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Sigmetnow

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #100 on: August 10, 2016, 02:17:42 PM »
Massachusetts AG Criticizes Exxon for Continuing Climate Deceit
Quote
In the latest volley of her legal skirmish with ExxonMobil, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said the company continues to mislead the public about the risks of climate change.

"It appears that Exxon may have failed to disclose fully its knowledge of the threats posed by climate change to its businesses and that Exxon continues to make apparently misleading and deceptive statements to investors and consumers," Healey said in one of two motions filed with a federal court in Texas.

For more than three decades, the company understood climate-driven risk to its businesses, "yet, Exxon continues to maintain that the future is bright for its investors," attorneys for Healey argued in court briefs filed Monday. 

As evidence of the company's lack of candor, Healey cited an Exxon statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this year and a report the company prepared for shareholders in 2014 that said, "We are confident that none of our hydrocarbon reserves are now or will become 'stranded.'"


Investors face financial peril if substantial portions of Exxon's vast fossil fuel reserves are unable to be burned because of the international climate agreement limiting carbon dioxide emissions.

"Those assets—valued in the billions—will be stranded, placing shareholder value at risk," said one of the briefs.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09082016/massachusetts-ag-maura-healey-criticizes-exxon-continuing-climate-deceit
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #101 on: August 10, 2016, 03:09:06 PM »
Court backs Obama’s climate change accounting
Quote
A federal appeals court is upholding the Obama administration’s accounting of the costs of greenhouse gas emissions as applied to a Department of Energy (DOE) regulation.

In a unanimous decision late Monday, the Chicago-based 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected an industry-backed request to overturn a 2014 rule that set energy efficiency standards for commercial refrigerators.

In doing so, the court specifically backed the so-called social cost of carbon, President Obama’s administration-wide estimate of the costs per metric ton of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere — currently $36.

The DOE used the carbon cost in its cost-benefit analysis, justifying the rule in part because of the amount of climate change regulators believe it would avoid.

It’s the first time a court has considered the legality of the carbon accounting, according to the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University, which supports the policy and filed a brief backing the DOE in the case. Congressional Republicans, business interests and energy companies have criticized the accounting as bad math and improper forecasts.

The court said the carbon cost is entirely within the DOE’s discretion to use.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/290859-court-backs-obamas-climate-change-accounting
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #102 on: August 10, 2016, 09:40:21 PM »
Emergency Moratorium Stops All Unrefined Oil, Coal, and LNG Export Infrastructure Projects in Whatcom County, WA
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BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, August 9, 2016, the Whatcom County Council unanimously approved a 60-day emergency moratorium to immediately suspend approval of any proposed projects that could facilitate shipment of unrefined oil, coal or gas through Whatcom County. The move temporarily prevents permitting for new projects that would allow the shipment or export of crude oil, coal, or liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Cherry Point. The emergency moratorium was put into place while the county finalizes a Comprehensive Plan update that will inform future zoning regulation changes that could prevent permits for new projects facilitating the export of crude oil, coal, or fracked gases.

Cherry Point is home to two oil refineries (BP and Phillips 66), a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) processing and export facility (PetroGas), and three pipelines that carry crude oil, natural gas, and refined petroleum products.
http://www.stand.earth/blog/statement-emergency-moratorium-stops-all-unrefined-oil-coal-and-lng-export-infrastructure
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Tor Bejnar

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #103 on: August 12, 2016, 05:26:57 PM »
Climate Change May Be Doubted by Some, But Now It’s the Law
- Bloomberg Market Stories

Quote
A federal court allows the Obama administration to incorporate the price of global destruction.

A federal appeals court in Chicago gave a thumbs-up this week to an obscure regulatory practice that helps the U.S. government account for projected costs of climate change. The decision comes less than a week after the White House issued guidance to all federal agencies about how they can build carbon accounting into their decision-making.

Although not as splashy as the economywide “cap” on climate pollution President Obama proposed in his first term, the intensely wonky “social cost of carbon” is gradually making its mark. The seismic effect of bureaucrats at every level of government adding a new line to their balance sheets cannot be overstated.

The three-judge panel held that the U.S. Department of Energy acted in a reasonable and fair manner when, in 2014, it issued two rules promoting energy efficiency in commercial refrigerators. Multiple lawsuits against the agency were consolidated into one case, which eventually landed in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago.
...
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #104 on: August 21, 2016, 04:23:14 AM »
Recent research indicates that big oil developed a "common tactical playbook" to lie to the public about climate change, decades earlier than previously assumed.  I believe that big oil can and will be held accountable for such illegal activity:

http://www.alternet.org/environment/new-evidence-suggests-big-oil-didnt-borrow-big-tobaccos-playbook-lie-public-about

Extract: "New Evidence Suggests Big Oil Didn’t Borrow Big Tobacco’s Playbook to Lie to the Public About Climate Change—They Actually Wrote It

In a major blow to ExxonMobil, documents reveal that the common tactical playbook is decades older than previously assumed."
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #105 on: September 08, 2016, 02:32:24 PM »
California is about to find out what a truly radical climate policy looks like
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The state is already on track to nudge its greenhouse-gas emissions back down to 1990 levels by the year 2020. Then last week, after much fierce debate, the California Assembly and Senate passed a new bill, known as SB 32, that would go much further, mandating an additional 40 percent cut in emissions by 2030....
...
It’s hard to overstate how ambitious this is. Few countries have ever achieved cuts this sharp while enjoying robust economic growth. (Two exceptions were France and Sweden in the 1980s and ’90s, when they scaled up nuclear power.) The EU is also aiming for a similar 40 percent cut below 1990 levels by 2030, though they’ve got a head start.

