Court Rejects Novel NEPA Review Claiming Climate Benefits From Drilling

A federal appellate court has rejected the Trump administration’s approval of the first Arctic offshore oil drilling project for failing to adequately assess its greenhouse gas impacts, setting a precedent that could stymie other projects that also relied on a novel approach used by several agencies claiming fossil fuel extraction provides climate benefits. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled unanimously Dec. 7 in Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), et al. v. Bernhardt,...