Romany Webb

UPCOMING EVENT: On Oct. 17, the @sabincenter.bsky.social will host a webinar on future directions in the regulation of #marineCDR under the London Convention & Protocol. Register at: tinyurl.com/3xp6uzuu

This week, @sabincenter.bsky.social submitted comments to CARB on implementation of SB905, which requires creation of a program to advance #CDR. This is an important reminder that, even in the midst of federal backsliding, states can make progress. tinyurl.com/49x8p75c

New map and research expose disturbing side effects of AI industry boom: 'There are going to be challenges' As part of the latest wave of Big Tech's spending on AI, Google announced a $9 billion investment to build a new data center campus in Virginia.

"If we want to achieve global climate goals, we simply cannot be building out a whole lot of new fossil fuel infrastructure," Webb said. "Yet we're seeing calls to prolong the life of coal plants and build new gas plants just to support data centers." www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/a...

Woodland scene with green, red, and orange trees

Fall colors just starting at Minnewaska State Park

Today @sabincenter.bsky.social hosted a full day symposium on marine carbon dioxide removal law & policy. It was great to dive into international & domestic frameworks, the role of tribes, community engagement, & so much more. Thanks to all of our stellar speakers!

Report: Big businesses are doing carbon dioxide removal all wrong The technology is needed to limit global warming. But corporations are supporting it in lieu of emissions reductions.

A new report from @newclimate.bsky.social finds little corporate support for durable CO2 removal, which is needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C. Those that are investing in the technology aren't doing so in conjunction with deep emissions cuts. @grist.org grist.org/accountabili...

There is still time to register & join ONC at our Queenswood Campus in #Victoria, BC to participate in @sabincenter.bsky.social's #mCDR symposium!

Hear from cross-border #PNW panelists as they discuss marine #CarbonDioxide removal efforts in & around the #SalishSea.

🔗 bit.ly/4fVdxEO

Environmental advocates call on big tech to clean up data centers Civil rights leaders and environmental advocates came together at Lemoyne-Owen College Saturday to call on big tech to clean up what they call “dirty data centers.

It was great to have the opportunity to participate in this event in Memphis over the weekend. Hearing Justin Pearson speak was an extra special treat. He is going places, for sure! www.fox13memphis.com/news/environ...

Not in New York?

Come to ONC's Queenswood Campus in Victoria BC to watch the symposium live!

Hear from cross-border Pacific Northwest panelists as they discuss marine #CarbonDioxide removal efforts in & around the #SalishSea, sharing insights and lessons learned.

🔗 bit.ly/4fVdxEO

#mCDR 🧪

Vote for Climate Science Legal Defense Fund to help increase their grant from CREDO Every month, CREDO donates to the progressive causes you care about most.

We've been selected as a CREDO Mobile grant recipient for the month of August! Vote now to help decide how the available funds will be divided between three progressive organizations. www.credodonations.com/organization...

Rethinking the London Convention and Protocol Governance of MCDR in Light of New International Rulings and Landmark International Climate Agreements A new white paper by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University proposes more climate-conscious thinking on how parties currently apply, and how they could more effectively apply, ...

Funded by Ocean Visions, a new white paper from @sabincenter.bsky.social proposes a more climate-conscious approach to how the London Convention & Protocol governs marine carbon dioxide removal. Read the press release ➡️ oceanvisions.org/rethinking-t...

Book cover for the Research Handbook on Climate Change and Infrastructure Law

What is the most exciting part of working on a book? Getting to see the cover design! Hopefully this will be on shelves soon.

🌊📄 The Sabin Center published a new #report, International Legal Guidelines for Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Governance under the London Convention and London Protocol.
Read here: scholarship.law.columbia.edu/sabin_climat...

#FridayReads

Yesterday, the Sabin Center filed not 1, not 2, but 3 (!) separate comments on EPA's proposal to repeal its GHG emissions standards for fossil fuel power plants. Thanks to the team here that contributed!

