Year In Review: 2022 at the State Impact Center

Highlights

A list of the resources, projects, and reports we’ve published this year.

A road curves past the U.S. Capitol building, overlooking green agricultural fields filled with wind turbines in the distance; a stock market index chart looms in the sky

Where Are We Now? A Year of Agency & Attorney General Action

December • Report

This report looks at AG policy wins from the past year; reviews federal rulemaking progress during the Biden administration so far; and examines the importance of and obstacles to public input, as well as the role AGs can play in facing those challenges.

An illustration of a just transition: construction workers overlook a green valley with a winding road; solar panels are being installed in the foreground; in the distance, transmission towers and lines connect wind turbines on one side of the image to a skyline on the other side; a train riding along a viaduct connects the foreground and background.

A Role for State Attorneys General in a Just Transition

December • Report

This report considers how state attorneys general can ensure that the shift to renewable energy supports communities and leads to good climate jobs. The report provides insight into the role of AGs, highlights recent AG enforcement of workers’ rights and environmental protection, and offers additional ideas for what AGs can do.

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Tracking Pro-Environmental Federal Litigation by AGs

October • Resource

This resource tracks pro-envi­ron­men­tal lit­i­ga­tion brought by AGs dur­ing the Biden and Trump admin­is­tra­tions, breaking down the wins & losses during each administration. The tracker will be updated as pending cases are resolved and new cases are brought.

A collage of illustrated items: light green recycling arrows, a blue plastic water bottle, yellow justice scales, a dark green gavel

Plastics Litigation Tracker

July • Resource

This tracker, created in partnership with the Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy, and Land Use Law, tracks cases addressing plastics across federal and state courts, including resolved and pending cases. The tracker will be updated as cases are resolved and new cases are filed.

The State Energy & Environmental Impact Center logo

New Website Launched

May • Project

The State Impact Center’s new website features an updated design, a more accessible interface, and a more easily-navigable layout. Check out our Insights page with blog posts, projects, reports, and more to see all the features of the new website.

A soft pink, blue, and navy illustration of a lightbulb overlaid on an illustration of wind turbines sprawled out across a hilly landscape

2021 and Beyond: Environment & Energy Cases Involving the Biden Administration

April • Resource

This tracker col­lects court deci­sions on chal­lenges to fed­er­al actions relat­ed to ener­gy and the envi­ron­ment dur­ing the Biden admin­is­tra­tion. It will be updat­ed as new cases are brought and new deci­sions are released.

An illustration of a temperature gauge, with the indicator pointing to the highest value, in front of a flame

Seeing the Dangers Ahead: Climate Risk Series

March • Project

A three-part vir­tu­al event series to help reg­u­la­tors and advo­cates under­stand the lat­est avail­able data about phys­i­cal, finan­cial, and tran­si­tion cli­mate risks, address key data gaps, to har­ness cli­mate risk data for gov­ern­ment decision-making.

An inky black transmission tower against a bright yellow sky

FERC Judicial Review Tracker

February • Resource

This tracker collects court decisions reviewing orders of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and includes the underlying orders in each case, information about the commissioner composition, and the outcome of judicial review. The tracker also includes brief analysis of the data.

An aerial view of an intersection, with green trees on the corners.

Expanding AG EJ Practice — A Resource

January • Resource
This resource, created in partnership with WE ACT for Environmental Justice, gives an overview of environmental justice and provides guidance for AG offices looking to set up or expand their work in the EJ practice area. It highlights influential moments in EJ history, provides a look into state mapping tools, identifies current federal and state EJ policies, and tracks EJ updates in the media.

Focus on Student Outreach

In 2022, we focused on making connections with law students to help foster interest in environmental and public interest work, specifically at AG offices. In February, we created a student listserv to share opportunities with law stu­dents. Currently, we have over 100 students from 25 different schools subscribed. In July, we launched our Student Blog Series, which features posts from the Center’s legal interns and oth­er stu­dents work­ing with the Center. And in September, we launched our “Student Connections Page,” which provides resources and infor­ma­tion on career oppor­tu­ni­ties in pub­lic ser­vice, stu­dent-focused events, and more.

By the Numbers

A smokestack releases smoke into a black sky

28 Blog Posts

Our blog features commentaries from our newsletter, posts on timely topics, and more, authored by Center staff, guest authors from our Advisory Council and other organizations, and students working with the Center.

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20 Issues of “Legally Speaking”

Legal­ly Speak­ing is our bi-week­ly newslet­ter that pro­vides time­ly updates on state attor­neys gen­er­al fil­ings, hear­ings, deci­sions, or oth­er notable devel­op­ments on clean ener­gy, cli­mate and envi­ron­men­tal matters.

A traffic signal sign sticking out of flood waters

17 Events

In 2022, the Center hosted a wide range of events, such as career-focused events for students, as well as technical webinars and trainings on topics including transmission reform, environmental criminal enforcement, and climate risk.

Text from the Federal Register overlaid on a picture of a boreal forest

7 Staff Publications

Staff from the Center often publish articles in external publications, such as Bethany Davis Noll’s bi-monthly “In the Courts” column in Environmental Law Institute’s The Environmental Forum, and Jessica Bell and Hampden Macbeth’s article in the American Bar Association’s Natural Resources & Environment journal.

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108 #StateImpactAlerts

The Center uses the hash­tag #StateIm­pactAlert to flag the lat­est sig­nif­i­cant cli­mate, ener­gy, and envi­ron­men­tal actions at var­i­ous fed­er­al agen­cies, as well as new com­ment dead­lines asso­ci­at­ed with them. Read more about the breakdown of this year’s alerts in our annual report, Where Are We Now? A Year of Agency & Attorney General Action.

A magnifying glass superimposed on an aerial view of a solar farm

21 Press Hits

The Center frequently provides expertise to reporters and journalists; this information is often provided on background, but Center staff are also routinely quoted on climate, environmental, and clean energy issues of regional and national importance in outlets such as E&E News, The Hill, Law360, Bloomberg Law, Newsweek, The Washington Post, and the New York Law Journal.

Thank you to all those who contributed to, provided feedback on, and read our work this year. We appreciate all your support and we look forward to continuing this important work in 2023! If you have enjoyed our work this year, please consider supporting the Center.

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