In the News

Should retirement plan managers be able to consider climate change and other financially relevant environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in their decisions? A recent analysis of public comments found overwhelming support for a proposed rule from the Department of Labor (DOL) affirming their ability to consider these factors. ESG factors, including climate change, can affect risk and return for all types of investments, not just ESG-labeled funds. 

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday handed more fuel to FERC’s Democratic majority for its new policies on natural gas infrastructure, ruling that the commission has to take another shot at reviewing downstream greenhouse gas emissions from a Massachusetts compressor project. “Today’s decision adds to a growing list of cases affirming that FERC is required to consider these climate impacts,” said Sarah Ladin, an attorney at the Institute for Policy Integrity at the New York University School of Law. “More broadly, today’s decision affirms that the commission’s new policy statement is an appropriate action to ensure it properly considers greenhouse gas emissions in assessing pipeline applications,” Ladin wrote in a statement.

Jack Lienke discussed the history of West Virginia v. EPA, whether SCOTUS should have taken it at all, the legal issues involved, and the possible rulings we might expect from the court, ranging from bad to terrible.

Past regulations to deal with cross-state air pollution were "very successful” in cutting NOx releases, said Jack Lienke, regulatory policy director at the Institute for Policy Integrity, a liberal-leaning think tank based at New York University. “The reason that we need a new rule is not because those rules were failures," Lienke said. “It’s because the target has changed.”

You may have noticed quite a few headlines recently about EPA, NHTSA, cars, trucks, waivers, model years, and lawsuits. It’s worth breaking down this flurry of activity, all of which seeks to address vehicle emissions. Here, I’ll clarify the current status of the five separate proceedings happening right now, and offer a preview of what’s to come.

Meredith Hankins, an attorney with the Institute for Policy Integrity (IPI) at New York University law school, says it is noteworthy that the proposal to cut nitrogen oxides (NOx) from heavy-duty trucks includes a first-time assessment of distributional impacts. The distributional considerations in the regulatory impact analysis (RIA) are the first to evaluate existing baseline conditions as well as the results if the more stringent option were implemented, Hankins says.

Incandescent bulbs offer basically no advantages to consumers, and their high electricity demands make them worse for the climate and environment as well. The Biden administration's proposed lightbulb efficiency standards would create enormous value for society, including consumer cost savings and reduced climate pollution.

The Institute for Policy Integrity tracked the Trump administration’s record in court throughout Trump’s four years in office. By its count, the administration was “successful” 58 times, and “unsuccessful” 200 times. That is, just 22 percent of the Trump administration’s regulatory or deregulatory actions that were challenged in court came through the legal process unscathed.

Legal challenges are almost certain for finalized rules that tighten up nitrogen oxides emissions from the freight fleet, but critics looking to take future standards to court will likely face an “uphill battle,” according to Institute for Policy Integrity attorney Meredith Hankins. “Certainly there are costs to the industry, we can’t paper over that, but you can see that the overall net benefits for society under these rules are quite high,” Hankins said.

Rachel Rothschild, legal fellow at the Institute for Policy Integrity, joins Kate and Melissa to recap oral argument in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency. They also recap cases about prescription drugs, tribal casinos, outpatient dialysis, and what happens when a state wants to enforce a law that’s no longer in effect.