CleanLaw

Bölümler

• 
  Ep 116 — DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Past and Present 20.08.2026 40dk

  EELP Senior Attorney Erika Kranz speaks with Andy Mergen, Clinical Professor and Faculty Director of the Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, and Sommer Engels, Clinical Instructor with the Clinic. They take listeners behind the scenes at the U.S. Department of Justice to explain the role of its Environment and Natural Resources Division, or ENRD. Erika, Andy, and Sommer, all ENRD alumni, describe how DOJ and ENRD fit within the federal government, what ENRD litigators do, and what it’s like to represent federal agencies in court. They also discuss how ENRD works with — and sometimes has to push back on — its client agencies across the federal government. And they talk about recent shifts at the division — including new arguments made, reduced environmental enforcement, changed approaches to litigation and settlement, and a renaming of the division itself — and explain why those changes matter. For a transcript and related links see our website https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/cleanlaw-dojs-environment-and-natural-resources-division-past-and-present/
• 
  Ep 115 — Offshore Wind Development Under Trump: Legal Challenges and What's Next 23.07.2026 31dk

  EELP Executive Director Carrie Jenks talks with EELP Senior Attorney Erika Kranz about the Trump administration’s efforts to stop or delay offshore wind development. They discuss the industry’s complex permitting regulatory environment, the challenges the administration’s actions have faced in court, and what’s at stake for the future of clean energy. Transcript: https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/CleanLaw-Episode-115-Offshore-Wind-Development-Under-Trump.pdf
• 
  EP114 — The Student Environmental Law Experience at HLS: Research, Clinics, and Community 07.05.2026 46dk

  Professor and EELP Founding Director Jody Freeman and Professor Richard Lazarus talk with three HLS students about what drew them to environmental law, their experience at the Emmett Environmental Law Center, including working at EELP and in the environmental law and policy clinic, favorite courses, and what life at HLS is really like. Transcript: https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/CleanLaw-114.pdf
• 
  EP113—The "God Squad's" Unprecedented Endangered Species Act National Security Exemption 09.04.2026 42dk

  EELP Staff Attorney Erika Kranz talks with Andy Mergen, Director of the Harvard Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic, about the recent decision to exempt oil and gas exploration and development in the Gulf of Mexico from complying with the Endangered Species Act. The administration has invoked a never-before-used national security provision to bypass the Endangered Species Committee's normal, process-intensive exemption procedure. Andy and Erika break down how the Act usually works and why this maneuver is so legally extraordinary. They discuss why the administration's litigation-focused explanation is surprising, how this approach short-circuits potential action by courts and Congress, what may happen with legal challenges to this exemption decision, and what it may mean for endangered species protections in the Gulf. Note: Andy's views are his own. Transcript: https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/CleanLaw-EP113-Transcript.pdf
• 
  EP112—Legal Implications of the US Withdrawal from the UNFCCC 26.01.2026 51dk

  EELP Founding Director and Harvard Law Professor Jody Freeman speaks with Sue Biniaz, former Principal Deputy Special Envoy for Climate at the US State Department and lecturer at the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs. For nearly three decades, Sue served as the United States’ lead climate lawyer and climate negotiator. Together, Jody and Sue break down the significance of the recent US announcement to withdraw from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. They explain what the UNFCC does, the domestic and international legal implications of withdrawal, and what this move—along with the earlier withdrawal from the Paris Agreement—means for US credibility on the global stage. They also look ahead, exploring how climate progress can continue beyond the UNFCC and Paris, and the need to develop bipartisan consensus for durable climate actions.  Transcript: https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/CleanLaw-EP112-Transcript.pdf Legal and Practical Implications of the U.S. Withdrawal from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change by Sue Biniaz and Jean Galbraith https://www.justsecurity.org/128687/implications-us-withdrawal-unfccc/
• 
  EP111—Behind the Curtain of the Clean Utility Transition 20.11.2025 40dk

  EELP director of State and Regional Climate Policies Dale Bryk talks with Jamie Van Nostrand, recent chair of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, the entity that oversees investor-owned electric and gas utilities. Together, they dive into the regulatory frameworks that govern utilities, how those rules drive utility investments, and what that means for consumer energy bills in the transition to clean energy.    Transcript: https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CleanLaw-EP111-Transcript.pdf
• 
  EP110—How Maine Became a Heat Pump Leader 05.11.2025 54dk