And California is facing some serious hurdles. The state’s largest source of low-carbon electricity, the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, may shut down in 2025. The climate plan faces opposition not just from influential industries like oil and manufacturing, but also from a fair number of Democrats. Making things harder still, California’s signature climate policy, an economy-wide cap-and-trade program for CO2 emissions, is in legal peril — and last week’s vote didn’t help.

The stakes are enormous: Policymakers everywhere will be watching to see if California can pull this off. Getting a 40 percent cut will require more than bucking up wind and solar and putting more electric cars on the road. It will mean reshaping virtually every facet of the state’s economy, from buildings to transportation to farming and beyond.

Vox then discusses legal, financial, and technical difficulties of the new target ....
Quote
Bottom line, though: SB 32 was a huge, huge deal. Climate hawks won a major victory over industry groups who fought the bill tooth and nail. California will extend its landmark climate efforts into 2030. Drastic emissions cuts are now written into law.
http://www.vox.com/2016/8/29/12650488/california-climate-law-sb-32
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Tor Bejnar

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #106 on: September 13, 2016, 07:02:54 PM »
'Rights of nature' heads back to federal court
Ellen M. Gilmer, E&E reporter
(subscription required)

Quote
A green group's unconventional campaign to secure legal rights for the environment may get a second wind in federal court.

The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund yesterday went to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to challenge a lower court's refusal to let a grass-roots group and an ecosystem join a federal lawsuit over oil and gas development.

In litigation over whether northwest Pennsylvania's Highland Township has authority to ban oil and gas wastewater disposal, CELDF attorney Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin represented the local water authority, a grass-roots environmental group and the Crystal Spring ecosystem in a motion to join the case on the township's side.

That last intervenor, the Crystal Spring ecosystem, is highly unusual — a fact that's not lost on Schromen-Wawrin.

"By recognizing ecosystems as legal persons we're trying to change this, to recognize legally that the earth has rights and is not merely property," he said in an email. "That means, of course, that we're going up against at least 1,000 years of dogma in western law. That's not going to be easy, but at the same time we need to make some fundamental shifts in how we relate to the earth in short time."

The effort is part of the "rights of nature" movement, which has gained attention but little traction in recent years as CELDF promotes the idea in small communities seeking to block oil and gas development. Under the doctrine, parts of the environment would have legal standing in court. The forests, rivers and other parts of nature would still be represented by human lawyers but, unlike environmental groups, would not have to show that a challenged action ultimately harms people.

Industry lawyers have derided the idea as absurd, and mainstream environmental lawyers have called it far-fetched.
...
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

Tor Bejnar

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #107 on: September 13, 2016, 07:07:10 PM »
2 more lawmakers join 'Noah's Ark' caucus
Hannah Hess, E&E reporter

Quote
Two more lawmakers have joined a bipartisan House caucus that's focused on finding solutions to climate change, growing its ranks to include 16 members of the House.

The newest members of the Climate Solutions Caucus are Democratic Rep. Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon and Republican Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada, who once made headlines for a letter he wrote to a constituent that challenged mainstream climate science.

Spokesmen for Bonamici and Amodei announced the news yesterday.

South Florida Reps. Ted Deutch (D) and Carlos Curbelo (R) launched the group in February after a massive behind-the-scenes effort driven by rising sea levels in the Sunshine State (E&E Daily, Feb. 9).

The caucus convened its first meeting in April, and its ranks have steadily grown since then. The membership is split equally between Democrats and Republicans in what caucus leaders call the "Noah's Ark approach."
...
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

Sigmetnow

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #108 on: September 13, 2016, 09:21:25 PM »
Kids v. U.S. Government climate change action case: hearing today before a federal judge.

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Judge Ann Aiken is putting fossil fuel attorney THROUGH THE RINGER over reality of climate change. He squirmed around it, mostly. #KidsvGov
https://twitter.com/jdsutter/status/775751934229696512

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Kids' attorney showing the US Gov has known since the 50s that fossil fuels create danger/climate change. #KidsvGov. [photo of exibit at link:]
https://twitter.com/jdsutter/status/775760826728714240

Quote
Olson closes w/quote: "The eyes of the future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time." Wow #KidsvGov
https://twitter.com/jdsutter/status/775766949846364161 
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TerryM

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #109 on: September 14, 2016, 03:02:58 AM »
2 more lawmakers join 'Noah's Ark' caucus
Hannah Hess, E&E reporter

Quote
Two more lawmakers have joined a bipartisan House caucus that's focused on finding solutions to climate change, growing its ranks to include 16 members of the House.

The newest members of the Climate Solutions Caucus are Democratic Rep. Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon and Republican Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada, who once made headlines for a letter he wrote to a constituent that challenged mainstream climate science.

Spokesmen for Bonamici and Amodei announced the news yesterday.

South Florida Reps. Ted Deutch (D) and Carlos Curbelo (R) launched the group in February after a massive behind-the-scenes effort driven by rising sea levels in the Sunshine State (E&E Daily, Feb. 9).

The caucus convened its first meeting in April, and its ranks have steadily grown since then. The membership is split equally between Democrats and Republicans in what caucus leaders call the "Noah's Ark approach."
...


That fine upstanding rep from Rural Nevada may capsize the 'Ark' as fellow crew members roll on the deck while he explains his theory that global warming is  "due to the warming of the center of the earth". I'm sure he believes that the center of the earth is a spot equidistant from each of the 4 corners, but I'm not sure what he thinks will happen if we drilled there to let some of the heat out.


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/16/1231627/-Nevada-Rep-Mark-Amodei-R-Challenges-Climate-Change-in-a-Letter-to-a-Constituent


While I have little hope that the 'Noah's Ark Caucus' will be part of the solution, the minutes of their meetings might provide a modicum of much needed relief.


Terry

budmantis

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #110 on: September 14, 2016, 08:08:35 AM »
That rural Nevada representative would not be a denier if he was living on a low lying Pacific island!

Sigmetnow

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #111 on: September 14, 2016, 02:23:30 PM »
From her interactions with people of many faiths and beliefs, Katharine Hayhoe suggests we can find common goals to act on climate change, even if we don't all agree on the science, or the reason why we should do them.

Warm Regards climate change podcast, with Hayhoe joining Eric Holthaus, Andy Revkin, and Jacqueline Gill:
https://soundcloud.com/warmregardspodcast/climate-scientists-are-people-too

(They also discuss how to talk about climate change with relatives and friends who don't believe in climate change, but who are an important part of our lives and so cannot be summarily dismissed....)
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #112 on: September 16, 2016, 10:15:33 PM »
Washington state releases plan to cut carbon emissions
Quote
On Thursday, Washington state adopted new rules that will force large polluters to begin curbing their greenhouse gas emissions. The rules come after a lengthy process that began last year when Gov. Jay Inslee (D-WA) directed the state’s Department of Ecology to develop a regulatory cap on carbon emissions in the state.

“When we consider the challenges our communities face from climate change, we are compelled to act,” state Ecology Director Maia Bellon said at a news conference announcing the finalization of the rule.

The rule will compel the state’s largest polluters to decrease their carbon emissions by an average of 1.7 percent annually. Those reduction requirements will only apply, at first, to the state’s largest polluters — those industries that emit at least 100,000 metric tons of carbon each year. In time, the restrictions will be tightened to include more businesses that emit less carbon pollution.
...
The ruling came from litigation related to Our Children’s Trust, a group that has filed suits in states across the nation arguing that federal and state governments are failing to protect the public trust — in this case, the atmosphere — through inaction on climate change.
https://thinkprogress.org/washington-state-ecology-carbon-plan-6365d15fa8fc
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #113 on: September 19, 2016, 01:51:48 PM »
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker orders new rules to reduce greenhouse emissions
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Governor Charlie Baker signed an executive order Friday directing state officials to develop regulations for specific, annual reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by next summer.

The order comes on the heels of a court ruling that the state has not done enough to meet its obligations under the state’s 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act, which requires Massachusetts to cut its greenhouse gases 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

Baker also directed officials, in the order, to develop a statewide plan for “adaptation and resiliency” in the face of expected sea level rise and anticipated growth in wildfires and extreme weather events.

“From historic droughts . . . to the winter of 2015 . . . and coastal and inland flooding, climate change threatens our environment, our residents, our communities, and our economy,” said Baker, a Republican, at a State House signing ceremony. “This executive order signals our continuing commitment to combatting and preparing . . . for climate change impacts across state government and in our communities.”
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/09/16/baker-orders-new-rules-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions/iyodcpf4NOzFDAhRlCQdPL/story.html
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #114 on: September 25, 2016, 04:20:56 PM »
Let's hope these 21 youths get some traction in court:

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/09/13/its-time-we-were-heard-another-day-court-climate-kids

In a federal courthouse in Oregon on Tuesday, 21 youths and their supporters argued that by failing to act on climate change, the U.S. government has violated the youngest generation's constitutional rights.
With Big Oil behind it, the government, in turn, has sought to dismiss the case, which has been called "the most important lawsuit on the planet right now."
The plaintiffs, currently aged 9-20, scored a win in April when U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin decided the case could proceed.

"I feel like I have to go to court, because my little brother can't speak for himself, he's too little. But I can speak for him, and for everyone in my generation. It's time we were heard. It's time President Obama protects our future, and my little brother's future.""
—Jayden Foytlin, 13-year-old plaintiff
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #115 on: November 10, 2016, 10:17:07 PM »
Eric Holthaus:  Holy wow.... those kids suing Obama & big oil over climate change?
They just *won*.
Read this:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/571d109b04426270152febe0/t/5824e1ee59cc68a5f2abcbb1/1478812143120/2016.11.10Aiken+Decision+PR+.pdf
Quote
Eugene, OR – Today, the federal court in Eugene, Oregon decided in favor of 21 youth plaintiffs in their “groundbreaking” constitutional climate lawsuit against President Obama, numerous federal agencies, and the fossil fuel industry. U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken completely rejected all arguments to dismiss raised by the federal government and fossil fuel industry, determining that the young plaintiffs’ constitutional and public trust claims could proceed. Now, the 21 plaintiffs, who range in age from 9-20, are preparing for trial in what is believed to be a turning point in United States constitutional history.

“This decision is one of the most significant in our Nation’s history,” said Julia Olson, counsel for the plaintiffs.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #116 on: November 12, 2016, 12:17:29 AM »
Climate Lawsuit Awaits President Trump
Quote
What had been a legal problem for a federal government that prided itself on being a leader on climate action is about to become a legal problem for the administration of a president who has called climate change “a hoax.”

“President Trump and his administration will be substituted in as the defendants in the case — I think,” said Julia Olson, executive director and chief legal counsel for Our Children’s Trust, the nonprofit behind the case. “During the next two and half months, Obama has an opportunity to come to the settlement table and stop fighting this case in court.”

The lawsuit is moving forward at a time when experts are projecting a sudden rise in the use of lawsuits to try to force American governments to tackle global warming and regulate climate pollution.
...
Since Tuesday’s election, environmental groups have been saying they intend to try to convince Trump of the economic benefits of climate action. Failing that, they intend to fight his administration tirelessly — just as they waged protracted battles against the administration of President George W. Bush.

