North America: Environment

In Keyport, New Jersey, ongoing concerns about cancer cases have left many residents wondering who could potentially be held responsible if environmental contamination is involved.

In Keyport, New Jersey, rising concerns about cancer cases, particularly along First Street, have left many residents questioning whether environmental factors may be contributing to these diagnoses.

On Monday, June 22, seventeen states and the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors sued California’s recycling and waste management agency (CalRecycle) and Circular Action Alliance...

On June 24, 2026, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced that it intends to extend the initial reporting deadline under California’s...

Seventeen states and the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors have filed a federal lawsuit challenging California's Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act...

The EPA has submitted four California Clean Air Act waivers to Congress for Congressional Review Act consideration, including greenhouse gas standards dating back to 2009 and the Advanced Clean Cars I program.

British Columbia is consolidating natural-resource compliance and enforcement functions from multiple ministries into a single agency. The BC Compliance and Enforcement Agency launches July 1, 2026, bringing together over 400 staff under the Ministry of Environment and Parks to deliver more consistent oversight across the province's resource sector.

A coalition of 17 states has launched an unprecedented constitutional challenge to California's packaging extended producer responsibility program, raising novel legal theories that go beyond previous EPR challenges in Oregon and Colorado. The lawsuit targets both state regulators and the Circular Action Alliance, marking the first time a producer responsibility organization has been named as a defendant in such litigation.

The EPA has proposed the Sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 6), requiring public water systems to collect data on 30 unregulated contaminants including certain PFAS from 2028 to 2030. Despite petitions from seven state governors and environmental groups, the agency declined to add microplastics to the monitoring list, citing the absence of validated testing methods, though microplastics remain on the draft Contaminant Candidate List 6 for potential future regulation.

Following EPA's February 2026 repeal of the 2009 Endangerment Finding that established greenhouse gases as air pollutants threatening public health, two major legal challenges have emerged in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Health organizations and a coalition of 24 states are separately contesting the agency's decision to eliminate federal GHG emission standards for motor vehicles, with both cases potentially delayed pending EPA's response to administrative reconsideration petitions.

The European Central Bank has progressively integrated climate and environmental risks into its prudential expectations since 2022, establishing binding supervisory decisions with specific milestones for institutions to meet.

The European Commission is preparing amendments to the EU Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act to simplify technical screening criteria and reduce administrative burdens for companies reporting on sustainable activities. The proposed changes, set to take effect January 1, 2027, aim to streamline compliance processes while maintaining environmental standards and expanding the scope of eligible activities.