Environmental and Climate Law Changes in 2025

Environmental law in the U.S. largely rests on government regulation that protects the natural world. In 2025, a political wave of deregulation stands to change how environmental law functions. Here’s a snapshot of how some U.S. Supreme Court cases and political movements can change this area of legal practice in the coming year. 

History of environmental law in the U.S.

Some commentators put the roots of environmental law in the U.S. back to the early 1970s with the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Act that created the EPA was signed by President Nixon in 1969 and came into effect in late 1970. 

This occurred as there was more public awareness of the environment after some tragedies. Just one notable incident was the Cuyahoga River catching fire due to unchecked pollution from nearby manufacturing plants. Public interest in the environment led to a greater focus from policymakers on new regulations and legal protections.

Role of climate and environmental law attorneys

Environmental lawyers provide a range of legal services, working for governments, citizen groups, non-profit organizations, and individuals. Sometimes they stand for hard-to-define clients like nature or wildlife. It is typical for these attorneys to work with scientists who understand the true impact of some human activities on the natural world.  

These attorneys represent clients in legal proceedings where a business or public body is accused of not following regulations to protect the environment. Climate and environmental attorneys also help draft legislation and advise companies on how to meet their obligations under the law.

The legal landscape for environmental lawyers in 2025

Environmental law is a growing and fast-moving area in 2025. The second Trump administration has made a commitment to deregulation. This commitment is broad-based, impacting all areas of government regulation, not just climate and environmental policy. As a result, some environmental law advocacy organizations are highlighting government actions and taking legal steps to debate them.

At the same time, many significant legal cases are reaching the U.S. Supreme Court. These have the potential to change the legal landscape over the environment in the U.S. Some possible, but far from certain, outcomes of the legal cases are:

• Limiting the scope of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): One litigant is asking the court to reduce obligations under NEPA so as to exclude environmental impacts of a project that are distinctly removed from the project.
• Reviving the nondelegation doctrine: This would bring back a legal theory not used by the court in 90 years. It stops Congress from giving too much power to regulatory agencies. The court might not decide this issue directly, but might limit what the EPA can do. In 2024, the court overturned the Chevron doctrine which said courts should defer to agency interpretation in cases of ambiguity in statutes.
• Licenses and permitting: The court will decide the role of the agency in setting water permitting and licensing of facilities like those used to store nuclear waste.
• Standing: The court might issue rulings that help clarify who has standing to sue in environmental law cases.
• Jurisdiction of Clean Air Act lawsuits: Some parties would rather hear these cases in local circuit courts, of which some are more favorable to those arguing against the EPA. Currently these cases are heard in federal courts which tend to be more favorable toward the EPA. The Supreme Court might make rulings that impact this issue of jurisdiction.  

This year therefore stands to be a busy one in the area of environmental and climate law, with the possibility of significant changes to regulatory regimes.

How lawyers can get ready for environmental law changes in 2025

If you’re not already practicing environmental law, you might take a moment to assess how it might impact your clients. Corporate or small business clients might have to shift how they deal with environmental regulation. Criminal or civil liability under environmental legislation or regulation might change. If you do work for community-based organizations, it might be important to learn how their options stand to change with legal changes in 2025. 

Joining the environmental law practice-area sections of your local bar association can be one way to stay in the loop of environmental law changes.

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