Many of those battles will be fought in court. Prominent climate activist Bill McKibben on Friday welcomed the development in the Oregon case, saying it will be “one of the first times” that climate change gets inside a courtroom as an issue.

“Given the election, a courtroom may be the last place left where science will get a hearing,” McKibben said. 
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-lawsuit-awaits-trump-20872
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #117 on: November 12, 2016, 06:51:38 PM »
Eric Holthaus:  Holy wow.... those kids suing Obama & big oil over climate change?
They just *won*.


I agree that following the election day train wreck in the executive and legislative branches, the judicial branch may well be the best path forward for the moment:

https://thinkprogress.org/youth-climate-lawsuit-can-move-forward-federal-judge-says-5854766c1c76#.yl8lqll4r

Extract: "On Thursday, a federal judge in Oregon ruled that a climate lawsuit brought against the U.S. government by a group of youths can move forward, a win for the strategy of fighting climate change through the judicial branch."
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Lennart van der Linde

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #118 on: November 12, 2016, 07:29:04 PM »
This looks somewhat promising.

AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #119 on: November 27, 2016, 08:10:52 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "Class-Action Lawsuit Adds to ExxonMobil's Climate Change Woes", and it discusses how ExxonMobil shareholders have filed a class-action suit against the company for its failure to disclose risks (that it well understood) posed to its business by climate change.

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18112016/exxon-climate-change-research-oil-reserves-stranded-assets-lawsuit

Extract: "Investors allege Exxon should have adjusted its accounting of oil reserves based on what it knows about climate change and coming climate action."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #120 on: November 28, 2016, 08:30:11 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "Environmental justice: From the margins to the mainstream".  It focuses on progress on environmental justice in Californian.

http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060046228
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #121 on: November 30, 2016, 01:26:19 AM »
More company climate votes ahead, as Trump may loosen energy rules
Quote
Activist shareholders plan a record number of resolutions focused on climate change at U.S. company annual meetings in 2017, even as President-elect Donald Trump looks set to loosen environmental regulations.
...
Activist shareholders broadly aim to curb companies' carbon emissions and make energy usage more efficient, or at the very least, to draw the attention of companies and investors to climate change as an urgent problem.
...
The election victory of Trump, who is set to take over as U.S. president on Jan. 20, only seems to have added impetus.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climatechange-shareholders-idUSKBN13K18F
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #122 on: December 02, 2016, 07:28:56 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "Trump could face the ‘biggest trial of the century’ — over climate change".  Win, lose or draw, the 'Our Children's Trust"'s legal fight itself will have impacts.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/01/trump-could-face-the-biggest-trial-of-the-century-over-climate-change/?utm_term=.d170c3477b4a

Extract: "According to Our Children’s Trust, the nonprofit representing the youth plaintiffs, a recent case management conference indicated that the case would likely go to trial by summer or early fall of 2017.

“It’s been called the biggest trial of the century, and it is,” said Mary Wood, a law professor at the University of Oregon and expert in natural resources and public trust law. “Literally, when I say the planet is on the docket, it would be hard to imagine a more consequential trial, because the fossil fuel policies of the entire United States of America are going to confront the climate science put forth by the world’s best scientists. And never before has that happened.”

But while May notes that “strictly speaking, legally, the [plaintiffs’] causes of action have legs,” the case’s pioneering nature may make it difficult to argue in court.

“The federal judiciary of the United States is not yet ready, by and large, to apply federal common law public trust doctrine and substantive due process to climate change,” he said. “I think it’s likely that the cases will be struck.” 

But some experts are more optimistic. Wood, the University of Oregon law professor, feels that the case overcame its biggest challenge already when the motion to dismiss was denied. By declining to dismiss the lawsuit, the court was indicating that the plaintiffs do indeed have a right to sue the government over their constitutional right to a healthy environment in the context of the climate change threat — something that has never been done before.

Still, this outcome could also be appealed by the new administration — and in any event that the case made it all the way to the Supreme Court, May said, it would likely be “dead on arrival.”

And even if the federal lawsuit fails, its effects could still reverberate in other ways. It’s opened up a new legal avenue for fighting climate change that may become more common in the future, May said."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #123 on: December 07, 2016, 07:19:27 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "Exxon Wins Latest Legal Round in Climate Fight With Mass. AG".  This case highlights the fact that powerful special interests like ExxonMobil can manipulate the federal government to their advantage in an effort to keep society on a BAU pathway.


https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06122016/exxonmobil-climate-change-investigation-maura-healey-massachusetts-attorney-general-global-warming

Extract: "In virtually unprecedented ruling, federal judge in Texas says Massachusetts AG Maura Healey must answer questions about her climate investigation to Exxon lawyers.

"What this ruling does is create a special set of rules for Exxon and presumably any other company with Exxon's resources to second guess an attorney general's ability to conduct investigations," Campbell said."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #124 on: December 13, 2016, 05:31:11 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "Texas judge cancels order for AG Maura Healey to testify in ExxonMobil case".   The out-come of this case could have an impact on ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who Trump nominated to be the US Secretary of State:

http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/12/texas_judge_cancels_order_for.html

Extract: "A U.S. District Court judge has canceled a deposition of Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey scheduled for Tuesday in Texas in a case relating to her investigation of ExxonMobil."

After Kinkeade ordered Healey to testify in Texas, her office challenged the order and the Texas court's jurisdiction to the Fifth Circuit Appeals Court.

"Exxon's tactics are a direct assault on the authority of states to enforce our laws," Gotsis said. "Instead of answering basic questions about whether it misrepresented the impacts of burning fossil fuels, Exxon continues to throw up roadblocks to escape the rules that apply to any other company."

ExxonMobil has asked a Suffolk County judge to halt the Massachusetts proceedings and let the federal court in Texas decide the case.

The case may have additional political implications now that president-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering nominating Tillerson as secretary of state."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #125 on: December 31, 2016, 12:20:54 AM »
The linked article is entitled: "Teens’ Lawyers Plan to Question Tillerson on His Knowledge of Climate Change", and indicates that in the legal case of "Juliana v. U.S., 15-cv-01517, U.S. District Court, District of Oregon (Eugene)" Rex Tillerson will be questioned before January 20, 2017 on his climate change knowledge.

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-12-29/tillerson-climate-change-testimony-sought-before-trump-sworn-in

Extract: "Lawyers for teenagers claiming the U.S. government failed to protect the environment from global warming plan to question under oath President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state on his knowledge of climate change.

Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson’s testimony, set for the day before the Jan. 20 inauguration, is being sought by lawyers representing 21 children and teenagers seeking to prove that oil and gas industry groups “have known about the dangers of climate change since the 1960s and have successfully worked to prevent the government” from taking action. The groups, whose members include Exxon, joined the lawsuit on the side of the government to oppose the teens."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #126 on: January 12, 2017, 04:32:23 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "Massachusetts judge requires Exxon to hand over climate documents".  A democracy needs transparency to function properly.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-exxon-mobil-massachusetts-idUSKBN14W04Z

Extract: "A Massachusetts judge has refused to excuse Exxon Mobil Corp from a request by the state's attorney general to hand over decades worth of documents on its views on climate change, state officials said on Wednesday."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #127 on: January 23, 2017, 03:11:19 AM »
As I believe that the Trump Administration will be attacking climate science; in my view, any legal action against the Trump Administration will improve the chances for fighting climate change (legally).  In this regards, the linked article is entitled: "Foreign Payments to Trump Firms Violate Constitution, Suit Will Claim"

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/22/us/politics/trump-foreign-payments-constitution-lawsuit.html?_r=0

Extract: "A team of prominent constitutional scholars, Supreme Court litigators and former White House ethics lawyers intends to file a lawsuit Monday morning alleging that President Trump is violating the Constitution by allowing his hotels and other business operations to accept payments from foreign governments.

The lawsuit is among a barrage of legal actions against the Trump administration that have been initiated or are being planned by major liberal advocacy organizations. Such suits are among the few outlets they have to challenge the administration now that Republicans are in control of the government.
...
Perhaps more important, the legal groups said they may challenge executive actions Mr. Trump is expected to take on topics like international trade deals, illegal immigration and climate change."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #128 on: January 23, 2017, 08:15:05 PM »
As a follow-on to my last post, see the linked article entitled: "Lawsuit: Trump business ties violate Constitution".

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/lawsuit-trump-businesses-violate-constitution/2017/01/23/87c0df26-e174-11e6-a419-eefe8eff0835_story.html?utm_term=.b994218866c2

Extract: "To fight what it called a “grave threat” to the country, a watchdog group on Monday filed a lawsuit alleging that President Donald Trump is violating the Constitution by allowing his business to accept payments from foreign governments.

The lawsuit claims that Trump is violating a clause in the Constitution that prohibits him from receiving money from diplomats for stays at his hotels or foreign governments for leases of office space in his buildings. The language in the clause is disputed by legal experts, and some think the suit will fail, but it signaled the start of a legal assault by Trump critics on what they see as unprecedented conflicts between his business and the presidency."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #129 on: January 23, 2017, 10:18:32 PM »
See the linked article entitled: "Individual Americans have far less power over President Trump than they did a week ago".

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/01/23/individual-americans-have-far-less-power-over-donald-trump-than-they-did-a-week-ago/?utm_term=.15528b433825

Extract: "Both Metzger and Seidman were skeptical that the CREW lawsuit would succeed, in part because it would be difficult to argue that the organization had standing to sue as having been negatively affected by Trump’s alleged violation of the emoluments clause. (Its case? That it has more work to do in tracking government conflicts as a result.) But Seidman noted that winning the lawsuit might not be the primary goal; instead, it may be an attempt to shift political opinion of the president. (A lawyer affiliated with the suit told the New York Times, for example, that one goal was forcing the release of Trump’s tax returns.)

“Judges are not immune from political pressure,” Seidman said. “If Trump were to become very unpopular and there was a lot of political pressure generated to do something about it, then I can easily imagine judges relaxing some of the obstacles that exist otherwise.”"
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #130 on: February 01, 2017, 05:24:48 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "Record Judge Vacancies Could See Trump Recast Courts".  This indicates that the damage likely to be inflicted by Team Trump against the environment will likely go on for decades.  In my opinion, AR6 should include a higher scenario than RCP 8.5 to reflect this new long-term risk.

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/record-judge-vacancies-trump-recast-courts-21124

Extract: "With President Trump preparing to nominate a ninth justice for the Supreme Court this week, tumult over the crucial vacancy is overshadowing his unprecedented potential to fill the benches of lower federal courts.

A broad refusal by Senate Republicans to approve judicial nominees during the last two years of Obama’s second term means Trump could move quickly to fill 114 vacant federal judge positions. U.S. Courts data shows that to be the most vacancies in at least 20 years.

