The Continuing Impact of Coal Ash - Energy Law Insights
In early April, President Trump issued several energy-related presidential actions aimed at reviving the coal industry. These actions could boost the domestic coal industry, including by rolling back environmental regulations...more
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...more
President Donald Trump’s second inaugural address identified making America “energy dominant again” as one of four America First Priorities. Having issued several statements and executive orders in January that focused on...more
In December 2022, planning permission was granted by the secretary of state for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities ("SoS") to extract coal from a coal mine in Whitehaven, Cumbria, England. The project would have been the...more
On April 25, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed four final rules representing multi-media regulation (air, water, waste, climate) for the utility sector. Individually, each rule would have been notable for...more
Two recent studies show that, by the end of 2023, United States carbon emissions will decrease, despite an expansion in the overall economy of about 2.5 percent. That is, according to the United States Energy Information...more
Good evening! This is Akin’s newsletter on climate change policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major climate policy headlines from the past week and forthcoming climate-related events and hearings…...more
Proceedings filed by public interest group Environment Victoria represent the first climate change litigation in Australia to challenge the licence to operate of coal-fired energy producers. A public interest group has filed...more
In a first, U.S. declares shortage on Colorado River, forcing water cuts - The New York Times – August 16 - With climate change and long-term drought continuing to take a toll on the Colorado River, the federal Bureau of...more
The White House demonstrates its continued support for fossil fuel communities during the current clean energy transition by standing up the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communicatees and Economic...more
On March 5, 2021, the federal government released draft Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System Regulations (Draft Regulations), providing some clarity as to how federal offsets will be created, tracked and ultimately used to...more
On September 8, 2020, the law firm Equity Generation Lawyers filed a class action on behalf of young people globally, seeking an injunction to restrain the Australian Government's Minister for the Environment, Sussan Ley,...more
Trump Administration Approves Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for Land Leasing, Oil Drilling - "The Trump administration continues to roll back environmental protections and opening doors for the fossil fuel industry in...more
Is the world hurtling irreversibly toward incinerating, extinction-causing, fossil-fuel induced destruction while we’re doing nothing about it? Maybe not, if you consider overlooked and ignored sources of information....more
On January 17, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in Juliana v. United States that a coalition of young people lacked standing to require the federal government to develop a plan to “phase...more
The U.S. is Set to Become the World's Biggest Oil Exporter Thanks to the Fracking Revolution - "The U.S. shale revolution has made it to one of the world's largest energy producers and potentially the largest oil exporter...more
What happened? The Chief Judge of the NSW Land and Environment Court in Australia has upheld the decision of the NSW Minister for Planning's delegate to refuse planning approval for the proposed Rocky Hill Coal Project...more
Last week, a federal judge once more rejected the Environmental Assessment for the expansion of the Spring Creek Mine in Montana. The case does not really break any new ground, but it does add to the growing number of cases...more
The Trump Administration announced a long-awaited proposal to roll back the Obama-era Clean Power Plan late last month. (Chicago Tribune). The action had been promised by the President and his appointees at EPA, who pursued...more
In an Internal Memo, the White House Considered Whether to Simply 'Ignore' Federal Climate Research - "The document, drafted September 18 by Michael Catanzaro, President Trump's special assistant for domestic energy and...more
Ohio Supreme Court Joins Texas and Oklahoma in Holding the State Does Not Recognize a Separate Implied Covenant to Explore Further - "We conclude that Ohio does not recognize an 'implied covenant to explore further'...more
President Trump has promised that his Administration will resolve any continuing debate on climate change. On the front line of the effort, the President’s EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, has moved to eliminate climate...more
The Trump Administration released the Fall edition of the semi-annual Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions and the Regulatory Plan (“Plan”). Federal agencies twice a year produce in combination a...more
While the Trump Administration has taken steps to dismantle or revise many of the Obama Administration’s actions regarding climate change, there are conflicting opinions within the Administration and key businesses about the...more
Our March edition of Energy Technology Connections brings you recent industry highlights and features a list of upcoming energy industry events throughout the nation. If you enjoy learning about new technology as much as we...more