NEW RESOURCE: Today, the @sabincenter.bsky.social published a new report and online resource: ✨Navigating State Law in Local Climate Action✨ and accompanying online State Toolkits Click through for resources on key state-local preemption issues in 19 states. blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechang...

New Sabin Center Report and Online Resource: Navigating State Law in Local Climate Action - Climate Law Blog

Navigating State Law in Local Climate Action is a new Sabin Center report on state-local preemption issues in nineteen states.

blogs.law.columbia.edu

New York State is indefinitely delaying implementation of the All Electric Buildings Act. I spoke to @nysfocus.bsky.social about how the state used a court case to "make it seem like their hands were tied.” nysfocus.com/2025/11/26/a...

Why Did Hochul Back Down on New York's Gas Ban?

Just last month, the state argued in court that it couldn’t halt the all-electric buildings law even if it wanted to. Then it abruptly changed course.

nysfocus.com

Crazy look at the interplay of local harms & global climate change. "A judge ruled in 2018 that Oakland officials didn’t have sufficient proof that coal shipments would harm residents, and instead had canceled the contract over broader concerns about global warming.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/u...

A Stand Against Coal Could Push Oakland Toward Bankruptcy

nytimes.com

Great news from Allegheny County Council -- who have moved to match Air Quality Permitting fees to the impact of air pollution on residents. Additional funding goes directly to the County Health Department. triblive.com/local/valley...

Allegheny County Council approves increases to air-quality permit fees

Allegheny County Council on Tuesday moved forward with an air quality permit fee schedule that, officials say, will promote public health and relieve financial pressure on the county health department...

triblive.com

Chattanooga’s small municipal utility is doing big things with batteries.

Any chance to hear what's happening in Advait's brain is a treat!

Robinson Meyer@robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 9mo ago

On this week’s episode of Shift Key, we talk to @advaitarun.bsky.social about the financial anatomy of the data center boom and what its unraveling — or continuation! — could mean for clean energy and electricity innovation. heatmap.news/podcast/shif...

"The transit system is one of the greatest tools communities have to combat climate change and reduce emissions. “You can make a pretty immediate impact.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...

Iowa City Made Its Buses Free. Traffic Cleared, and So Did the Air.

nytimes.com

As I told @politico.com about yesterday's extremely disappointing move to delay implementation of NYS's All-Electric Buildings Act: "This is not a legal decision. This is a political decision." subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

Dealt with a decade+ of imposter syndrome and it turns out I could have just been yelling DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT the whole time.

As I told @politico.com about yesterday's extremely disappointing move to delay implementation of NYS's All-Electric Buildings Act: "This is not a legal decision. This is a political decision." subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

📣📥 NEW TEMPLATE COMMENT LETTER 📣📥 Local govs are critical in the Endangerment Finding rulemaking: they can put into the record the harms they'll endure from climate change. My blog post explains what’s at stake and provides a template comment letter. blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechang...

The Endangerment Finding: The Local Perspective Matters Right Now (Template Comment Letter Linked) - Climate Law Blog

[Here and at the end of this post, a template comment letter is linked for local governments to adapt for their own comments in the Endangerment Finding rule making process.] On August 1, 2025, the U....

blogs.law.columbia.edu

I spoke to Smart Cities Dive about yesterday's Endangerment Finding announcement, and how it fits within the broader climate landscape cities currently find themselves in. www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/epa-gut...

EPA’s move to gut key climate regulation raises stakes for city leaders

A repeal of the endangerment finding would make local climate policy a new battleground in continuing tensions between the Trump administration and cities, a legal scholar suggests.

smartcitiesdive.com

Join the Local Infrastructure Hub (and me!) for a post-OBBBA no-cost virtual session on: 📑✏️ Grant application strategy 💪⚙️ Project implementation ☀️🍃 Clean energy investments usmayors.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Local Infrastructure Hub: What the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Means for Your Infrastructure Strategy. After registering, you will receive a confirmation ema...

As part of the Local Infrastructure Hub, the United States Conference of Mayors is hosting a series of Zoom sessions with our partners Bloomberg Philanthropies and Results for America, which will feat...

usmayors.zoom.us

The OBBB Act was signed into law on July 4th. It nearly eliminates or renders unworkable many critical Inflation Reduction Act programs, especially the clean energy and clean vehicle tax credits. More on the @sabincenter.bsky.social blog. blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechang...

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Considerations for Cities and Community Partners - Climate Law Blog

Congress broke for summer recess last week, but not before sending the long awaited, hotly debated One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB Act or the Act), or H.R. 1, to President Trump’s desk for a July 4th...

blogs.law.columbia.edu

🏛️💸 Last week, the Supreme Court closed its term with a decision in Trump v. CASA, a/k/a the birthright citizenship case. The decision says little about citizenship, but has huge implications for cities & community groups fighting unlawful grant terminations. blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechang...

The End of Nationwide Injunctions for Federal Funding Award Terminations - Climate Law Blog

On Friday, June 27, the Supreme Court’s term closed and the Court handed down its final opinions, including in a case called Trump v. CASA. The CASA plaintiffs challenged President Trump’s executive o...

blogs.law.columbia.edu

For those doubting the project of originalism, the Birthright opinion is heavy on it. Heavy as in "Neither the universal injunction nor any analogous form of relief was available in the High Court of Chancery in England at the time of the founding." Expect to see FedSoc at Butterworth's tonight.

This morning, the Supreme Court significantly impaired the ability of federal judges to use nationwide or "universal" injunctions. The case at issue relates to birthright citizenship, but the implications run far broader, including for climate/federal funding cases. 🧵 www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06...

Live Updates: Supreme Court Limits Nationwide Injunctions in Birthright Citizenship Case

nytimes.com

The New York State Court of Appeals - the state's highest court - has UPHELD Local Law 97! The Court has ruled that the NYS CLCPA does not field preempt local law. This is a huge win for the City and for local building performance standards everywhere. www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/Decis...

🏙️ The latest installment of @sabincenter.bsky.social's 100 Days of Trump 2.0 series: a post for cities, community groups, and other subnationals summarizing key federal developments. It's been fun to work across the Center on this wide-ranging series. blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechang...

100 Days of Trump 2.0: Considerations for Cities and Community Partners - Climate Law Blog

The first 100 days of the second Trump administration have proved volatile for local governments working to advance ambitious climate action. We have seen the freezing or termination of federal grants...

blogs.law.columbia.edu

This is the first in a series of 100 days blog posts from the Sabin Center. Bookmark for much more in the coming days!

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law @sabincenter.bsky.social · last yr.

🏛️ 🌍 🎯 The Trump administration is moving fast to unwind federal climate regulation. To kick off our Climate Law #Blogseries, 100 Days of Trump 2.0, Olivia Guarna, Andy Fitch & Dan Metzger explain several themes emerging from our tool, the #ClimateBacktracker: blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechang...

“'There is no bat phone anymore,' Dr. Michael Totoraitis, the Milwaukee health commissioner, said in an interview. 'I can’t pick up and call my colleagues at the C.D.C. about lead poisoning anymore.'" www.nytimes.com/2025/04/18/u...

Milwaukee’s Lead Crisis: Flaky Paint, Closed Schools and a C.D.C. in Retreat (Gift Article)

Some children were exposed to lead and investigators found flaking paint inside aging schools. Two federal experts, expected to help guide the response, have lost their jobs.

nytimes.com

Panel 2 kept the party going with our very own Brennon Mendez moderating an interesting discussion on Indirect Source Rules and ZEV-only zones with Earthjustice’s @lasmogguy.bsky.social, CARB’s Jessi Hafer, and Columbia Law’s Amy Turner!

Yesterday President Trump signed an EO threatening to go after state and climate laws, a complete and total perversion of the principles of federalism. What does the order actually mean? I wrote about it for the @sabincenter.bsky.social blog. blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechang...

New Executive Order Tees Up Challenges to State and Local Climate Laws - Climate Law Blog

On April 8, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Protecting American Energy from State Overreach,” which directs the U.S. attorney general to work with department and agency heads...

blogs.law.columbia.edu

Beautiful morning in Wisconsin - thunderstorms (which I love) and a Crawford/Underly victory (which I love even more).

I was so honored to join @c40cities.bsky.social superstars David Miller and my longtime collaborator @kljohnson7.bsky.social to discuss WTF is happening with for climate-ambitious cities in Washington. Please listen if you're interested - it's on the major podcast platforms! lnk.to/Cities1.5_S5E4

Cities 1.5

S5E4: The Fate of the Inflation Reduction Act in the Second Era of Trump

lnk.to

C40 Cities@c40cities.bsky.social · last yr.

What is the state of city climate action in the US in 2025? 🎙️David Miller speaks to @c40cities.bsky.social's Kate Johnson and @sabincenter.bsky.social's Amy Turner about the Inflation Reduction Act and how it’s been affected by the changes in the US government. Listen here: lnk.to/Cities1.5_S5E

“It’s a clear win in that regard, because the 9th Circuit decision has had a chilling effect on local governments. Now there’s a good reason for hope for local governments to bring bldg elec’n to the forefront again.”https://grist.org/buildings/natural-gas-in-new-buildings-nyc-berkeley-lawsuits/

Can cities ban natural gas in new buildings? A federal judge just said yes.

Cities looking to eliminate fossil fuels in buildings have notched a decisive court victory. Last week, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by plumbing and building trade groups against a New ...

grist.org

Second piece of good news coming from the courts this week on building electrification!

Aimee Witteman@aimeewitteman.bsky.social · last yr.

Some good news out of Washington state — the misleading ballot initiative I-2066, which would protect access to natural gas and weaken state building codes and that squeaked by last November — has been ruled unconstitutional! 🔌💡 www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Some good news out of Washington state — the misleading ballot initiative I-2066, which would protect access to natural gas and weaken state building codes and that squeaked by last November — has been ruled unconstitutional! 🔌💡 www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

WA’s natural gas initiative unconstitutional, King County judge rules

Washington voters in November narrowly approved I-2066 to protect access to natural gas. Here's what to know about a judge's ruling on its constitutionality.

seattletimes.com

Earlier this week, the SDNY upheld NYC's Local Law 154, which prevents new buildings from using natural gas. I spoke to EnergyWire about the win, which “bolsters the case that these policies are legally defensible." subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene...