Environmental Law

Environmental Law Program

Environmental Law Program

The Environmental Law Program uses strategic legal campaigns to fight climate change, to protect clean air, water and wilderness, and to promote justice for communities threatened by pollution.


In the past year alone, we launched more than 200 legal actions to challenge the fossil fuel industry's destructive effects on our air, water, and climate.

About Our Program

Our team of top-notch attorneys and legal staff leverages all of the Club's tools of democracy, integrating legal advocacy with grassroots organizing, sophisticated communications, a state-of-the-art digital strategies team, and administrative lobbying.

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Support the Environmental Law Program

We pair litigation with effective community organizing and strong local communications to build genuine, informed support from community members and government officials.

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Sierra Club ELP in Lake Tahoe

Our Staff

We are a team of professional attorneys and staff who combine sophisticated legal tactics with a commitment to social and environmental justice at the grassroots level. We pair litigation with effective community organizing and strong local communications to build genuine, informed support from community members and government officials, making courtroom victories sustainable over the long term.

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June 27, 2018

Today, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada voted unanimously to approve several new investments by NV Energy, including $5M for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, a new energy storage incentive program, and updates to its existing solar…

June 15, 2018

Diné (Navajo) community organizations Black Mesa Water Coalition, Diné CARE, and Tó Nizhóni Ání, supported by the Sierra Club, filed a lawsuit seeking a plan for reclaiming the 44,000-acre Kayenta Coal Mine located on the Navajo Nation. The mine is…

June 13, 2018

Today, the United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York and District of Maryland handed down separate decisions holding EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt accountable for reducing dangerous smog pollution that travels across state…

June 7, 2018

Today, environmental and public health advocates filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to halt construction on a dangerous hydraulic fracturing (fracking) project within feet of Bella Romero Academy in Greeley, Colorado.

May 31, 2018

California Public Utilities Commission Approves Single Largest Investment in EV Infrastructure. California’s Three Largest Utilities Will Invest Over $700 Million in clean transportation projects Today, the California Public Utilities Commission (…

10M+

acres of wilderness protected

200+

lawsuits filed to resist Trump

1K+

miles of dirty fuel pipelines blocked

382

coal plants retired