Good evening! This is Akin Gump’s weekly policy newsletter on all things climate change. Below are the major federal climate policy headlines of the past week -
House Appropriators Release Bill to Bolster EPA, Interior...more
Last Friday as the United States celebrated Earth Day, President Biden released a proclamation and signed a new executive order to strengthen domestic and international forest protection commitments...more
With 2022 underway, the Biden-Harris administration is continuing to implement its “whole-of-government” response to climate change. In 2021, the administration focused on building public-private partnerships on clean energy,...more
2/8/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NHTSA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proxy Season ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
[co-author: Christina Barone]
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the “bill”) is historic bipartisan legislation that will make available $1.2 trillion in funding for infrastructure programs across the...more
As the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow approaches, many countries are turning their sights on methane emission reductions as a major prong of their international climate commitments. Over the...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a draft of its 2022-2026 strategic plan, including a new foundational principle and several goals not seen in previous plans. Administrator Michael Regan has stated that...more
Yesterday evening, President Biden signed Congress’s resolution to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to reject a September 2020 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that rescinded methane emission standards...more
EPA to Phase Down HFC Use in Early Step to Advance Biden-Harris Climate, Environmental Justice Agendas Last week, the Biden-Harris administration took action—with some bipartisan backing from Capitol Hill—to reduce the...more
President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate has wrapped up. The event saw world leaders highlighting their countries’ respective climate commitments, calling for collective action, and attending breakout sessions designed to...more
Key Points
- On Earth Day, the Biden-Harris administration announced a new target for the United States to achieve a 50 to 52 percent reduction in economy-wide GHG emissions by 2030, which constitutes the country’s new NDC...more
5/3/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Electricity ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) ,
NHTSA ,
Paris Agreement ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
In March, House Democrats re-introduced the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for Our Nation’s (CLEAN) Future Act, a comprehensive climate package that aims to transition virtually every major sector of the U.S....more
Key Points
- On Wednesday, March 10, 2021, the U.S. Senate confirmed Michael Regan as the next EPA Administrator.
- Although Regan and most of the Biden-Harris administration’s other high-level EPA officials have fairly...more
During yesterday’s Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing, President Biden’s nominees for Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Brenda Mallory, and for Deputy Administrator the...more
3/9/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Working Groups
Late last week, the Justice Department withdrew nine Trump-era policy and guidance documents that shaped how the Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) enforced environmental law during the past...more
A number of President Biden’s early climate and environmental policies direct federal funding, research and procurement decisions toward infrastructure. In this installment of our series on President Biden’s “Climate Day”...more
Last week’s “Climate Day” actions grabbed headlines primarily for how they respond to climate risk through increased federal coordination. Equally important may be the actions the Biden administration took that day to combat...more
As we previewed yesterday morning, January 27 was the Biden administration’s “Climate Day.”
Yesterday’s actions—two executive orders and a presidential memorandum—provided further detail on the President’s roadmap for...more
Shortly after inauguration, President Joseph R. Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) entitled “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.” This sweeping Executive Order...more
Key Points
- President Biden’s Day One Executive Order on climate action reconvenes an interagency working group to establish interim and final social costs of three GHGs: carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane.
-...more
1/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Department of the Interior ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
FERC ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NEPA ,
Net Zero ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Working Groups
The U.S. Supreme Court clarified that the scope of federal protection under the Clean Water Act includes any “functional equivalent” of a direct discharge to navigable waters from a point source. The Court’s decision is the...more
4/27/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
- Effective March 12, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice is no longer including supplemental environmental projects (“SEPs”) in the settlement of civil enforcement actions brought by the U.S. Environmental Protection...more
Key Points
- House Democrats have released draft text for the CLEAN Future Act, a comprehensive climate bill that aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas pollution throughout the United States by 2050 by directing federal...more
2/10/2020
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Paris Agreement ,
PFAS ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Trump Administration
On Tuesday, August 21, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule, a proposal to replace the Clean Power Plan issued in 2015. EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler...more
8/23/2018
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Coal-Fired Generation ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Power Plants ,
Proposed Rules ,
Renewable Energy
On Thursday, August 2, 2018, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) jointly proposed a rule to freeze the fuel...more
8/3/2018
/ Automotive Industry ,
Clean Air Act ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fuel Standards ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Manufacturers ,
Motor Vehicles ,
NHTSA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proposed Rules
On May 9, 2018, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt issued a memorandum outlining a “back-to-basics” process for reviewing National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for criteria...more