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...

📆 ⭕ On Wednesday, September 24, join us as we welcome Rob Bonta, Attorney General of California, for a lunchtime talk at Columbia Law School (@columbialawschool.bsky.social). 💡 More info: buff.ly/CDsUDP5 Register ➡️ buff.ly/9o4uHb0 #ClimateWeekNYC @michaelgerrard.bsky.social

Far-fetched undersea drone threat seems equally relevant to oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Point is, Trump agencies are concocting pretextual issues with energy infrastructure (drones, road/rail safety, whales, eagles) and applying them only to renewables, not fossils.

As I told the NY Times, the Trump Administration's order to halt this mostly-complete offshore wind project is a flashing red light to the clean energy industry. If you have all your permits and have spent billions of dollars and they still shut you down, who will want to invest? nyti.ms/47yLAR5

Barely 7 months in and we've already documented almost 100 anti-science actions by an administration that thinks that “[r]esearch programs based on gender identity... do nothing to enhance the health of many Americans.” 🫠 climate.law.columbia.edu/Silencing-Sc...

This is my podcast interview on legal issues with EPA's proposed revocation of the endangerment finding for greenhouse gases.

We speak with @michaelgerrard.bsky.social about the need to rename the EPA as Trump's Environmental Destruction Agency following Tuesday's announcement that they plan to eliminate the scientific consensus that underpins the gov's authority to address global warming. soundcloud.com/user-8304426...

I was happy to talk on ABC News today about how little I think of EPA's proposal to repeal the greenhouse gas endangerment finding. abcnews.go.com/US/video/epa...

In high school I got into trouble playing Tom Lehrer songs on the PA system. His 1965 song "Pollution" perfectly summarized the conditions then that led to the environmental laws of the 1970s, which Trump is now trying to dismantle. Give it a listen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPrA...

The Trump administration is doing everything it can to squelch the development, use and communication of science. He can't revoke physics or chemistry but can fire the physicists and the chemists.

Thanks, Joshua. We're very excited about our expanded initiative to draft model laws that states can use to fight climate change. Here is how the Washington Post covered it: wapo.st/3IqUR34

Thanks, Alessandro. Here is a link to the article: bit.ly/4ln1BNT

The Model Climate Laws Initiative, a joint project of Columbia Law School's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and Environmental Advocates NY, evolved from our Model Laws for Deep Decarbonization in the US project, and will draft even more state-level model laws. lpdd.org

The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law is pleased to team with Environmental Advocates NY to expand our work in drafting model laws for state action on climate change. State laws are more important than ever in view of federal retrenchment.

As our new report documents in a 50-state survey, local opposition has become a significant obstacle to the construction of wind and solar energy facilities. Ordinances, litigation, protests, and other tactics are getting in the way. The report has the numbers.

And many of Trump's attacks on climate science may violate federal laws. bit.ly/4jkZatu

The SabinCenter’s new analysis of the boom in climate change litigation in Brazil.

The US produced more energy in 2024 than ever before. What's the energy emergency?

Citing uncertainty in Washington, a battery cell maker is pausing work on its manufacturing plant under construction in the Pee Dee, delaying its pledge of 1,600 new jobs for South Carolinians. scdailygazette.com/2025/06/05/e... Expect much more of this if Senate doesn't restore sanity soon. 🔌💡

Wildfire smoke poses great health hazards, and will increase as climate change worsens. My analysis of the legal issues, "Wildfire Smoke and U.S. Law": bit.ly/45by4BE

As I've previously shown, the U.S. is far behind in protecting against toxic releases from chemical plants. bit.ly/3HLEIRA Trump proposal to eliminate the agency in charge of investigating these incidents will endanger even more communities.

The deep staffing cuts at the National Weather Service are impeding life-saving forecasting at the onset of the hurricane season. Just one of the many manifestations of Trump’s assaults on science.

Right. The Trump administration has taken so many actions to silence science. climate.law.columbia.edu/Silencing-Sc... And many of them may be illegal. bit.ly/3H7Nb5b

Here it is, in a clear graphic from the NYTimes. The GOP budget destruction bill will add $3.3 TRILLION to the national debt. And how? Entirely by tax cuts to the rich, paid for by cutting health, food for the poor, climate science, and Medicaid.

Many of Trump's attacks on climate science may violate various federal laws. My legal analysis: bit.ly/3SPIYFz

Good cover @economist.com

This is just a partial glimpse of the destruction of American science by Trump and the GOP.

Sabin Center analysis of the effect of House budget reconciliation bill on the Inflation Reduction Act. blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechang...

Brilliant to eliminate Energy Star, a program that costs $32m but delivered $40b in annual savings. None other than the US chamber of commerce tried to save it as a model of business/government partnership. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/c...

Good to see and hear that leading law professors recognize the fight, and who is leading the fight. As Klarman says, the court decisions have been the only meaningful check against this administration's actions in the first three months.

On the 100th day of Trump 2.0, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law posts analyses of what they've done to silence science, repeal pollution controls, promote fossil fuel development, weaken financial disclosures, harm local governments, try to take away 🧵

🏗️🚨The Department of the Interior established new expedited permitting procedures to fast-track #fossilfuel development projects in response to President #Trump's declared "national energy emergency." Read this #blog post by Olivia Guarna & Michael Burger: blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechang...