Climate Change and Infrastructure
The Sabin Center researches legal issues associated with the build-out of infrastructure needed to mitigate and adapt to climate change. We identify ways in which existing law impedes new infrastructure development, and legal tools that can be used to accelerate it, with a particular focus on federal funding programs established via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act.
Publications
Research Handbook on Climate Change and Infrastructure Law, Romany M. Webb (ed) (forthcoming 2025)
Implementing the Inflation Reduction Act: Progress to Date and Risks from a Changing Administration, by Romany M. Webb, Martin Lockman, and Emma Shumway (September 2024)
Four Solar For All Lawsuits: Two Distinct Forums and Legal Theories, by Vincent Nolette (October 2025)
Court of Federal Claims: Jurisdiction, Remedies, and Unsuitability to Adjudicate the GGRF Lawsuit, by Olivia Guarna (October 2025)
Court of Appeals Sets Aside Preliminary Injunction in GGRF Litigation, by Olivia Guarna (September 2025)
Supreme Court Signals Challenges to Federal Grant Terminations are Contract Disputes, by Vincent Nolette (September 2025)
The End of Nationwide Injunctions for Federal Funding Award Terminations, by Amy Turner (July 2025)
IRA Programs at Risk under the Budget Reconciliation Bill, by Olivia Guarna and Romany Webb (May 2025)
100 Days of Trump 2.0: Inflation Reduction Act, by Olivia Guarna and Amy Turner (April 2025)
Solar for All Implementation in 2025, by Vincent Nolette (April 2025)
EPA’s Attacks on Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and the Fate of IRA’s “Green Banks,” by Olivia Guarna (April 2025)
OMB’s Pause on Climate Grants, Loans and Other Financial Assistance: Legal Issues and Next Steps for Federal Awardees, by Amy Turner and Romany Webb (January 2025)
A Missed Opportunity to Decarbonize Municipal & Nonprofit Buildings: Section 179D Tax Deduction, by Amy Turner (September 2024)
Speeding Up the Green Transition: Proposed Permitting Reforms for Faster Renewable Energy Development, by Pablo Alvarex (August 2024)
Cities and the IRA’s Green Banks: Strategies for Engagement, by Amy Turner (May 2024)
Federal Court Limits State Authority to Deny Interstate Transmission Projects, by Jacob Elkin (January 2024)
The Clean Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC): Direct Pay Claimants’ Race Against Time, by Amy Turner (October 2023)
FERC Proposed Reforms to Speed-Up Approval of Interstate Transmission Infrastructure, by Romany M. Webb (December 2022)
Engagement
- Amicus Brief on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Support of Plaintiffs in Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council v. USDA, et al. (1st Cir.), by Vincent Nolette and Amy Turner (October 2025)
- Amicus Brief on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Support of Plaintiff States in New York v. Trump (1st Cir.), by Vincent Nolette and Amy Turner (July 2025)
Events
- Implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act: What's Next?, December 2, 2024
- Tracking the Inflation Reduction Act: Benefits to Date from America, May 22, 2023
Media
- Trump administration to slash permitting times for new energy projects to 28 days , Data Center Dynamics, April 25, 2025
- How Trump Is Trying to Undo the Inflation Reduction Act, Time, February 27, 2025
- Trump orders fuel new uncertainty around Colorado climate and infrastructure projects. Here’s what we know, Colorado Public Radio, January 28, 2025.
- Future of IRA, shape of permitting reform hinge on upcoming election, experts say, Utility Drive, October 30, 2024
- How a 2nd Trump Administration could ‘jeopardize’ Inflation Reduction Act climate funds, Smart Cities Dive, September 19, 2024
- Scaling Low-Income Solar With the Inflation Reduction Act, RMI, September 3, 2024
- The IRA at 2: A Mixed Record of Achievement and Uncertainty, RTO Insider, August 16, 2024
- Minnesota Eyes Permitting Reform for Clean Energy Amid Gridlock in Congress, InsideClimate News, March 11, 2024