Tag: climate change

Climate Change Environmental Groups Challenge President’s Executive Orders to Expand Energy Development

Margaret Anne Hill, Frank L. Tamulonis III, Stephen C. Zumbrun, and Melissa A. Scacchitti ●

We previously reported that President Trump issued a series of executive actions to fulfill his pledge to advance the United States’ domestic energy economy. These executive actions, such as President Trump’s Executive Orders Unleashing American Energy, Declaring a National Energy Emergency, and Reinvigorating…[the] Coal Industry…., now face legal challenges from environmental groups, led by Our Children’s Trust, a nonprofit law firm that exclusively represents youth plaintiffs against state and federal governments.[1] Presently, Our Children’s Trust seeks to enjoin these orders from taking effect because of their potential impact on climate change in the youths’ future. This post will provide a brief overview of the litigation and its pending timeline.

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Unleashing American Energy: Trump Administration’s Latest Executive Orders

Margaret Anne Hill, Frank L. Tamulonis III, Melissa A. Scacchitti, and Stephen C. Zumbrun ●

New Executive Orders and Proclamation

On April 8, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued three significant executive orders (“EOs”) and a fourth proclamation consistent with his pledge to “Unleash American Energy.” These Presidential actions, titled (1) Strengthening the Reliability and Security of the U.S. Electric Grid, (2) Protecting American Energy from State Overreach, (3) Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry, and (4) Regulatory Relief for Certain Stationary Sources to Promote American Energy, seek to promote domestic oil, gas, and coal energy production. Each of these actions is discussed below.

Strengthening the Reliability and Security of the U.S. Electric Grid, EO 14262

This EO directs the Secretary of Energy to streamline emergency processes and to develop a uniform methodology for analyzing reserve margins across all regions of the bulk power system. The stated needs for the EO include aging infrastructure, increased need for electricity, and demand for energy use by datacenters.

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Climate Change Litigation—State Tort Cases Move Ahead

Margaret Anne Hill and Stephen C. Zumbrun ●

Climate change-related litigation has been increasing in the United States for the past several years. Not only have the actual number of these types of cases increased, but the claims raised in these cases have been expanding—from state tort claims (nuisance, trespass, and negligence) to federal and state constitutional claims. These cases have been slowly working their way through the legal system, with a major consideration being: Should these cases be in state court, involving state tort claims, or federal court, involving federal statutes or federal common law, because of the major national policy implication of climate change that these cases have the potential to affect?

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FERC Commissioners Approve the Venture Global Calcasieu Pass LNG Export Project but Signal Divisions in Approaches to Evaluating GHG Emissions

Mark R. Haskell, Brett A. Snyder, and Lamiya N. Rahman

On February 21, 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “the Commission”) issued an order authorizing Venture Global Calcasieu Pass, LLC (“Calcasieu Pass”) to site, construct, and operate a new liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) terminal and associated facilities (the “Export Terminal”) pursuant to section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (“NGA”).1 The Certificate Order also authorized TransCameron Pipeline, LLC (“TransCameron”) to construct and operate a new interstate pipeline under NGA section 7. Although the Certificate Order drew favorable conclusions in its environmental review of the projects, a concurrence by Commissioner LaFleur and a dissent by Commissioner Glick signaled growing dissatisfaction among half of the current Commission with respect to FERC’s practice of evaluating a project’s greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions.

The Certificate Order

The Export Terminal, to be located along the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, will have a nameplate capacity of 10 million metric tons per annum (“MTPA”) and a peak capacity of 12 MTPA under optimal operating conditions. Natural gas will be delivered to the Export Terminal by TransCameron’s proposed 23.4-mile, 42-inch diameter interstate pipeline, which will extend from the Grand Chenier Station in Cameron Parish, Louisiana to the Export Terminal and will be able to provide up to 2,125,000 dekatherms per day (“Dth/d”) of natural gas transportation service. Continue reading “FERC Commissioners Approve the Venture Global Calcasieu Pass LNG Export Project but Signal Divisions in Approaches to Evaluating GHG Emissions”

Charting Climate Change Cases: A Survey of Recent Litigation

Margaret Anne Hill and Stephen C. Zumbrun

Introduction

Right now, cases involving climate change are being heavily litigated in courts across the United States. Hundreds of climate change-related cases have been filed in both federal and state courts, where parties are challenging governments’ and industry’s knowledge of and contribution to climate change. In the abstract, one would think that litigation involving emissions of greenhouse gases (“GHG”) linked to climate change would largely focus on the federal Clean Air Act. Yet, climate change-related cases now involve ever-expanding causes of action, including not only claims under the federal Clean Air Act and other federal statutes, but claims under the U.S. Constitution, state law claims, and common law claims.

There are several active cases that may have major implications on the government’s role in determining the direction of climate change policy, and on private companies’ past and future liability for alleged contributions to climate change, as well as knowledge of climate change impacts on business decision-making. This article discusses notable current cases involving climate change. Continue reading “Charting Climate Change Cases: A Survey of Recent Litigation”