Sabin Center for Climate Change Law: Year in Review

The Sabin Center has hosted several events and conferences this past year, most notably the conference ”Attribution Science and Climate Law," as well as the legal colloquium "The New Climate Fiduciaries." Other events and convenings covered misinformation regarding renewable energy, misinformation regarding the impacts of renewable energy, the impacts of sea level rise on small island states, ocean carbon dioxide removal technologies, and U.S. and global climate change litigation. 

The Sabin Center actively contributes to legal proceedings by submitting amicus briefs and testimonies in both U.S. and international courts. Over the past 12 months, the center submitted 15 briefs and eight testimonies, and five comment letters to federal, state, and local agencies. Center staff also participated in a public hearing before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on issues related to the climate emergency and human rights. See all comments, legal briefs, and testimonies.

October 2024
Achieving the United States’ ambitious emissions reduction goals depends in large part on the rapid adoption of wind and solar energy and the electrification of consumer vehicles. However, misinformation and coordinated disinformation about renewable energy are widespread and threaten to undermine the transition. In this report, the Sabin Center identifies and examines 33 of the most pervasive false claims about solar energy, wind energy, and electric vehicles, with the aim of promoting a more informed discussion. Read more.

December 2024
The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Smart Surfaces Coalition launched the Smart Surfaces Policy Tracker—a resource that makes local #climateadaptation policy readily accessible. The database features a searchable set of nearly 2,000 laws and policies from across the U.S., along with resources on best practices and a glossary of terms.

January 2025
In January, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law launched three publicly accessible online tracking tools: The Climate Backtracker records Trump administration actions to weaken or eliminate federal climate protections; the Inflation Reduction Act Tracker (co-maintained with the Environmental Defense Fund) tracks changes in the status of climate programs established via the Inflation Reduction Act; and the Silencing Science Tracker (co-maintained with the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund) monitors anti-science actions. This is the third iteration of Sabin Center climate regulation trackers. The first was the Climate Deregulation Tracker, which tracked climate-related regulatory actions under the first Trump administration (2017–2021), followed by the Climate Reregulation Tracker, which tracked actions under the Biden administration (2021–2025). Learn more. 

March 2025
Launched in March and distributed twice a month, the newsletter helps readers keep track of climate cases happening around the world, covers the center's climate litigation work, and highlights the latest updates to the U.S. and Global Climate Change Litigation Databases. It also features the Sabin Center's litigation-focused blog posts and other publications, upcoming events on litigation-related topics, and contributors from the Peer Review Network of Climate Litigation (the scholars and practitioners who help to maintain the Global Climate Litigation Database). Read the newsletter and subscribe.

July 2025
Launched in partnership with Environmental Advocates NY, the Model Climate Laws Initiative supports the development of strong state-level laws and regulations to combat climate change. Some of these draft laws will be designed as models for nationwide use, while others will be tailored to meet the unique needs of specific states. The initiative will work with lawmakers, agencies, and advocates to identify and address legal gaps and help meet the demand for stronger policies. Read the press release and the feature in The Washington Post.