  What does it take to electrify a cold-weather state? Maine is leading the nation in home electrification, with more than 150,000 heat pumps installed and counting. Efficiency Maine Trust executive director Michael Stoddard joins EELP’s Abby Husselbee to talk about how Maine’s independent approach, simple program design, and partnership with small businesses are transforming home heating and cutting emissions.
• 
  EP109—Cumulative Impacts and the ‘Holy Grail’ of EJ Policy 17.10.2025 49dk

  EELP's Hannah Perls speaks with environmental justice pioneer Charles Lee, former director of EPA's Office of Environmental Justice and principal author of the landmark 1987 report, Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States, and now a visiting scholar at Howard University School of Law, and Sean Moriarty, former deputy commissioner with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. They discuss the growing field of cumulative impacts analysis and how states are increasingly using this tool in permitting and other programs to advance meaningful protections for overburdened communities across the country. Transcript: https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/CleanLaw_EP109-Transcript.pdf Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States: https://www.ucc.org/what-we-do/justice-local-church-ministries/efam/environmental-justice/environmental-ministries_toxic-waste-20/ New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Environmental Justice Archives: https://dep.nj.gov/ej/archive/#meeting-20210624 EELP's EJ Tracker page on EPA's cumulative impacts efforts: https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/tracker/epa-released-interim-framework-for-advancing-consideration-of-cumulative-impacts/ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's State-of-the-Science and the Future of Cumulative Impact Assessment report: https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/state-of-the-science-and-the-future-of-cumulative-impact-assessment The New School Tishman Environment and Design Center's Cumulative Impacts Dashboard map of EJ laws: https://www.tishmancenter.org/cumulativeimpacts
• 
  Ep108—What Science and the Law Say about EPA’s Authority to Regulate GHGs 18.08.2025 53dk

  EELP's Founding Director and Harvard Law Professor, Jody Freeman, speaks with Harvard Law Professor Richard Lazarus and Solomon Hsiang, Professor of Global Environmental Policy at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. They speak about EPA's recent proposal to repeal the agency's 2009 Endangerment Finding, and dig into the legal and scientific arguments offered by EPA. They discuss whether the Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA already answers some of these legal questions and the state of the science on climate change: what we knew in 2009 when EPA first made its Endangerment Finding, and how our understanding has continued to improve. Transcript: https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/CleanLaw_EP108-Transcript.pdf eelp.law.harvard.edu
• 
  Ep107—Trump's Move to Kill the Clean Air Act's Climate Authority, Forever 06.08.2025 1sa 5dk

  In this special crossover episode of CleanLaw and Shift Key, Heatmap's weekly podcast on decarbonization and the shift away from fossil fuels, EELP’s Founding Director Professor Jody Freeman speaks with Shift Key hosts Robinson Meyer, the Founding Executive Editor of Heatmap News, and Jesse Jenkins, Professor of Energy Systems Engineering at Princeton University.  They discuss the Trump administration's proposed finding that that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are not dangerous pollutants and the potential for EPA to soon surrender its ability to regulate heat-trapping pollution from cars and trucks, power plants, and factories. They also talk about whether Trump gambit will work, the arguments that the administration is using, and what it could mean for the future of U.S. climate and energy policy. Transcript: https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/CleanLaw_EP107-Transcript.pdf
• 
  EP106—Bipartisan Reflections on EPA’s Past, Present, and Future (Part II) 31.07.2025 56dk

  In the second of this two-part series, EELP's Founding Director and Harvard Law Professor Jody Freeman speaks with William Reilly, EPA Administrator under President George H.W. Bush, and Christine Todd Whitman, EPA Administrator under President George W. Bush. They discuss their time at EPA including efforts to simultaneously advance environmental protections and economic growth. They also discussed the consequences of current changes to the agency under the Trump administration, including the loss of scientific expertise, and they highlight current career opportunities for people dedicated to public service. Transcript: https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/CleanLaw_EP106-Transcript.pdf
• 
  EP105—Bipartisan Reflections on EPA’s Past, Present, and Future (Part I) 29.07.2025 50dk

