The federal district court for the Eastern District of Louisiana allowed two sets of plaintiffs (10 states and three Louisiana parishes) to proceed with their challenge to “Risk Rating 2.0—Equity in Action,” the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) new methodology for calculating premiums for flood insurance under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The court found that the 10 plaintiff states did not plausibly allege an injury to their sovereign interests caused by Risk Rating 2.0 and also did not allege parens patriae standing on behalf of their residents based on actual or imminent injury to land and property within the states’ borders. In addition, the court found that neither the more than 60 municipal entities nor the state plaintiffs could establish standing based on alleged loss of tax revenues or on past mitigation costs to protect residents from flood damage. The court concluded, however, that the plaintiff states plausibly alleged standing based on a theory that they would incur costs of mitigation because higher premiums would result in homeowners dropping mandatory flood insurance, increasing the States’ liability to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for reimbursement of funds received by those homeowners, and also increasing the states’ rebuilding costs. The court also found that three Louisiana parishes that were NFIP policyholders had established standing based on increased premium rates. The court found that the sole nongovernmental plaintiff—the Association of Levee Boards of Louisiana—had not established associational or organizational standing. The court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss NEPA claims because the plaintiffs alleged only economic injuries, which fell outside NEPA’s zone of interests. The court also denied the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction restraining enforcement of Risk Rating 2.0, finding that the defendants had shown that reinstating the “Legacy Rating System” would not be “nearly as simple or harmless” as the plaintiffs argued it would be. The court concluded that one of the parish plaintiffs failed to establish irreparable injury would occur before a trial on the merits and that the other remaining plaintiffs failed to show that any irreparable injury would outweigh harm to the defendants and the public. The court did not address the plaintiffs’ likelihood of success on the merits.

Lawsuit challenging the Federal Emergency Management Agency's adoption of a new methodology for calculating flood insurance rates in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Louisiana v. Mayorkas

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Louisiana Federal Court Said States and Three Louisiana Parishes Had Standing for Challenge to New Methodology for Calculating National Flood Insurance Program Premiums but Denied Preliminary Injunction

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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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A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

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Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

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

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

People who are less able to respond to the effects of climate change due to having limited financial or physical assets

A subsidy is a direct or indirect payment to individuals or businesses, typically provided as a government cash payment or a specific tax reduction.

Financial support to help individuals manage the effects of unexpected events, securing their livelihoods and increasing the resilience of people and businesses to the changing climate. It’s especially vital in developing regions where everyday risks, climate-related weather extremes, or crop failures can push people into poverty. Without insurance, people may have to resort to selling assets or cutting consumption to cope with losses.

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

Actions and measures to adapt and increase resilience of societies and the economy to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Social protection systems consist of policies that help people manage social risks in order to prevent poverty and maintain decent incomes and living standards

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

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People who have left their homes, whether through force, voluntarily, or a mixture of both

Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

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Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Heavy precipitation refers to any form of weather where substances fall from the sky, including rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Louisiana Federal Court Said States and Three Louisiana Parishes Had Standing for Challenge to New Methodology for Calculating National Flood Insurance Program Premiums but Denied Preliminary Injunction

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance