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An efficient approach would be to pass one bill aimed at enacting the "Green New Deal," because it could go after multiple sectors at once, said Derek Sylvan, strategy director at New York University School of Law's Institute for Policy Integrity.

Such a bill would have clear goals and pathways to meet targets, which could then be put into place through regulatory approaches, he said.

One potential model might be America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018, S. 3021, which sought to incorporate local input into projects and safeguards to make sure state infrastructure spending meets specific criteria, Sylvan said.

As climate threats mount and the window to act is beginning to close, states need to adopt desirable energy storage policies as quickly as possible.

An analysis by the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law shows that more than 90 percent of court challenges to major Trump deregulatory actions have been successful so far. In a typical administration, the government wins on such challenges around 70 percent of the time, said Richard Revesz, a law professor at N.Y.U. who specializes in environmental law. “This is truly aberrational,” he said.

Senators may ask Wheeler about his plans to ease carbon pollution regulations on coal plants. That and many other initiatives will face legal challenges, including plans to roll back auto fuel efficiency and air pollution standards. Richard Revesz at NYU Law doubts if any will survive.

Richard Revesz, a professor at NYU Law School and director of the Institute for Policy Integrity, discusses how Democratic attorneys general, riding a blue wave into office, may do a U-turn on lawsuits brought by their Republican predecessors – many of which challenge tighter federal environmental regulations. He speaks with Bloomberg’s June Grasso.

By using data from 1999, the administration ignored any savings those business provided developers, according to Jason Schwartz, legal director at the New York University School of Law’s Institute for Policy Integrity. The lacking analysis underscores how the Trump administration’s pro-industry rhetoric ignores the ecological restoration business, he said.

According to a tally of lawsuits by the Institute for Policy Integrity at the New York University School of Law, as of Dec. 10 agencies had won just two out of 24 cases challenging their deregulation, a win rate of 8 percent.

A recent government report predicts dire consequences from climate change. That complicates efforts to weaken environmental laws.

Mr. Trump’s ambitious agenda has been slowed, however, by unusually high losses in the courts. Since summer 2017, the Trump administration has lost 20 of 22 court cases challenging its deregulatory actions, according to data compiled by the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law.

The tumultuous state of US environmental regulation during the Trump administration was implicit in the title of the 10th anniversary conference of NYU Law’s Institute for Policy Integrity: “Energy and Environmental Policy: The Quest for Rationality.” But when environmental policy experts convened at the Law School in late September, the two keynote speakers, both seasoned veterans of regulatory battles, articulated reasons for cautious optimism.