Trump is a foe of environmental regulations who is working quickly to undo rules, programs and agreements backed by President Obama to slow global warming. By appointing federal judges with similar views, Trump could make it harder for future administrations to secure courtroom approvals for new climate rules for decades to come."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Tor Bejnar

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #131 on: February 01, 2017, 05:35:15 PM »
Donald Trump Faces Lawsuit From Local Teen Over Climate Change
Quote
A local teen is part of groundbreaking lawsuit moving through the courts that alleges the federal government violated her rights by knowing for decades that fossil fuels create pollution that destabilizes the climate.

Advocacy group Our Children's Trust filed the suit on behalf of Victoria Barrett of White Plains, New York, along with 20 other young people as well as other groups from around the country.
This is part of a continuing saga, not specific to the current President.  See Trump could face the ‘biggest trial of the century’ — over climate change from last December.
Quote
A few weeks ago [in November 2016], a federal judge in Oregon made headlines when she ruled that a groundbreaking climate lawsuit will proceed to trial. And some experts say its outcome could rewrite the future of climate policy in the United States. 

The case, brought by 21 youths aged 9 to 20, claims that the federal government isn’t doing enough to address the problem of climate change to protect their planet’s future — and that, they charge, is a violation of their constitutional rights on the most basic level. The case has already received widespread attention, even garnering the support of well-known climate scientist James Hansen, who has also joined as a plaintiff on behalf of his granddaughter and as a guardian for “future generations.”
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

Tor Bejnar

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #132 on: February 01, 2017, 05:47:42 PM »
Crib notes: US climate kids to see Tillerson in court
Quote
Rex Tillerson should face questions in a climate lawsuit brought by 21 young people, a federal judge has ruled.

If – as expected – he is confirmed as secretary of state, Tillerson is on the hook to give testimony in what is shaping up to be a seminal court case.

Lawyers for the youth want to quiz the former Exxon Mobil boss on what he knew when about climate science. That will feed into an argument that fossil-friendly feds violated the younger generation’s constitutional rights, in allowing dangerous levels of climate change.

“We believe that Mr Tillerson’s deposition will be extremely important to this case,” said counsel Philip Gregory in a statement.

“The ties between the fossil fuel industry in the federal government run very deep and Mr Tillerson will have much to add on this crucial issue.”

Judge Thomas Coffin said the case will go to trial in summer or autumn 2017, in Eugene, Oregon.
Mark  your calendars!
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #133 on: February 05, 2017, 01:16:16 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "Just in Time for Trump, Jury Says Defense of Planet Is No Crime".  Hopefully, this finding of the innocence of a climate activist, will encourage more people to standup to the fossil fuel industry.

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/02/02/just-time-trump-jury-says-defense-planet-no-crime

Extract: "Offering some hope that "reality" will prevail in a political climate seemingly bent on climate destruction, a Washington state jury on Wednesday failed to convict activist Ken Ward on two felony counts stemming from an act of civil disobedience against the fossil fuel industry."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

pileus

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #134 on: February 06, 2017, 08:20:50 PM »
Grit your teeth is you choose to click.  The essence of the editorial is that if Dr. Mann's litigation against the National Review and others succeeds, it would threaten to chill "the free exchange of ideas" WRT to climate change.  An example of this free exchange of data and assessment from the denialsphere is offered in the first quote below.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-libel-suit-threatens-catastrophe-for-the-climate-of-public-debate-1486336417?mod=e2two

"Not content to answer his critics in the public square, Mr. Mann has sued them. One target of his lawsuit is the political magazine National Review, which published a 270-word blog post criticizing Mr. Mann as “the man behind the fraudulent . . . ‘hockey-stick’ graph.” His lawsuit objects to the magazine’s decision to quote a critic who wrote that Mr. Mann “could be said to be the Jerry Sandusky of climate science, except that instead of molesting children, he has molested and tortured data.”
-----------------
"Those hoping Mr. Mann prevails because they agree with him about global warming are missing the point. If he succeeds in diminishing the right to free speech, he and his fellow climate activists have just as much to lose. Mr. Mann has attacked his critics for peddling “pure scientific fraud,” engaging in what he calls “the fraudulent denial of climate change,” and taking “corporate payoffs for knowingly lying about the threat climate change posed to humanity.” He accused Fox News of trying to “mislead its viewers” through a “deceptive” report about climate change."


Tor Bejnar

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #135 on: February 08, 2017, 11:36:10 PM »
Environmental, Consumer And Labor Groups File Lawsuit Challenging President Trump’s Executive Order On Reducing Regulation And Controlling Regulatory Costs (it was all caps: you can thank me!)
Quote
... the order – which instructs agencies to ensure that the cost of regulations promulgated this year are no greater than zero, and to identify two regulations for potential repeal for every new regulation that is proposed – conflicts with statutory and judicial requirements on how agencies should account for costs and benefits in rulemaking.
...
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Tor Bejnar

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #136 on: February 09, 2017, 12:35:41 AM »
Incidentially, the Climate Law Blog is a great place to visit if you like this thread.
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

Sigmetnow

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #137 on: April 07, 2017, 10:05:54 PM »
EPA Should Not Be Allowed to Dodge Clean Power Plan Ruling, Cities and States Tell Court
Coalition of states, cities and green groups urges D.C. Court of Appeals to reject Trump administration request to stall decision on cornerstone climate regulations.
Quote
A coalition of states, cities and environmental groups filed twin briefs on Wednesday accusing the Environmental Protection Agency of trying to "perpetually dodge" court decisions that could keep alive the Clean Power Plan, which the Trump Administration wants to dismantle.

They urged the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to reject the administration's new petition to put the Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of the Obama Administration's climate policies, into an indefinite state of limbo, while the EPA sends the rule back to the drawing board.