(4) When conducting environmental assessments for individual mCDR projects, parties must analyze the projects’ climate mitigation benefits alongside their potential environmental harms. (6/6)

(3) Parties must, in accordance with their due diligence obligations, actively pursue scientific information to enable them to assess the availability of mCDR to mitigate climate change. (5/6)

(1) Parties must apply the precautionary approach in a way that does not unduly delay climate mitigation action. (2) Parties must apply the prevention principle alongside precaution and, to this end, consider the potential for regulation to aid in preventing transboundary climate-related harm. (4/6)

The recent Advisory Opinions from #ICJ & #ITLOS shed new light on the meaning of those principles and their application in the climate context. Our report explains what these seminal opinions mean for the LC/LP parties’ approach to regulating mCDR. We reach four key conclusions. (3/6)

Over the last several years, parties to the LC/LP have adopted decisions, resolutions, and amendments on climate-related activities. In doing so, they’ve referenced legal principles and guidelines, like precaution and prevention. (2/6)

📣 New @sabincenter.bsky.social report on the regulation of #mCDR under the London Convention and Protocol by Korey Silverman-Roati and yours truly. 🧵 (1/6)
climate.law.columbia.edu/content/inte...

Join us on September 19 for a discussion of #mCDR law and policy.

My son this morning: Can we listen to that music from the olden days? You know, those classic songs from the early 200s. Sung by the group of girls.

Turns out he was talking about Destiny's Child.

Feeling ancient right now.

The cover of Homecoming by Kate Morton

Just finished this truly beautiful book. I don’t get much time to read for pleasure these days. This book made me want to find more. A poignant, yet hopeful story, with a killer twist at the end. And it’s by an Aussie! #booksky

Methane Removal Under the Paris Agreement: A New Sabin Center White Paper - Climate Law Blog In the 2015 Paris Agreement, the international community agreed to “strengthen the global response to climate change” by limiting the “increase in global average temperatures to well below 2oC above p...

📣 NEW REPORT: Methane Removal Under the Paris Agreement. Might it be possible to remove methane from the atmosphere? What issues would that raise under the Paris Agreement? My latest report explores the nascent, but fast developing, field of methane removal. blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechang...

Opinion | The Icelandic Landscape Is Changing, and It’s Changing Us

“when the glaciers are all gone, what do you call an island that used to be Iceland? Just … Land?”

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/19/o...

📣 UPCOMING EVENT: Join us @columbiauniversity.bsky.social on Sept. 19 for a discussion of the legal & policy landscape for #mCDR in the U.S. & internationally. For those who can't make it to NYC, we'll have remote viewing sites in Seattle (WA), Newark (DE), & BC (Canada). shorturl.at/9fn5d

Chilling on Caturday

BIG NEWS: The Inter-American Court of Human Rights just issued its advisory opinion on #climatechange. Key takeaways are summarized in the Sabin Center's Global Climate Litigation Database (⬇️) & in-depth analysis is coming soon. Key an eye on our Climate Law Blog shorturl.at/yoQvp

Local Laws and Lawsuits Targeting Renewables Becoming More Prevalent in the US - Climate Law Blog While federal policy can have a significant impact on renewable energy development, local policy—and local sentiment—can be just as consequential. Between 2018-2023, at least 30% of utility-scale wind...

📣NEW REPORT: The 5th edition of 'Local Opposition to Renewable Energy Facilities in the U.S.' from @sabincenter.bsky.social is out now. It identifies 459 local govts that had severely restricted renewables as of the end of 2024. That's a 16% increase over 2023 levels! Read more at shorturl.at/JpZVB

Trump's Big Beautiful Bill Will Destroy America's Climate Progress Donald Trump and Republicans are using the "Big Beautiful Bill" to roll back climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Great @rollingstone.com article on the impact of Trump's "big beautiful bill" on the US clean energy transition. As I said: “This will have huge economic impacts. Renewable energy is cheaper than fossil fuel energy. Any consumer who has an energy bill should care about this.” shorturl.at/SPRA4