Michigan has recently taken steps to centralize and streamline the siting of renewable energy projects, in response to ongoing challenges from local opposition. In 2023, the Michigan state legislature enacted, and Governor Whitmer signed, Public Act 233 (PA 233) which establishes limits on the types of restrictions that local governments can place on renewable energy
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A Closer Look at Two Recent Decisions Electrifying the Building Decarbonization World
Two major decisions in recent weeks are giving building electrification advocates good reason to be optimistic about the future of buildings that don’t burn gas. In the first—Association of Contracting Plumbers v. City of New York (“Plumbers”)—the Second Circuit upheld New York State and New York City’s laws
The Impact of New York’s 2026 Climate Law Retreat – New Sabin Center White Paper
Today, the Sabin Center published a new white paper, The Impact of New York’s 2026 Climate Law Retreat. The paper examines the implications of the State’s 2026 Amendments to the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), including how the changes will affect planning, permitting, implementation, and litigation.
Over the last two decades, as
Considering Climate Change in State Hazard Mitigation Plans: New Sabin Center & NRDC White Paper
Climate change is fueling an unprecedented number of extreme weather and climate disasters with dire consequences for human life and property. In the last decade, most counties across the United States have experienced multiple disaster events, including at least one federally declared disaster. States and local governments have a responsibility to adapt to these
The Role of Attribution Science in Climate Litigation
The Sabin Center maintains an open access database that attempts to post all of the climate change cases around the world. It has more than 3600 cases in 62 different jurisdictions and 28 international courts and regional tribunals. Of these, about 60% are in the United States. The largest numbers of these cases concern the
UK Court Recognizes Climate Migration as a Human Right: FA v. the Secretary of State for the Home Department (2025)
In November 2025, one of the first climate-related asylum appeals was reviewed in the UK, by the UK’s First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and approved on human rights grounds. In FA v Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD), the appellant (FA) argued that climate-related hardship, poor mental health relating to the
Unpacking New York State’s Rollback of its Landmark Climate Law
On May 26, as part of the FY 2026-27 budget, New York State enacted significant revisions to its 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA or Act). The amendments amount to a substantial rollback of the Act’s ambition.
For the last seven years, the
Data Center Regulation: What Local Governments Should Know about Large-Load Tariffs and Clean Transition Tariffs
The proliferation of data centers across the United States represents new “loads” (i.e., sources of demand) on the electrical grid. Data centers require enormous amounts of energy to power and cool their computing systems that operate continuously or near-continuously. To meet this demand, new energy infrastructure—both generation and transmission—will need to be developed.
For local
Climate Disclosure in Retreat
At every level of government, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disclosure regulations that saw meaningful progress only a few years ago are now in retreat. Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rescinding its 2024 corporate climate-disclosure rule, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul persuaded legislators to weaken the state’s landmark climate law,
Community Benefits Agreements and Data Center Development
Data center development and its climate, environmental, and energy impacts have emerged as a central and hotly debated issue facing local governments in 2026. Various studies have explored, among other things, the large amounts of land required for data centers; their immense use of energy and water ; their greenhouse gas emissions and other