Law Columbia

OCTOBER 25, 2024

That’s because the parties to the London Convention and London Protocol are meeting from October 28 to November 1 in London to discuss, among other things, governance of ocean alkalinity enhancement and ocean sinking of biomass (e.g. Some are land-based, while others use the ocean. seaweed) for carbon storage.

Carbon Dioxide

Ocean Conservancy

JUNE 27, 2025

While plastic pollution continues to flow into our ocean with a garbage truck’s worth every minute, we have seen state and local governments across the country work diligently toward impactful solutions that will combat this crisis and protect our ocean for generations to come. See more wonderful ocean animals!

Ocean

Law Columbia

JUNE 19, 2025

Most significantly, the court held that—at least in principle—companies responsible for large-scale emissions can be held liable under German civil law for the climate-related harms they contribute to. In this post, we explain the facts and legal architecture of the case and some of the key highlights from the court’s judgment.

Climate Change

Law Columbia

APRIL 10, 2025

Alaska is thought to be an idea place for seaweed CDR projects, in part because local ocean conditions are well suited to growing seaweed, and also because the state has established processes for permitting seaweed farms. A new Sabin Center report explores the laws governing seaweed cultivation and sinking for CDR in Alaska.

Carbon Dioxide

Law Columbia

DECEMBER 11, 2024

Ocean-based CDR strategies, which aim to increase the oceans natural carbon sink capacity, are gaining attention. One such strategy, ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE), involves adding alkaline substances to seawater so as to increase its ability to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and mitigate ocean acidification.

Ocean

Scientific American

JUNE 19, 2025

Oremus and her co-author, Anna Papp, an environmental economist, who will be starting a postdoctoral position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology later this year, began the research when they learned about a massive trove of data from a nonprofit organization called the Ocean Conservancy.

Law

Law Columbia

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

and international laws may apply to field research and deployment. The applicability of different laws will depend on a range of factors, including the specific nature of the activities (e.g., on land or in the ocean), and the nature and location of their impacts. The paper also analyzes domestic U.S.

Atmosphere

PA Environment Daily

NOVEMBER 11, 2024

The one-year, paid fellowship is made possible by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Sea Grant College Program. Nathaniel says, “I have always been incredibly passionate about marine conservation and the interface of science and law in making positive change for our oceans.

2025

Law Columbia

MARCH 18, 2025

Scientists have identified a number of land- and ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) approaches. Early efforts primarily focused on land-based approaches, but interest in ocean-based approaches, also known as marine CDR, has grown in recent years. ocean waters. judge-made) law.

Carbon Dioxide

Law Columbia

OCTOBER 24, 2024

If offshore oil and gas facilities are not promptly and properly decommissioned, they present serious ongoing environmental risks —metal rusts, concrete decays, and storms and natural disasters threaten to release oil and natural gas into sensitive ocean environments. The Sabin Center, and the authors, are solely responsible for its content.

Fossil Fuels

Law Columbia

JUNE 27, 2025

Although operators are legally required under state and federal laws to decommission wells and restore sites, enforcement has been inconsistent. The overarching goal of the workshop was to bring together offshore law and policy experts to outline a research and policy agenda for offshore decommissioning.

Law

Vermont Law

DECEMBER 24, 2024

asylum law, and the broader international community’s responsibilities. Our own actions have ultimately caused the demise and destruction of homelands, from islands in the Pacific Ocean to Florida. History of Asylum Law in the United States U.S. asylum law regarding climate refugees. Garland, 106 F.4th

Climate Change

Law Columbia

APRIL 8, 2025

mCDR refers to ocean-based processes or techniques designed to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it for long periods of time in the ocean. One commonly discussed mCDR technique is ocean alkalinity enhancement , which involves adding alkaline substances to ocean waters. How is mCDR affected?

Carbon Dioxide

Enviromental Defense

NOVEMBER 28, 2024

While the Alberta Energy Regulator has the ability, and responsibility, to hold companies that break the law to account, it has repeatedly demonstrated an unwillingness to enforce its own laws when it comes to industry rulebreakers — leaving Albertans to bear the costs and clean up the mess. million in this case, but they opted not to.

Regulations

National Law Center

JULY 29, 2025

Additionally, the Supreme Court found that when considering whether an agency’s NEPA report complies with the law, reviewing courts should grant “substantial deference” to the agency. National Environmental Policy Act NEPA was signed into law on January 1, 1970.

2013

Law Columbia

MARCH 10, 2025

The UNGA requested the ICJ render an opinion on the following questions: (a) What are the obligations of States under international law to ensure the protection of the climate system and other parts of the environment from anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHG) for States and for present and future generations?

Climate Change

PA Environment Daily

MAY 1, 2025

Working across the globe, EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to turn solutions into action. It was a primary advocate for the overhaul of Americas chemical safety laws in 2016 and the passage of historic climate investments in 2022. With more than 3.5

Natural Gas

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 16, 2024

In both cases, the DOJ sided with local governments, arguing that their claims against fossil fuel companies for misleading the public about climate harms should proceed under state law. These briefs underscore a clear federal stance on the importance of preserving state-level legal avenues to address deceptive practices.

2025

Law Columbia

JULY 15, 2025

However, the IACtHR went further in AO-32/25 , pushing the boundaries of international human rights law by articulating an expansive conception of the rights of Nature as implicit in, or linked to, the right to a healthy environment because of the vital importance of healthy ecosystems and biodiversity that “make life on the planet possible” (para.

