Insights by State Impact Center

The State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at the NYU School of Law is an independent non-partisan academic center dedicated to the study and support of state attorneys general in their work defending and promoting clean energy, climate and environmental laws and policies.

  • Projects A wind turbine made out of a bar chart and a circle chart; a fire with a pressure gauge; a cloud made out of binary code (0s and 1s); a line chart in the background. The logos of the State Impact Center, Woodwell Center, and the Massachusetts AGs Office.

    Seeing the Dangers Ahead: Climate Risk Series

    A recap of our three-part vir­tu­al event series that pro­vid­ed essen­tial infor­ma­tion and tools to help reg­u­la­tors and advo­cates under­stand the lat­est avail­able pub­lic and pri­vate data about phys­i­cal, finan­cial, and tran­si­tion cli­mate risks.


    February-March 2022
    State Impact Center
  • Blog A comic-book looking illustration of the white house with a giant retweet symbol behind it, and the words #StateImpactAlert.

    #StateImpactAlert Makes Participating in Rulemaking Easy

    #StateImpactAlerts will save you from having to comb through the Federal Register to stay up to date. The alerts include a brief description of the action, the agency or agencies behind it, the deadline for comments, the date of public meetings (if applicable), and the link to the proceeding.

    December 20, 2021
    State Impact Center
  • Blog An abstract depiction of a diverse range of people standing in front of a court house.

    Building Power in the Environmental Movement - Part 2

    The field of environmental law has been slower to diversify than the larger environmental movement. The sector needs more diversity to represent key environmental issues. Read our guest post on Green 2.0’s blog, highlighting the perspectives of attorneys of color from the Building Power in the Environmental Movement series.

    October 27, 2021
    Green 2.0 Blog
    State Impact Center
  • Projects A close-up view of a silver water faucet with clear water streaming out of it.

    PFAS Federal Legislation in the 117th Congress

    Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are bioaccumulative and environmentally persistent, have been widely used in commercial applications since the 1950s, and have been linked to a series of human health harms. The widespread public exposure to dangerous levels of chemicals in drinking water and other potential pathways has triggered significant concern in Congress.

    May 27, 2021
    State Impact Center
  • Projects A forest, with an overlaid semi-transparent image of a checkmark

    State of Play Reference Guide

    State attorneys general brought or were otherwise involved in many legal challenges to regulations, policies and decisions made during the Trump administration by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Interior Department, the Energy Department and other executive branch agencies. Use the tabs at left to explore the status of these lawsuits and other issues, sorted by agency or department.

    April 30, 2021
    State Impact Center
  • Projects A black and white illustration of the White House, with the face of a clock, 1 minute from midnight, overlaid.

    Midnight Watch Project

    Tracking last-minute actions by the outgoing Trump administration on environmental, climate and energy issues during the presidential transition through Inauguration Day on January 20.

    January 20, 2021
    State Impact Center
  • Projects A chalk-drawn, right-facing arrow, with various icons (including: an oil rig, a tank of toxic substances, a car emitting pollution, lungs, a pill bottle, and a syringe), along the horizontal part of the arrow.

    The Health & Environmental Settlements Project

    The Health & Environmental Settlements Project evaluates mechanisms that have been used by state AGs, Congress, and others to address the toughest large-scale health and environmental liability and compensation challenges over the last 50 years.


    2019-2020
    State Impact Center
  • Projects An illustrated depiction of lungs and a heart monitor line in front of the iconic climate stripes.

    Climate Change and Public Health

    Climate change has many adverse health consequences, and if robust climate action is not taken, these health impacts are expected to worsen, resulting in tens of thousands of additional people sick and lives lost, with disadvantaged communities hurt most of all. Thankfully, state attorneys general have stepped in to challenge the rollback of climate regulations and fight to protect human health and the environment from the ravages of climate change.


    Fall 2020
    State Impact Center
  • Projects A transmission tower in front of a blue sky

    Guidance for States on Potential Steps to Opt Out of PJM’s Capacity Market

    Assisting state attorneys general in evaluating whether and how to opt out of PJM’s capacity market in response to FERC’s recent decision that penalizes state-supported clean energy resources.

    March 23, 2020
    State Impact Center
  • Reports Smoke billowing out of a smokestack at a power plant into an ominous-looking sky

    Climate & Health Showdown in the Courts

    State attorneys general have bee vigorously fighting against the Trump administration’s attempts to replace existing rules that require greenhouse gas emissions reductions with new rules that unlawfully and harmfully negate those reductions.

    March 1, 2019
    State Impact Center
  • Projects A close-up view of a silver water faucet with clear water streaming out of it.

    PFAS Federal Legislation in the 116th Congress

    Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are bioaccumulative and environmentally persistent, have been widely used in commercial applications since the 1950s, and have been linked to a series of human health harms. The widespread public exposure to dangerous levels of chemicals in drinking water and other potential pathways has triggered significant concern in Congress.

    January 19, 2019
    State Impact Center
  • Reports A collage of images depicting: a power plant, a solar panel, a light bulb, an offshore oil rig.

    State Attorneys General: 13 Months of Critical Actions

    State attorneys general have focused their at least 80 actions – from letters and comments to complaints and amicus briefs on areas ranging such as air and water pollution, toxics, clean energy, climate impacts, federal lands, regulatory reform, and more.

    February 1, 2018
    State Impact Center