SABIN CENTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE LAW 2025–2026
CONTENTS Message from Leadership
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Impact
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Organizational Growth
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Focus Areas
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Looking Ahead
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MESSAGE FROM LEADERSHIP
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he past year marked a period of significant change in climate law and policy. Around the world, courts continued to confront questions of climate accountability, governments reconsidered regulatory frameworks, and new technologies emerged that will shape how societies respond to the climate crisis in the decades ahead. Against this backdrop, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law remained committed to its core mission: developing legal techniques to combat the climate crisis and advance climate justice and training the next generation of leaders in the field.
Over the course of 2025–26, our team published groundbreaking scholarship, expanded our legal tools and databases, hosted numerous conferences and events, and contributed legal and scientific expertise to important policy and judicial processes in the United States and internationally. Our work covered a broad range of topics, from the use of climate attribution science in litigation to legal barriers to renewable energy and other climate infrastructure development to the role of cities in advancing climate law and policy, climate-related financial regulation, and model climate legislation.
Michael Gerrard Faculty Director
MIchael Burger Executive Director
Several of the Center’s flagship resources reached new milestones during the year. The Climate Litigation Database was relaunched in partnership with Climate Policy Radar, creating a unified, AI-driven platform for tracking climate cases worldwide. The Silencing Science Tracker and Climate Attribution Database were expanded, providing policymakers, researchers, journalists, and advocates with critical information and analysis. Across our projects, we continued to translate complex legal and scientific issues into practical tools
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that can be used in the real world to inform decision-making and support climate action. None of this work would be possible without the dedication of our staff, fellows, students, collaborators, partners, and funders, as well as the support of Columbia University, Columbia Law School, and Columbia Climate School. We are deeply grateful for their contributions and commitment. As climate challenges continue to evolve, so too must the legal and policy frameworks needed to address them. We look forward to continuing this work in the years ahead and to building on the progress reflected in this report.
Michael B. Gerrard Faculty Director Michael Burger Executive Director
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IMPACT RESEARCH AND ENGAGEMENT
40+
REPORTS, WHITE PAPERS, BOOK CHAPTERS, AND SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS PUBLISHED ACROSS SABIN CENTER FOCUS AREAS
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BOOKS ON CLIMATE LAW EDITED OR CO-EDITED BY SABIN CENTER SCHOLARS
AMICUS BRIEFS
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COMMENT LETTERS
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LEGAL TOOLS AND DATABASES
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BLOG POSTS PUBLISHED
8,100
AVERAGE MONTHLY USERS OF THE RELAUNCHED CLIMATE LITIGATION DATABASE
312,456 CLIMATE LAW BLOG VIEWS
700+
ENTRIES IN THE SILENCING SCIENCE TRACKER
777 SCIENTIFIC RESOURCES CATALOGED IN THE CLIMATE ATTRIBUTION DATABASE INTERACTIVE RENEWABLE ENERGY SITING PLATFORM LAUNCHED THROUGH OPPOSITIONREPORT.ORG
SEARCHABLE STATE-BY-STATE CLIMATE LAW RESOURCE LAUNCHED THROUGH THE CITIES CLIMATE LAW INITIATIVE 4
EVENTS AND CONVENINGS
20+ MAJOR INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES HOSTED ON ATTRIBUTION SCIENCE, CLIMATE LAW, MARINE CARBON DIOXIDE REMOVAL, CLIMATE LITIGATION, AND LOCAL CLIMATE GOVERNANCE
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CLIMATE WEEK NYC EVENTS HOSTED ACROSS MULTIPLE FOCUS AREAS
14th SABIN COLLOQUIUM ON INNOVATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL LAW SCHOLARSHIP HOSTED
COVERAGE IN: The New York Times Reuters The Wall Street Journal Bloomberg Law ProPublica Newsweek Le Monde NPR
PBS News CBS News CNN International Deutsche Welle Law360 Inside Climate News MIT Technology Review
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ORGANIZATIONAL GROWTH As the scope and complexity of climate law and policy continue to grow, the Sabin Center has continued to strengthen its institutional capacity to meet growing demand for its research, legal analysis, and other resources. During 2025–26, the Center expanded its team with the addition of new staff across several focus areas. The Center now includes 17 full-time lawyers; four non-resident fellows; three operations and communications staff; and numerous affiliates, visiting scholars, research assistants, and interns. The growth of the Center reflects both the increasing demand for climate law expertise and the importance of building durable legal institutions capable of supporting ambitious climate action at the local, national, and international levels.