  In the first of this two-part series, EELP's Founding Director and Harvard Law Professor Jody Freeman speaks with Gina McCarthy, EPA Administrator under President Obama and the White House National Climate Advisor under President Biden. They discuss Gina's time at EPA, including the agency's mission to safeguard public health and the environment through actions that rely on robust science, technology, data, and policymaking expertise. They also review current actions by the Trump administration and discuss how private and nonprofit stakeholders and federal and state policymakers can work together to make progress on climate change and other environmental justice and public health issues. Transcript (PDF): https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/CleanLaw_EP105-Transcript.pdf
• 
  EP104—Breaking Down Recent Changes to NEPA from Agencies, Congress, and the Courts 15.07.2025 44dk

  EELP attorney Hannah Perls speaks with Professor Andrew Mergen, faculty director of Harvard’s Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, about the latest updates to the National Environmental Policy Act, including new agency implementing procedures, the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Eagle County, and amendments included in the One Big Beautiful Bill recently passed by Congress. They talk about what these changes mean in practice for project developers, impacted communities, and the environment. Transcript: https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/CleanLaw_EP104-Transcript.pdf Links: NEPA overview https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/nepa-overview/ NEPA Regulatory Tracker page https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/tracker/nepa-environmental-review-requirements/ NEPA after Eagle County decision https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/the-future-of-nepa-and-federal-permitting-after-eagle-county/ CEQ's template and agencies' procedures https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/decoding-agencies-new-nepa-procedures/ "Energy emergency" declaration https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/the-trump-administrations-aggressive-anti-regulatory-pro-fossil-fuel-directives/
• 
  EP103—The Future of Environmental Justice with MA AG Andrea Campbell and Vernice Miller-Travis 13.05.2025 53dk

  EELP Senior Staff Attorney Hannah Perls speaks with the Attorney General of Massachusetts, Andrea Joy Campbell, and Vernice Miller-Travis, Executive Vice President and Environmental Justice Lead at the Metropolitan Group. They discuss the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle federal environmental justice and equity programs, funding, and priorities, and what those changes mean for critical infrastructure, toxics-free housing, access to clean air and clean water, and more. They also discuss what states and community-based organizations are doing in this moment to safeguard public health and environmental protections in Massachusetts and nationwide. Transcript: https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CleanLaw_EP103-Transcript.pdf Links: Multi-State Guidance Concerning Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Employment Initiatives, from 16 state attorneys general, Feb. 13, 2025 https://www.mass.gov/doc/multi-state-guidance-concerning-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-accessibility-employment-initiatives/download Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States, a report from the United Church of Christ’s Commission for Racial Justice, 1987 https://www.ucc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ToxicWastesRace.pdf Searchable map of facilities invited by EPA to apply for presidential exemptions from air pollution limits, compiled by EDF, April 30, 2025 https://www.edf.org/maps/epa-pollution-pass/
• 
  Ep102—Unpacking the White House’s Legal Strategy for Attacking Environmental Protection 30.04.2025 53dk

  In this episode, EELP founding director and Harvard Law Professor Jody Freeman speaks with Carrie Jenks, EELP's executive director and Ari Peskoe, director of EELP's Electricity Law Initiative. They discuss President Trump's most recent executive orders on climate, energy, and the environment and what they are watching for as agencies begin to implement the administration’s directives to roll back environmental regulations; challenge state energy and climate policies, and revitalize the coal industry. Transcript available here: https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/CleanLaw_EP102-Transcript.pdf
• 
  Ep 101—Who Will Pay for Data Centers’ Massive Power Bills? It’s Probably You. 23.03.2025 36dk

  Electricity Law Initiative Director Ari Peskoe and EELP Fellow Eliza Martin discuss their new paper, Extracting Profits from the Public: How Utility Ratepayers are Paying for Big Tech Power. As Amazon, Google, Meta, and other technology companies try to secure electricity for their new data centers, electric utilities are expanding their systems to serve them. Because utility companies profit by building infrastructure, serving data centers is a lucrative opportunity that is incentivizing utilities to offer attractive rates to Big Tech companies. Ari and Eliza discuss how rate-setting processes can shift utility costs among ratepayers and explain how rate structures, as well as contracts between utilities and data centers, could be transferring Big Tech’s energy costs to the public. Transcript https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/CleanLaw_EP101-Transcript.pdf Read the paper https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/extracting-profits-from-the-public-how-utility-ratepayers-are-paying-for-big-techs-power/
• 
  Ep 100—Trump’s Bold Reversal on Energy and Climate Policy: ‘It’s a Lot’ 13.02.2025 59dk

