Posts tagged Environmental Law
The Legal Case Against EPA: The Rescission of the Endangerment Finding

According to EPA statistics, the U.S. vehicle sector produces enough emissions annually that, if it were a separate country, it would be the fifth-largest source of greenhouse gases in the world. [1] For nearly two decades, the EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Finding has served as the legal and scientific foundation for regulating these emissions through the Clean Air Act. However, under the second Trump Administration, the agency has recently reversed course, rescinding the Endangerment Finding, directly contradicting its own data, and allowing these emissions to continue unchecked. In light of this stark departure from the scientific consensus and past regulatory practice, this article will evaluate the merits of the legal reasoning the EPA used to rescind the Endangerment Finding. It argues that the EPA’s final rule raises serious questions about consistency with statutory text in the Clean Air Act, divergence from established legal precedent, and disregard for scientific evidence supporting greenhouse gas regulations. Moreover, if the EPA rule is brought to the Supreme Court, the rescission would likely face significant legal challenges, even against the current conservative-majority Court.

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Energy, Environment, and Economics: The Legal Case for the EU’s Emissions Trading System II

On March 18, 2026, 10 European Union (EU) Member States sent a letter to the European Commission, labeling the bloc’s carbon regulation policy an “existential risk” to industrial sectors and calling for immediate reform. [1] The letter comes amid the broadening controversy over the expansion of the EU’s carbon mitigation programs. Under the European Climate Law, the EU has committed to collective greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, instituting a variety of widely successful economic-based policy measures to support its objectives. Now, the EU is endeavoring to expand the system with the Emissions Trading System (ETS2), a cap-and-trade regulatory framework that seeks to cover an industry previously unaccounted for: fuel supply. According to a report released by the European Commission, “emission reductions in those sectors have been insufficient to put the EU on a firm path towards its 2050 climate neutrality goal” and “The ETS2 cap will be set to bring emissions down by 42% by 2030.” [2] The program is anticipated to become fully operational in 2028, yet reporting and monitoring of the relevant sectors have already commenced. [3]

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