The Biden administration on Monday told a federal appeals court it should not wait to send a lawsuit, brought by youth activists claiming a constitutional right to protection from climate change, back to a lower court to dismiss the case. This is the first time the Department of Justice under President Biden has waded into Juliana v. United States, and for now at least, is maintaining the Trump administration’s position. The plaintiffs, DOJ lawyers argued, failed to show that formally dismissing the case would cause them irreparable harm. It also argued that even if the case were heard by the Supreme Court, which the DOJ does not expect, the plaintiffs would be “exceedingly unlikely” to succeed.
Also on Monday, the Biden administration asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by SEIA, NextEra Energy, and other renewables groups seeking to block a Trump tariff on bifacial solar panels. Trump “acted lawfully and fully within his authority” when he eliminated an exemption for double-sided panels, DOJ lawyers said, “and, thus, the Court should dismiss the complaint.” (Juliana: E&E $; Solar tariffs: Bloomberg $, E&E $, Greentech Media)