The appeals court heard oral arguments in the case months ago and should be ready to rule at any time. A quick ruling could, within a year, put the regulations on the docket of the Supreme Court, which issued a stay in 2016.
...
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06042017/epa-clean-power-plan-donald-trump-pruitt-environmental-groups-legal-action
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

TerryM

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #138 on: April 08, 2017, 02:57:13 AM »
EPA Should Not Be Allowed to Dodge Clean Power Plan Ruling, Cities and States Tell Court
Coalition of states, cities and green groups urges D.C. Court of Appeals to reject Trump administration request to stall decision on cornerstone climate regulations.
Quote
A coalition of states, cities and environmental groups filed twin briefs on Wednesday accusing the Environmental Protection Agency of trying to "perpetually dodge" court decisions that could keep alive the Clean Power Plan, which the Trump Administration wants to dismantle.

They urged the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to reject the administration's new petition to put the Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of the Obama Administration's climate policies, into an indefinite state of limbo, while the EPA sends the rule back to the drawing board.

The appeals court heard oral arguments in the case months ago and should be ready to rule at any time. A quick ruling could, within a year, put the regulations on the docket of the Supreme Court, which issued a stay in 2016.
...
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06042017/epa-clean-power-plan-donald-trump-pruitt-environmental-groups-legal-action
Would the 2017 Supreme Court do better?


Terry

DrTskoul

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #139 on: April 08, 2017, 03:04:44 AM »
EPA Should Not Be Allowed to Dodge Clean Power Plan Ruling, Cities and States Tell Court
Coalition of states, cities and green groups urges D.C. Court of Appeals to reject Trump administration request to stall decision on cornerstone climate regulations.
Quote
A coalition of states, cities and environmental groups filed twin briefs on Wednesday accusing the Environmental Protection Agency of trying to "perpetually dodge" court decisions that could keep alive the Clean Power Plan, which the Trump Administration wants to dismantle.

They urged the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to reject the administration's new petition to put the Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of the Obama Administration's climate policies, into an indefinite state of limbo, while the EPA sends the rule back to the drawing board.

The appeals court heard oral arguments in the case months ago and should be ready to rule at any time. A quick ruling could, within a year, put the regulations on the docket of the Supreme Court, which issued a stay in 2016.
...
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06042017/epa-clean-power-plan-donald-trump-pruitt-environmental-groups-legal-action
Would the 2017 Supreme Court do better?


Terry

Pff.. heck no... more conservative leaning again...

crandles

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #140 on: May 28, 2017, 12:17:30 AM »
Perhaps wrong place but

U.S. fossil fuel groups pull out of climate change court case
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climatechange-lawsuit-idUSKBN18M0DG

Quote
Three fossil fuel industry groups dropped their attempt to intervene in a court case over climate change this week after failing to reach an agreement on a unified legal position on climate science

"It seems pretty clear that the trade group intervenors have recognized that there may be costs as well as benefits to intervention and that they might be better off leaving the defense of the case to the government,"

Now why do I feel the following sounds more like it:
Quote
One issue for the industry groups is that laying out in court the scientific findings they accept on climate change could bind them to specific positions in other legal proceedings.


sidd

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #141 on: May 28, 2017, 02:32:55 AM »
That withdrawal from the lawsuit by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), prominent trade groups and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) is interesting. NAM are dinosaurs and they probably believe Jesus rode one. API is geologists, who are reluctantly coming around to the truth. AFPM is closer to NAM, but no so outright crazy.

"One issue for the industry groups is that laying out in court the scientific findings they accept on climate change could bind them to specific positions in other legal proceedings."

Heeheehee. Confusion to our enemies. I'll drink to that.

sidd

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #142 on: June 10, 2017, 10:59:27 PM »
Hopefully, this case will make it to trial:

"Federal judge denies Trump administration appeal in youth climate lawsuit"

https://thinkprogress.org/youth-climate-lawsuit-trump-appeal-denied-db0f6a811c08
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #143 on: July 19, 2017, 03:59:39 AM »
Coastal Communities Sue 37 Oil, Gas and Coal Companies Over Climate Change
Similar to the tobacco lawsuits of the 1990s, the California lawsuits argue that the companies failed to warn about dangers from their products.
Quote
Their lawsuits accuse the companies of having known, for nearly five decades, "that greenhouse gas pollution from their fossil fuel products had a significant impact on the Earth's climate and sea levels." They say the companies' "awareness of the negative implications of their behavior corresponds" with rising greenhouse gas emissions. Together, the lawsuits say, the companies were responsible for roughly 20 percent of total emissions from 1965 to 2015.

The lawsuits contend that the companies "concealed the dangers, sought to undermine public support for greenhouse gas regulation, and engaged in massive campaigns to promote the ever-increasing use of their products at ever greater volumes."

The municipalities argue that the companies' actions amounted to negligence and a public nuisance—and they also contend that the companies failed to warn the public about dangers of their products, among other allegations. 
...
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18072017/oil-gas-coal-companies-exxon-shell-sued-coastal-california-city-counties-sea-level-rise
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #144 on: July 31, 2017, 04:52:51 PM »
The GOP is working together with Trump to short-circuit potential lawsuits in the fight against climate change:

Title: "How Congress Is Cementing Trump's Anti-Climate Orders into Law"

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31072017/trump-climate-change-executive-orders-congress-turning-into-law-via-budget

Extract: "These efforts are mostly flying under the radar, but they could short-circuit lawsuits and make it harder to restore environmental protections."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Sigmetnow