Climate Change

National Law Center

AUGUST 12, 2025

FIFRA is the primary federal law regulating pesticide use in the United States. The ESA is one of the main wildlife protection laws in the United States. For more information on pesticides from the National Agricultural Law Center, click here. More information on the FIFRA registration process is available here.

Endangered Species Act

National Law Center

JUNE 10, 2025

However, the court disagreed, concluding that Swampbuster is a valid exercise of Congress’s spending power and that the law should be upheld. Share: Recent Posts Federal Court Finds Swampbuster Constitutional NALC news release: National Ag Law Center webinar to examine U.S. 5 U.S.C. §

2013

Vermont Law

APRIL 23, 2025

The infirmities evident under prior law motivated Congress to put in place a new regulatory regime, a fundamentally different approach, to control water pollution. Under prior federal law, individual discharges of pollutants into navigable waters were regulated by water quality standards. California ex rel.

Clean Water Act

Scientific American

JUNE 17, 2025

And because roughly 60 percent of global textiles now contain plastic derived from fossil fuels, it is estimated that more than a third of the microplastics in the oceans today were shed from clothing. Cotton agriculture alone uses 2.1 percent of the world’s arable land. While the E.U. are moving more slowly.

Upcycling

PA Environment Daily

JULY 27, 2025

Penn State University To Host 5th Annual Online Solar Law Symposium Aug. 12-14; July Forest Snapshot; Hope For Our Forests; Woodland Stewardship Webinar Series -- PUC Sets Hearings On Proposed Wellsboro Electric, Valley Energy Natural Gas, Citizens Electric Of 11% to 37.5% 19-21, Sept. 16-18 [PaEN] -- Registration Open! 6 Hearing, Sept.

Natural Gas

Vermont Law

OCTOBER 31, 2024

Reforming Oceanic Governance: A Department of Oceans by Joseph Lepak Current federal ocean governance is spread across a myriad of federal agencies in different departments and the time has come to bring them all together. law applies. Twelve nautical miles from shore to sea are the territorial waters, where full U.S.

Ocean

Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 14, 2025

For example, warmer air and oceans are contributing to more intense hurricanes , with record-breaking amounts of rain and rapidly intensifying windspeeds. Supreme Court, not the wind or solar industries, that forced the EPA to act on the basis of existing law, the Clean Air Act. Leading independent global and U.S.

Fossil Fuels

PA Environment Daily

JULY 24, 2025

The 51st Statewide Investigating Grand Jury recommended charges under the Air Pollution Control Act and Clean Streams Law regarding negligent maintenance and upkeep of the well. Penn State University To Host 5th Annual Online Solar Law Symposium Aug.

Natural Gas

Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 22, 2024

Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act”) is the law that gives the President the authority to provide disaster response, recovery and preparedness assistance to state, local, tribal, or territorial (SLTT) governments. The Stafford Act (officially, the “Robert T.

Climate Change

Law Columbia

NOVEMBER 6, 2024

This blog post was authored by 2024 Sabin Center Summer Intern, Arpana Giritharan, with input and supervision from Johanna Lovecchio, Director of Program Design for Climate Action and Adjunct Professor at Columbia Climate School, and Romany Webb, Deputy Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

Carbon Dioxide

Law Columbia

JULY 18, 2025

The Opinion responds to a 2023 request from Colombia and Chile, asking the IACtHR to clarify the scope of States’ obligations to address the climate emergency under international human rights law. 64), including rising temperatures, ocean warming (para. The IACtHR acknowledged the global harms caused by climate change (para.

Climate Change

Law Columbia

JUNE 30, 2025

In December 2024, Cape May County finally dropped a lawsuit against Ocean Wind 1 , which had been canceled for financial reasons in 2023. While opponents of offshore wind projects have not succeeded in persuading federal courts to stop development, they have found support from other branches of government.

Law

Legal Planet

MARCH 31, 2025

Marks is a lecturer at the UCLA Law and UC Berkeley Law school, as well as a Senior Fellow at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, a joint center of the law and climate schools at Columbia University. To get a sense of how the industry is reacting, I asked Allan Marks , my UCLA colleague. million homes.

Clean Energy

National Law Center

JULY 8, 2025

The webinar is the latest installment in the NALC’s “Western Water” Webinar Series, which highlights pressing water law issues in the Western United States. NALC Director Harrison Pittman said the “Western Water” Webinar Series plays an important role in sharing legal insight on water law across the country.

2013

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 30, 2025

Overfishing, the unsustainable practice of taking too many fish out of the ocean so that there are too few left to replace themselves, results in the total collapse of fisheries, and economic devastation for surrounding fishing communities. Here are ten lesser-known responsibilities of NOAA scientists.

Ocean

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 21, 2025

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has tracked extreme weather and climate-related disasters, including hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, and floods. Nevertheless, fossil fuel industry proxies immediately filed lawsuits against the rule.

Fossil Fuels

PA Environment Daily

JULY 27, 2025

Penn State University To Host 5th Annual Online Solar Law Symposium Aug. Penn State University To Host 5th Annual Online Solar Law Symposium Aug. 19-21, Sept. 19-21, Sept. High School As Renovation Work Continues -- DEP Sets Aug.

Conservation

Yale E360

JUNE 26, 2025

“Their home — the land that is theirs under international law — is being brazenly seized and destroyed to cater to global industries and global consumption.” Push on Seabed Mining End Global Consensus on Oceans?

Carbon Emissions