Academic

Long on Massachusetts v. EPA

By Lawrence Solum

Andrew Long (University of Louisville - Louis D. Brandeis School of Law) has posted Standing & Consensus: Globalism in Massachusetts v. EPA (23 Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation, Vol. 23, No. 73, 2008) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

In this symposium piece, I analyze potential implications of Massachusetts v. EPA for environmental litigation by focusing on the Court's approach to justiciability and EPA's non-statutory arguments. The Court recognizes interdependence of environmental systems and incorporates that recognition into standing doctrine more completely than any previous Supreme Court opinion. Further, the majority opinion virtually embraces the global scientific consensus on climate change despite EPA's assertion that residual uncertainty weighed against regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. Third, the Court directly addresses, for the first time, the relationship between domestic agency action and global environmental problems. These trailblazing aspects of the case, taken together, suggest the possibility of greater incorporation of global environmental considerations into domestic environmental litigation in areas of global concern, such as climate change or biodiversity. In that sense, Massachusetts v. EPA presents a globalism rarely, if ever, seen in Supreme Court opinions on environmental cases.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on May 13, 2008 (boomark / email).