If the Paris Agreement’s 2°C goal is to be achieved, unprecedented efforts across all areas of socioeconomic activity are needed. National climate policy measures with direct or indirect trade implications stand the risk of colliding with the rules and requirements put forward by international trade agreements. Leaving the fate of climate measures to the WTO dispute settlement system is associated with risks and uncertainty, and could lead to a chilling effect on investment in climate mitigation and adaptation.

In China, the year 2018 witnessed important institutional changes for environmental protection and the development of some major environmental legislation. These included administrative restructuring; the revision and adoption of legislation on environmental impact assessment (EIA), soil pollution, and noise pollution; and a judicial interpretation on damage to the marine environment. This Comment summarizes some of the year’s major developments.

In 2008, after prompting by the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) issued a regulation governing compensatory mitigation under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The agencies’ primary goal was to improve the effectiveness of mitigation projects to offset the impacts of filling wetlands and streams. The 2008 Compensatory Mitigation Rule was also designed to level the playing field for the three types of mitigation providers: mitigation banks, in-lieu fee (ILF) programs, and permittee-responsible mitigation.

When the president’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) produced its Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (CEQ NEPA Regulations) in 1978, those regulations were sufficiently comprehensive and of such high quality that they have received hardly any amendment or modification since 1978. Nevertheless, because of the long period of time since the regulations were issued, and in response to President Donald Trump’s call in Executive Order No.

A number of U.S. state and local governments have adopted strategies for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation and land development. Although some have made significant progress in reducing GHG emissions from the power sector, transportation emissions in most states continue to rise.

Offshore drilling has been thrust back into the spotlight by the Trump Administration’s focus on “energy dominance.” While it is unlikely that leasing will take place in all areas included in the Administration’s proposed plan, its enormous scope has raised serious questions about the government’s capacity to properly plan for potential activities and evaluate impacts, and it has again prompted calls to amend the laws governing Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas.

The Donald Trump years have been painful for advocates of a forceful U.S. response to climate change. The White House has pulled out of the 2015 Paris Agreement, tried to revive coal, and moved to scuttle landmark U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations for vehicles and power plants. Despite these setbacks, a heightened sense of urgency and passion has emerged following the Democratic takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives. Progressive climate policy is once again at the top of the national agenda.

Environmental disasters wreak havoc on ecosystems and public trust resources. The environmental statutory regime in place today aims to remedy these disasters and restore the public trust as efficiently as possible. In order to do so, natural resource trustees, agencies made up of experts in their respective scientific fields, have been given broad authority to assess injuries to natural resources, choose an appropriate remedy, and develop restoration plans.

U.S. energy requirements, policy, and regulations are changing rapidly. Numerous large-scale energy projects are underway, and generation, supply, and distribution infrastructure is evolving at an unprecedented rate. With these shifts, the focus has turned to energy transmission and pipelines, including regulatory updates, stormwater and erosion and sedimentation control requirements, environmental impact analysis and permitting, and construction monitoring.

The global community is awakening to the extent and sophistication of the illegal wildlife trade.