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #145 on: August 08, 2017, 04:24:40 PM »
Scrapping U.S. Climate Protections Would Erase $300 Billion in Benefits, Study Finds
A new analysis of key Obama-era climate rules targeted by the Trump administration finds the benefits of those protections are 4x greater than the costs.
Quote
The Trump administration has been systematically dismantling the nation's climate change regulations, often claiming a high cost of compliance as justification. But a new study says keeping those rules would actually save nearly $300 billion a year by 2030.
...
They found that the total costs associated with those rules—the costs for companies to comply, higher prices for consumers and other indirect costs—were projected to be about $84 billion per year in 2030. But in that same year, the benefits—including the direct savings from lower carbon emissions, improved public health from lower emissions of pollutants, and new jobs created by the rules—were expected to be worth nearly $370 billion. They also found that the rules would prevent the emission of the equivalent of nearly 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2030. ...
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/07082017/trump-obama-climate-policies-regulation-cost-benefit-analysis
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sidd

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #146 on: August 09, 2017, 09:16:52 PM »
Lawsuit against Commonwealth Bank in Australia :

"Two shareholders are taking the bank to court, claiming it has failed to properly disclose investment risks associated with the environmental problem."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40871818

sidd

AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #147 on: September 06, 2017, 10:43:05 PM »
If climate scientists cannot convince policy makers to adequately combat climate change; then perhaps attribution science can punish the guilty:

Title: "ANALYSIS-Hurricane Harvey's aftermath could see pioneering climate lawsuits"

http://news.trust.org/item/20170905173717-68rcn/

Extract: "The prospect of attributing portions of extreme weather events to climate change has lawyers suggesting that a new kind of litigation is emerging.

For Patton, the level of certainty reached in attribution analyses means extreme weather victims will increasingly be able to seek compensation on grounds that damages they sustained were foreseeable.

"Attribution science can inform that legal process," she said.

In the case of Harvey, possible lawsuits could target government agencies, companies managing infrastructure or architects and engineers who have been involved in building damaged infrastructure, from sewage-treatment plants to levees."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #148 on: September 07, 2017, 04:35:46 PM »
Recent advances in attribution science (see the second linked reference) makes it more practicable to hold those responsible for climate change (see the first linked reference) to accounts (including by legal means):

Shue, H. (2017), "Responsible for what? Carbon producer CO2 contributions and the energy transition", Climatic Change, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-017-2042-9

https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-017-2042-9?utm_content=buffer57da0&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Abstract: "Judgments of moral responsibility should be informed by both scientific analysis and societal standards. Society distinguishes responsibilities into positive and negative, general and special, and backward-looking and forward-looking. Ekwurzel et al. in Clim Chang 2017 shows that 90 major carbon producers have contributed most of the atmospheric CO2 emissions. Once it became clear no later than the 1960s that continuing CO2 emissions would progressively undermine the climate, the major carbon producers could see that they were marketing harmful products. The simple and merely negative responsibility to “do no harm” required them to reduce that harm rapidly either by modifying the product in order to capture its dangerous emissions or by developing safe substitutes to perform the same function, that is, by developing non-carbon-based forms of energy. The seriousness of the harms brought by climate change made this responsibility especially compelling. Ceasing to contribute to harm includes ending exploration for additional fossil fuels. The half century of failure by corporate carbon producers to reduce the harms caused by their products now gives them additional responsibility to correct the damage done by their decades of neglect of the underlying negative responsibility. If major carbon producers also wish to fulfill the general responsibility to make more than a minimal positive social contribution, their distinctive capacities of political power, wealth, and expertise qualify them for leadership in the transition to an energy regime that would be safe for future generations to rely on."

See also the cited reference:

B. Ekwurzel et al (2017), "The rise in global atmospheric CO2, surface temperature, and sea level from emissions traced to major carbon producers", Climate Change, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-017-1978-0

https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-017-1978-0?utm_content=buffere9cac&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Abstract: "Researchers have quantified the contributions of industrialized and developing nations’ historical emissions to global surface temperature rise. Recent findings that nearly two-thirds of total industrial CO2 and CH4 emissions can be traced to 90 major industrial carbon producers have drawn attention to their potential climate responsibilities. Here, we use a simple climate model to quantify the contribution of historical (1880–2010) and recent (1980–2010) emissions traced to these producers to the historical rise in global atmospheric CO2, surface temperature, and sea level. Emissions traced to these 90 carbon producers contributed ∼57% of the observed rise in atmospheric CO2, ∼42–50% of the rise in global mean surface temperature (GMST), and ∼26–32% of global sea level (GSL) rise over the historical period and ∼43% (atmospheric CO2), ∼29–35% (GMST), and ∼11–14% (GSL) since 1980 (based on best-estimate parameters and accounting for uncertainty arising from the lack of data on aerosol forcings traced to producers). Emissions traced to seven investor-owned and seven majority state-owned carbon producers were consistently among the top 20 largest individual company contributors to each global impact across both time periods. This study lays the groundwork for tracing emissions sourced from industrial carbon producers to specific climate impacts and furthers scientific and policy consideration of their historical responsibilities for climate change."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

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Re: Legal Approach to Climate Change Resolutions
« Reply #149 on: September 08, 2017, 05:09:23 PM »
Hopefully, we will see more and more climate change court cases due to advances in attribution science:

Title: "Guest Post: Deploying the science of extreme weather attribution in the courts"

https://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-deploying-science-extreme-weather-attribution-courts

Extract: "We expect that attribution science will provide crucial evidence that will help courts determine liability for climate change related harm. But that liability may emerge first from traditional common law negligence causes of action, applied to professionals and parties with unique knowledge and/or duties, rather than from regulatory compliance actions.

Governments and businesses can no longer ignore the risk of extreme events or write them off as “Acts of God”. Instead, quantifying the impact that humans have on climate events could help us mitigate climate risk and adapt for a stable future."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson