On July 10, 2020, Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) filed a brief arguing that the First Circuit had appellate jurisdiction over CLF’s appeal of a district court order staying CLF’s citizen suit alleging that an ExxonMobil Corporation terminal in Massachusetts was not prepared for climate change risks in violation of the its Clean Water Act permit and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. CLF said the stay order was an appealable “final decision” under the effectively-out-of-court rule and also under the collateral order doctrine. Alternatively, CLF argued the First Circuit should construe its appeal as a petition for writ of mandamus and exercise its discretion to review the stay order.

Citizen suit alleging violations of RCRA and Clean Water Act for failure to take action to prepare marine terminal for climate change.

Conservation Law Foundation v. ExxonMobil Corp.

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Conservation Law Foundation Argued that First Circuit Could Hear Appeal of Order Staying Climate Adaptation Case Against ExxonMobil

Filed

United States of America

Massachusetts

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

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Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

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People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

Social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced

woman and genders outside of the gender binary

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Any substance with chemical properties that can cause physical harm to people or damage the environment, including ammonia, carbon monoxide, phosphine, chlorine, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, pesticides, dioxins, microplastics, benzene, asbestos, aflatoxins, fluoride, methanol, and toxins from marine sources.

Conservation Law Foundation Argued that First Circuit Could Hear Appeal of Order Staying Climate Adaptation Case Against ExxonMobil

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Fossil fuel

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience