moving. It's a real setback to climate adaptation that this information is being removed from Zillow. FEMA flood maps cannot be relied upon. bit.ly/4op4Vsw

‼️ 📆 On May 21-22, 2026, we will host our 14th Annual Sabin Colloquium on Innovative Environmental Law Scholarship, which will allow junior environmental law scholars to present early-stage work and receive constructive feedback from a panel of senior scholars. More info ➡️ buff.ly/xubshqy

This new study shows the risk that flooding worsened by climate change poses to toxic sites. As I wrote in 2023, the U.S. regulatory system is ill prepared to deal with this threat, but there are ways the laws can be changed to address it. bit.ly/4igwWRG

As I describe in detail in my new article in the New York Law Journal, the Trump administration has taken an all-of-government approach to squelching wind and solar.

Climate victory: NY court rules that State Dept. of Env. Conservation must issue its GHG cap-and-invest rules, as required by NY Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act, by Feb. 6. DEC was ready to issue the rules but Gov. Hochul stopped them. Next question: Will they appeal? bit.ly/47hY8M9

🔥🌆Combating the “urban heat island” island effect! 🌳Daniel J. Metzger explores how local organizations can transform paved surfaces—“combining the resources and desire to create green spaces that nongovernmental groups offer with cities’ large portfolios of property.” 📰 ➡️ buff.ly/koaeFiE

This #webinar is happening tomorrow at 10 AM EST! ⤵️

The US became the world’s leading nation due to its science and technology, and it has now decided for a path of self-mutilation and handing world leadership over to 🇨🇳. Why? 🙄

⭐⭐⭐We have a special edition of the Climate Litigation Newsletter in honor of the Climate Litigation Database 2.0 Relaunch in partnership with @climatepolicyradar.bsky.social. Huge thank you to everyone who attended the launch event yesterday! View the newsletter here: mailchi.mp/law/sabin-ce...

📗🌏⚖️Catch up on your reading on #climatelitigation by checking out the new #blog posts under the Climate Reparations Blog Series: blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechang... #humanrights #climatechange #internationallaw

📰 Trump EPA’s Proposed Revocation of Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding Raises Tangle of Legal Issues, by Michael B. Gerrard (@michaelgerrard.bsky.social): scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scho...