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FOCUS AREAS Cities Climate Law Initiative Building Knowledge and Providing Legal Guidance for Local Climate Action Over the past year, the Sabin Center’s Cities Climate Law Initiative (CCLI) continued to be a leading source of legal analysis and practical guidance for local governments navigating the climate policy landscape. Working closely with a dozen city legal departments, climate and sustainability offices, and partner organizations, the team developed resources and legal analyses designed to help local governments advance ambitious climate action, while navigating complex legal and regulatory constraints. In January 2026, the team released “Navigating State Law in Local Climate Action,” a nearly 200-page report providing city staff with state-by-state analysis of how 19 states approach key questions of state-local preemption. CCLI also deployed an accompanying online resource, the Cities Climate Law Toolkits, featuring searchable, state-specific landing pages that enable city officials, practitioners, and advocates to quickly identify relevant legal frameworks, preemption concerns, and emerging trends across jurisdictions. The team also published numerous blog posts analyzing federal support for local climate action, developments in building decarbonization, and evolving preemption challenges, among other things.
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Deploying Legal Expertise and Supporting Local Governments Throughout the year, the team responded to requests from city officials seeking independent academic guidance on the legal dimensions of local climate policy. These engagements included sharing information on the design of building decarbonization measures, analyzing preemption risks, and exploring strategies to reduce vehicle emissions and strengthen local climate resilience. We submitted briefs and comments in proceedings involving federal funding cuts, building decarbonization policies, vehicle emissions standards, and EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gases.
Expanding Public Engagement and Policy Influence The CCLI’s work continued to influence public discourse and strengthen recognition of local governments as essential actors in addressing the climate crisis. Staff were quoted in major media outlets including The New York Times, NPR, AP News, Smart Cities Dive, and Utility Dive, helping bring greater public attention to the legal and policy challenges cities face in advancing climate action.
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Renewable Energy Legal Defense Initiative Advancing Knowledge and Practical Tools for Renewable Energy Siting The Sabin Center’s Renewable Energy Legal Defense Initiative (RELDI) continued to build legal tools and leverage its expertise to support the equitable and efficient deployment of renewable energy infrastructure across the United States. The team published the fifth edition of “Opposition to Renewable Energy Facilities in the United States: June 2025 Edition,” an annual report tracking and analyzing local opposition to renewable energy projects nationwide. The report has become a leading resource for policymakers and advocates seeking to better understand the legal, political, and social dynamics shaping renewable energy siting and permitting. To expand public access to this research, RELDI launched oppositionreport.org, an interactive website that allows users to explore trends and developments in renewable energy opposition in real time. Throughout the year, RELDI also contributed to broader public understanding of renewable energy law and policy through presentations, workshops, and expert analysis on issues including the controversy surrounding Michigan’s renewable energy siting process, the use of community benefits agreements for large-scale solar projects, state preemption of local land-use authority, and legal strategies for overcoming local opposition to renewable energy development. 9
Deploying Legal Expertise and Supporting Renewable Energy Development RELDI deployed its legal expertise to support efforts aimed at advancing renewable energy development and defending lawful climate and energy policies. The team filed an amicus brief in Renew Northeast v. U.S. Department of the Interior in support of the plaintiffs’ successful motion for a preliminary injunction challenging several federal actions viewed as harmful to renewable energy development. Submitted on behalf of rural advocacy organizations supporting renewable energy expansion, the brief highlighted the property, economic, and community harms associated with the challenged actions and emphasized the importance of renewable energy investment for rural communities. RELDI also led a workshop on legal strategies for successful renewable energy siting at a convening hosted by the Energy Foundation in Saint Paul, bringing together experts and stakeholders working to address legal and regulatory barriers to renewable energy infrastructure.
Expanding Public Engagement and Policy Influence RELDI’s work contributed to ongoing public and policy conversations about renewable energy development, land use, and community engagement. Staff were featured in media and policy outlets including Bloomberg, NPR, PV Magazine, and the World Resources Institute. Through its publications, workshops, and other engagement, the team continued to provide support to local residents, community groups, and public interest organizations seeking to advance renewable energy projects across the United States.
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Model Climate Laws Initiative Developing Practical Legal Tools for Climate Action This year, the Sabin Center’s Model Climate Laws Initiative (MCLI) expanded its partnerships, resources, and public engagement to support the development of effective and implementable climate legislation at the state and local levels. Building on the former Legal Pathways for Deep Decarbonization model law project, the Sabin Center partnered with Environmental Advocates NY in July 2025 to formally launch the Initiative and broaden its reach and capacity. The launch of the Initiative enabled MCLI to hire its first executive director, Jon Binder, former deputy commissioner for climate, air, and energy at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Drawing on Jon’s regulatory experience, MCLI has prioritized the development of model legislation that is legally durable, practically implementable, and responsive to emerging policy and political challenges. Over the course of the year, MCLI focused on developing model laws addressing federal regulatory rollbacks, energy affordability concerns, renewable energy deployment, and data center development, while continuing broader efforts to support economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions reductions. MCLI also expanded its work on state and local laws designed to strengthen resilience to physical climate impacts.
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Expanding Partnerships and Public Engagement MCLI continued to broaden its network of partnerships to increase the reach and use of its resources among lawmakers, advocates, and policymakers. In particular, MCLI formalized a partnership with the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators to exchange resources and support state-level climate policymaking. The two groups hosted a joint webinar discussing federal climate laws, litigation, and state policy opportunities, as well as a joint blog post on what the Endangerment Finding repeal means for states. The Initiative also continued to collaborate with pro bono attorneys across the United States to draft additional model laws and supporting legal resources. MCLI participated in conferences and public events across the country, including hosting an event during Climate Week NYC and participating in convenings in states including California and Vermont. Team members were quoted in various media outlets on federal climate regulatory developments, including the repeal of the Endangerment Finding, for which Jon Binder gave a televised interview on Spectrum News NY1.
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Climate Litigation Informing Climate Litigation Around the World In 2025–26, the Sabin Center strengthened its role as a global leader in climate litigation research and analysis through major publications, convenings, and academic collaborations that expanded understanding of how courts are addressing the climate crisis. In partnership with Climate Policy Radar, the Sabin Center relaunched the Climate Litigation Database in September 2025, integrating the formerly separate U.S. and Global databases into a single AI-powered platform that significantly improves accessibility, searchability, and comparative legal analysis. To mark the launch, the Sabin Center and CPR hosted an event during Climate Week NYC 2025. The team also continued to produce foundational legal scholarship and analysis. In October 2025, the Sabin Center and United Nations Environment Programme released the fourth edition of the Global Climate Litigation Report: 2025 Status Review. We also published the third installment in the “year in review” series of reports revisiting significant rulings from around the world, as well as a report on U.S. climate litigation during the Biden administration. The team hosted blog symposia on the advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, as well as a symposium on Climate Change and Reparations. The ICJ symposium was subsequently developed into an open-access edited book. Maria Antonia Tigre, Director of Global Climate Change Litigation at the Sabin Center, co-edited three major books advancing climate litigation scholarship and comparative legal analysis: The Role of Advisory Opinions in International Law in the Context of the Climate Crisis (Brill/ Nijhoff), Climate Litigation and Vulnerabilities: Global South Perspectives (Routledge), and Brazil and Climate Justice: Pioneering Climate Litigation for a Global Cause (Brill/Nijhoff). 13
Supporting International Litigation The Sabin Center filed an amicus brief with the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights explaining how climate science can inform the Court’s assessment of State obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights in the context of climate change. The Sabin Center also partnered with the Centre for Climate Engagement at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, to submit an amicus brief in a case before the High Court of Australia. In February 2026, the Sabin Center hosted a webinar on Asian climate litigation, and during Climate Week NYC, we hosted an in-person event on “Climate Litigation Lessons from Brazil.” In April 2026, Michael Gerrard spoke to an Expert-Level Thematic Workshop on Addressing Existential Threats Posed by Sea Level Rise at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the UN.
Expanding Global Impact and Public Engagement Staff were featured in major media outlets including The New York Times, Reuters, Deutsche Welle, Inside Climate News, and Law360, and appeared on NPR, CBS News, PBS News, CNN International, and other broadcast platforms. Staff also delivered presentations at leading academic and professional institutions, including Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, NYU Law School, UC Berkeley School of Law, Georgetown Law School, Fordham Law School, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, Northwestern Law School, Stanford Law School, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, and the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Spring Conference. In recognition of her leadership in the field, Dr. Maria Antonia Tigre, Director of Global Climate Litigation at the Sabin Center, received the Hsu Mo Prize at the International Law Association–American Society of International Law Asia-Pacific Research Forum 2025.
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Carbon Management and Greenhouse Gas Removal Developing Legal Frameworks for Carbon Removal Technologies The Sabin Center continued its groundbreaking work on legal issues associated with carbon management and greenhouse gas removal. Our work in 2025–26 spanned point-source carbon capture and storage, terrestrial and marine carbon dioxide removal, and emerging methane removal approaches. We published eight papers analyzing existing legal frameworks for these activities and recommending reforms to ensure they proceed safely and equitably. Highlights include: A major report and blog series exploring what the recent climate change advisory opinions issued by international courts mean for future governance of marine carbon dioxide removal. Methane Removal Under the Paris Agreement, tthe first comprehensive analysis of how atmospheric methane removal fits within international climate governance frameworks. A series analyzing the role of U.S. states in regulating carbon dioxide removal and methane removal activities: Regulation of Coastal Weathering in Massachusett; The Legal Framework for Enhanced Rock Weathering in Minnesota, and an article on legal challenges to advancing carbon capture, removal, and storage projects in Louisiana.
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Regulatory Engagement We submitted five comment letters on issues relating to carbon capture and storage and carbon dioxide removal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state bodies in California and Massachusetts. With the support of the National Sea Grant Law Center, the team hosted Navigating Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal: From Science to Regulation, a conference that brought together nearly 200 scientists, lawyers, policymakers, and other experts. Team members also delivered presentations at major conferences and convenings around the world, including the One Ocean Science Congress in Nice, France; the CDRmare General Assembly meeting in Berlin, Germany; the 4th International Conference on CDR in Milan, Italy; and the 31st Annual Tulane Environmental Law Symposium in New Orleans.
Expanding Leadership and Policy Influence Romany Webb was appointed to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Standing Committee on Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal, which is charged with updating a 2022 research strategy for marine carbon dioxide removal. Romany was also appointed to the Pool of Experts of the United Nations Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment and co-authored the United Nations 3rd World Oceans Assessment and the United Nations Environment Programme’s 2026 Climate Technology Progress Report on ocean technologies for climate action. Korey Silverman-Roati was selected for the COMPASS mCDR Communication Leaders Cohort Program.
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Climate Law and Science Strengthening the Role of Climate Science in Decision-Making The Sabin Center’s Climate Law and Science team continued to examine the role of climate science in legal decision-making. Over the past year, the team published five articles and one book chapter addressing climate attribution science, environmental deregulation, evidentiary standards, and the use of scientific research in litigation and regulatory processes. Highlights include: Michael Gerrard’s article, “Bad Faith Disregard of Benefits and Science in Federal Environmental Deregulation,” which analyzes efforts to undermine scientific evidence and cost-benefit analysis in federal environmental policymaking. Jessica Wentz’s “Responding to EPA’s Claim that U.S. Motor Vehicle Emissions Have a ‘De Minimis’ Impact on Climate-Related Harms,” which critiques the scientific and legal rationale underlying the proposed repeal of the 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding for motor vehicles; and “Abating Industrial Nitrous Oxide Emissions in the United States: Legal, Economic and Scientific Dimensions,” co-authored by Wentz and published in Climate Policy, which explored pathways for reducing a significant source of non-CO₂ greenhouse gas emissions. Additional publications examined the use of climate science in litigation, including Jessica Wentz’s “Climate Science and Natural Resource Litigation” and a commentary titled “Getting to Court Is the Hard Part” co-authored by Michael Gerrard and Jessica Wentz in Nature reflecting on the use of attribution science in climate tort litigation.
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Deploying Scientific and Legal Expertise The Sabin Center contributed scientific and legal analysis to major domestic and international legal proceedings related to climate regulation, attribution science, and human rights obligations. We submitted comments challenging proposed federal deregulatory actions related to greenhouse gas emissions standards for motor vehicles and fossil fuel-fired power plants, addressing both the legal and scientific deficiencies underlying the proposed repeals and contributing scientific resources to the administrative record. The Center also continued to maintain and expand two major legal tools designed to support evidence-based climate governance and improve access to scientific research relevant to legal and policy decision-making: On January 20, 2026, the Sabin Center and the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund launched an upgraded version of the Silencing Science Tracker, featuring enhanced search functionality, improved tagging and filtering tools, and a more intuitive interface for analyzing anti-science actions by federal and state governments. The Tracker now contains more than 730 entries documenting actions that affect the production, communication, and use of scientific research in public decision-making. The project also continued to expand and maintain the Climate Attribution Database, which now contains 777 scientific resources related to attribution science, including materials addressing general climate trends, extreme events, impact attribution, source attribution, and legal proceedings. In May, the Sabin Center launched a quarterly Climate Attribution Database Newsletter. 18
Convening Experts and Expanding Public Engagement In June 2026, the Sabin Center and the Columbia Climate School hosted the Second Conference on Attribution Science and Climate Law at Columbia University in New York City. The interdisciplinary conference brought together scientists, economists, legal scholars, and practitioners to examine developments in attribution science and their implications for litigation, governance, and climate policy. Staff also participated in international convenings and public discussions on climate science and legal accountability. For example, Michael Burger presented at a conference hosted by the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change in Italy focused on science, law, and corporate climate responsibility. Staff were quoted in more than 30 news articles, including coverage in Newsweek, ProPublica, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Law, Le Monde, and The Washington Post The project’s work on attribution science and climate accountability was also featured in MIT Technology Review, helping elevate emerging issues at the intersection of climate science, law, and accountability among policymakers, practitioners, journalists, and the broader public.
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Climate and Business Law Advancing Climate Governance in Business and Finance The Sabin Center’s Climate and Business Law team continued to examine how corporate law, financial regulation, antitrust law, and fiduciary obligations shape responses to climate risk. Through white papers, legal analysis, regulatory engagement, and public commentary, the team explored the evolving legal landscape governing corporate climate accountability and climate-related financial decision-making. In 2025–26, the Sabin Center published two white papers addressing corporate climate disclosures and fiduciary obligations: The Behavioral Effects of Corporate GHG Emissions Disclosures examines how voluntary and mandatory greenhouse gas disclosure regimes influence corporate emissions behavior and analyzed the mechanisms driving those changes. Varied Legal Parameters Shape Fiduciaries’ Ability to Act on Climate Risk explores how fiduciary duties differ across legal contexts and how those distinctions create varying opportunities and constraints for climate risk analysis and decision-making. Staff also published articles addressing emerging legal disputes involving climate governance and corporate accountability. These included analyses of antitrust claims against climate alliances in Texas v. BlackRock, a novel antitrust theory advanced by the State of Michigan against fossil fuel companies, and regulatory concerns surrounding proposed exemptions for insurers under California’s climate disclosure laws.
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Deploying Legal Expertise and Regulatory Engagement The Sabin Center submitted comment letters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board, and the California Department of Insurance on pending regulatory proposals related to climate disclosure obligations, and climate-related financial oversight. The Center also published nearly a dozen blog posts and commentaries examining rapidly evolving legal and policy developments at the intersection of climate change and business law. Topics included the antiESG movement, state attorney general investigations targeting climate initiatives, and the climate implications of financial speculation in electricity capacity markets.
Expanding Public Engagement and Policy Discussion Staff participated in speaking engagements during Climate Week NYC and other climate and investor-focused conferences, and the initiative’s work was featured in outlets including The New York Times and Green Central Banking.
LOOKING AHEAD In the year ahead, the Sabin Center will continue to serve as a leading resource for decision-makers around the world—producing cutting-edge research, and maintaining and expanding widely used legal tools and databases. By connecting legal expertise with real-world challenges, the Center will help shape the policies, institutions, and legal frameworks needed to support an effective response to climate change.
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law | 2025–2026
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