This week the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia found that the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) failed to adequately consider the potential impacts of oil and gas leases on climate change. In Wildearth Guardians v. Zinke, the Court noted: “Climate change, and humanity’s ability to combat it, are increasingly prominent topics of public discourse. This case concerns the attention the government must give climate change when taking action that may increase its effects.” At issue are a number of oil and gas leases on federal lands. The Plaintiffs’ claim that the BLM should have prepared an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for these leases, claiming the BLM failed to take into account the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from the activities that would be performed under the leases. In granting summary judgment to the Plaintiffs and remanding the matter for further review by the BLM, the Court held: “Before the…
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