Recent Developments in US Climate Law: Judicial Retrenchment and Congressional Action

The United States signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in June of 1992. For nearly 30 years thereafter, Congress remained gridlocked and unable to pass significant climate change legislation. During that time, the executive branch was the main forum for the development of federal climate policy, forcing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to creatively reinterpret 1970s legislation to deal with climate change. The situation changed in two crucial ways in 2022: The Supreme Court's decision in West Virginia v. EPA reined in EPA's authority, and Congress finally enacted major climate legislation in the form of a multi-billion dollar tax and spending bill. These two events will shape the future of US climate efforts.