law briefs
In July 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed rolling back the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding—the rule that allows the agency to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Students from Suffolk Law's Environmental Law & Policy Clinic (ELPC) participated in the public comment process, drafting and submitting a detailed legal and scientific analysis arguing against the change and citing risks for coastal communities such as Chelsea and East Boston.
The Endangerment Finding is the scientific and legal determination that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health and welfare. Visiting Clinical Professor Robert Cox, JD ’85, who directs the clinic, said that without the Endangerment Finding, federal climate protections could be dismantled.
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Photograph: Adobe
winter 2026
Professor Robert Cox, JD ’85
Photograph: Michael J. Clarke
Student attorneys analyzed the proposal and argued that the Clean Air Act imposes a mandatory duty to regulate greenhouse gases—a point affirmed by the Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. EPA. They also addressed EPA’s reliance on disputed climate data and highlighted potential consequences for local communities and ecosystems.
Cox called the project “real-world advocacy at its finest,” noting that students combined rigorous legal reasoning with community engagement. Nine regional environmental and community groups—from the Conservation Law Foundation to GreenRoots to the Massachusetts Rivers Alliance—joined the comment, a response that demonstrated both the breadth of concern about the proposed rollback and the credibility of the students’ legal work. —Michael Fisch