Engagement (Legal Briefs, Comment Letters, and Testimonies)

Amicus Brief submitted by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law in Support of New York City in Glen Oaks Village Owners, et al. v. City of New York, et al., by Amy Turner, Michael Burger, and Vincent Nolette (December 2024)

The Sabin Center filed an Amicus Brief in support of New York City in Glen Oaks Village Owners, et al. v. City of New York, et al., before the New York State Court of Appeals. The court must answer whether New York City’s New York City’s building performance standards aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the City’s largest buildings, is preempted by New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).

Amicus Brief on behalf of the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Support of EPA in Kentucky v. EPA, by Michael Burger, Amy Turner, Olivia Guarna, and Vincent Nolette (December 2024)

The Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Kentucky v. EPA, the lawsuit challenging the EPA’s 2024 Light- and Medium-Duty Vehicle Emissions Standards. 

Amicus Brief on behalf of the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Support of EPA in West Virginia v. EPA, by Michael Burger, Amy Turner, and Vincent Nolette (October 2024)

The Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in West Virginia v. EPA, the lawsuit challenging the EPA’s 2024 Power Plant Rules. The brief highlights the climate impacts that cities already experience, and local governments' efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. 

Amicus Brief of Carbon Capture and Storage Scientists and Engineers in Support of EPA in West Virginia v. EPA, by Michael Burger and Romany Webb, with contributions from Olivia Guarna (October 2024)

The Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of Carbon Capture and Storage scientists and engineers in support of Respondent EPA in West Virginia v. EPA, which is a challenge to EPA's recent rules on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel power plants.

Amicus Brief submitted by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law in Support of New York City's Motion for Leave to Appeal to the New York State Court of Appeals in Local Law 97 case, by Amy Turner, Michael Burger, and Vincent Nolette (June 2024)

The Sabin Center filed an Amicus Brief in support of New York City's Motion for Leave to Appeal to the New York State Court of Appeals in the case involving a challenge to New York City's Local Law 97.  

Amicus Brief submitted by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law in support of plaintiffs in the Willow Project Case, by Michael Burger & Jessica Wentz (January 2024)

In November, the U.S. District Court of Alaska dismissed 2 lawsuits seeking to halt the Willow oil and gas project. Now, the case will be heard by the Ninth Circuit on appeal, and the Sabin Center has filed an amicus brief in support of the Plaintiffs-Appellants. The brief identifies several specific legal deficiencies in BLM’s analysis of climate change-related considerations for the Willow Project.

Amicus Brief National League of Cities, League of California Cities & California State Association of Counties In Support of Defendant-Appellee City of Berkeley's Petition for Rehearing En Banc in California Restaurant Ass'n v. City of Berkeley (December 2023)

The Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of the National League of Cities, the League of California Cities & California State Association of Counties In Support of the City of Berkeley's Petition for Rehearing En Banc before the Ninth Circuit in California Restaurant Ass'n v. City of Berkeley. 

Comments from the Sabin Center's Peer Review Network on Global Climate Change Litigation to the 'Study on the Impact of Climate Change on Human and Peoples' Rights in Africa' submitted to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (November 2023) by Maria Antonia Tigre et al.

Amicus Brief submitted by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law on Climate Science and Human Rights Obligations to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the Request for an Advisory Opinion on the Climate Emergency and Human Rights from the Republic of Colombia and the Republic of Chile (November 2023) by Jessica Wentz, Michael Burger, Maria Antonia Tigre and Michael Gerrard

Amicus Brief of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law in Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic v. Bureau of Land Management, by Michael Burger, Jessica Wentz, and Romany Webb (July 2023)

The Sabin Center filed an amicus brief in support of plaintiffs in litigation regarding the Willow Project on the North Slope of Alaska

Amicus Brief National League of Cities, League of California Cities & California State Association of Counties In Support of Defendant-Appellee City of Berkeley's Petition for Rehearing En Banc in California Restaurant Ass'n v. City of Berkeley, by Michael Burger and Amy Turner (June 2023)

Amicus Brief of the National League of Cities and U.S. Conference of Mayors in Texas v. EPA by Michael Burger, Martin Lockman, Andrea Nishi, and Amy Turner (March 2023).

The Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of the National League of Cities and U.S. Conference of Mayors in support of EPA's revised light-duty vehicle emissions standards.

Third-party intervention in the case of Verein KlimaSeniorinnen and others v Switzerland (Application no. 53600/20) (December 5, 2023) by Michael Burger and Maria Antonia Tigre

Local Government Amicus Brief in California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkley by Michael Burger, Jennifer Danis and Amy Turner (February 2022)

Local Government Amicus Brief in West Virginia v. EPA by Michael Burger (January 2022)

The Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors in West Virginia v. EPA, a case that is currently before the United States Supreme Court. The case concerns the scope of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing fossil fuel power plants under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The brief argues that significant federal regulation of power plants’ emissions is necessary to support and supplement local climate action, that Section 111(d) does not foreclose generation-shifting regulation, and that neither the major questions doctrine nor the federalism clear statement canon are implicated by the case.

Local Government Amicus Brief in Competitive Enterprise Institute v. NHTSA by Michael Burger and Hillary Aidun and related press release (January 2021)

The Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of local governments in support of state, city, environmental, and public health petitioners to challenge the Trump Administration's rollback of clean car standards. The brief illustrates the threats that motor vehicle emissions pose to cities, and that the federal weakening of motor vehicle standards undermines local government efforts to address climate change and transportation pollution. The brief was joined by the National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors, and 15 individual cities, towns, counties, and mayors.

Local Government Amicus Brief in Union of Concerned Scientists v. NHTSA by Michael Burger and Hillary Aidun (July 2020)

The Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of local government associations in support of state, city, environmental, and industry petitioners in the lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration's withdrawal of California’s authority to implement its existing greenhouse gas and zero-emission vehicle standards. The brief illustrates the threats that motor vehicle emissions pose to cities, including climate impacts and public health harms associated with smog and particulate matter. The brief also emphasizes that the EPA failed to consider the need to address climate change and vehicle pollution, and unlawfully disregarded the environmental justice impacts of its action. The brief was filed on behalf of the National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the International Municipal Lawyers Association.

Local Government Amicus Brief in American Lung Association v. EPA by Michael Burger and Hillary Aidun and related press release (April 2020)

The Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of local governments in support of state and environmental petitioners in American Lung Association v. EPA, the lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's repeal of the Clean Power Plan and its replacement, the Affordable Clean Energy Rule. The brief highlights the climate impacts that cities are already facing, and local governments' efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The coalition members include the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, and 23 cities, towns, counties and mayors representing over 12 million residents.