  EELP founding director and Harvard Law Professor Jody Freeman speaks with Harvard Law Professor Richard Lazarus, Andy Mergen, director of the Harvard Law Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, and Carrie Jenks, executive director of the Environmental and Energy Law Program. They discuss the Trump administration’s actions to date on climate, energy, environment, and natural resources and break down which actions have an immediate effect, what will take time, and what they will be watching for, including actions affecting the federal workforce. They also discuss why the practice and study of law matter now more than ever. Transcript at https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CleanLaw_EP100-Transcript.pdf Our analysis of the Trump administration's initial executive orders https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/trumps-environmental-and-energy-executive-orders-initial-insights-and-what-were-watching/ Our rollback resources https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/topic/rollback-resources/ Our Regulatory Tracker https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/tracker-type/regulatory-tracker/ Our Federal Environmental Justice Tracker https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/tracker-type/environmental-justice-tracker/
• 
  Ep 99—Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Part II: Environmental Justice Lawyering in Practice 02.12.2024 42dk

  EELP senior staff attorney Hannah Perls speaks with speaks with Debbie Chizewer and Nick Leonard about environmental justice lawyering, including leveraging Title VI of the Civil Rights Act on behalf of frontline communities. Debbie Chizewer is a managing attorney with Earthjustice based in Chicago, where she leads the organization's Midwest litigation strategy. Nick Leonard is the executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center based in Detroit, which provides legal representation to communities across Michigan. This is the second episode in a 2-part series on Title VI. Transcript at https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CleanLaw_EP99.pdf Links mentioned in episode: Episode I in this series https://soundcloud.com/user-995691545/ep-9860-years-of-title-vi-of-the-civil-rights-act-part-1-la-v-epa Great Lakes Environmental Law Center https://glelc.org/ Earthjustice Midwest Office https://earthjustice.org/office/midwest CARE v. EPA, No. 4:15-03292-SBA (N.D. Cal.) https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/114.20order20032030202018.pdf US Ecology Agreement between Michigan EGLE and Complainants https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/default/files/2024-08/title-vi-use-north-2024-08-29-title-vi-complaint-agreement-complaint-no-20-001-d-use-north-final_.pdf
• 
  Ep 98—60 Years of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Part 1: LA v EPA 25.10.2024 39dk

  EELP Senior Staff Attorney Hannah Perls speaks with Olatunde Johnson, the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. Professor Johnson and Hannah discuss the history and evolution of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, a crucial legal tool for the environmental justice movement. Earlier this year, a federal judge blocked EPA and the Department of Justice from enforcing their Title VI rules prohibiting actions that disparately impact communities of color in the state of Louisiana, and now those rules are at risk of being struck down nationwide.   This is the first episode in a 2-part series on Title VI. Transcript at https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/CleanLaw_EP98.pdf Links mentioned in show: Louisiana v EPA - https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2024.08.22-cain-judgement.pdf Our podcast on the "Quagmire Quartet" Suite of Supreme Court Decisions Undermine Administrative Law -https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/cleanlaw-suite-of-supreme-court-decisions-undermine-administrative-law/ Petition for Rulemaking on Title VI from Republican-led Attorneys General - https://www.myfloridalegal.com/sites/default/files/2024-04/epa-title-vi-comment-final.pdf Response to Petition for Rulemaking from Environmental Justice and Civil Rights Groups - https://www.nclc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/2024.09.04_Letter_Title-VI-Response-cover-letter-executive-summary-response-letter.pdf Democratic AGs’ Response to the Petition for Rulemaking - https://stateimpactcenter.org/files/AG_Actions_NY_Response_FL_Rulemaking_Petition_9.5.24.pdf Olatunde C. Johnson, Lawyering That Has No Name: Title VI and the Meaning of Private Enforcement, 66 Stan. L. Rev. 1293 (2014). - https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/1094/
• 
  Monumental Decisions: The Antiquities Act and Presidential Authority 22.08.2024 45dk

  EELP senior staff attorney Sara Dewey speaks with Andy Mergen, Faculty Director of the Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School and former chief of the Appellate Section of the Environment & Natural Resources Division at the Department of Justice. Andy and Sara discuss the origin and evolution of presidential authority to designate national monuments under the Antiquities Act, how Congress and the courts have responded to these designations over the act’s 118-year history, present day legal challenges to the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, and what could be ahead for monuments in the Supreme Court. Transcript here https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CleanLaw_EP97-final.pdf