A South Carolina state trial court recently dismissed a climate tort case filed by the City of Charleston seeking to hold major energy companies liable for harms allegedly caused by climate change. This ended a case that had...more
A local state court in Pennsylvania recently dismissed an array of climate tort claims brought against major fossil fuel companies by a local government--in this case, Bucks County. Among the three dozen or so climate tort...more
In December 2024, the State of New York enacted the “Climate Change Superfund Act,” which would impose retroactive fines on fossil fuel producers for greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. (New York was...more
In City of Baltimore v. BP, et al., court holds that nuisance and tort claims are preempted by federal law and beyond the limits of state law....more
On April 25, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") finalized four rules to regulate pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. EPA's stated goal was to provide a framework on which power plants can rely for...more
Climate litigation against companies is increasing and the stakes are getting higher. Last year saw more headline-making claims being brought against corporations and a slew of important decisions from courts in...more
EPA’s long-promised rules for reducing CO2 emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants have now been published. In the proposal, EPA lays out “performance standards” for new natural gas-fired power plants and “emission...more
Since 2017, a number of state government entities from cities, counties, and states across the country have gone after fossil fuel companies in court charging them with violating state law by marketing their products as not...more
Southland air regulators threaten to sue EPA for failure to control federally-regulated emissions sources Bullet - Los Angeles Times - May 10 - The South Coast Air Quality Management District (District), which oversees a...more
The new administration has launched an avalanche of Executive Orders and memoranda aimed at tackling the climate crisis in its first week—Pillsbury reviews its impact. Expect to see growth in electric vehicles, innovation...more
U.S. Shale Producers Race for Federal Permits Ahead of Presidential Election - "Federal permitting in the largest U.S. oilfield in the Permian Basin, located in Texas and New Mexico, is up 80 percent in about the last three...more
The Situation: Proposed resolutions in Congress and an injunction request in a Ninth Circuit case both seek significant reductions in fossil fuel use throughout the economy. The Result: In the near term, it is easy to...more
This is the inaugural issue of WilmerHale’s 10-in-10 Hot Topics in Energy Series. Over the next 10 weeks, our attorneys will share insights on current and emerging issues affecting the US energy sector....more
On January 10, 2019, more than 600 environmental groups signed a letter submitted to U.S. Representatives urging them to consider certain principles on climate change as a Green New Deal is developed. ...more
On July 19, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York decided the case of City of New York v. BP P.L.C., et al., granting the defendants’ motion to dismiss and dismissing the City of New York’s amended...more
The Situation: In what may have further muddied the waters of the viability of the recent U.S.-filed state law climate change litigation against industry, a second federal court in San Francisco has granted remand of three of...more
Earlier this week, Judge William Alsup denied a motion by Oakland and San Francisco to remand their public nuisance claims against some of the world’s largest fossil fuel producers to state court. However, I’m not sure that...more