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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August 6, 2019

Charleston, W.V.-- A coalition of West Virginian advocacy groups including the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Appalachian Voices, and the Sierra Club sued four coal and chemical facilities alleging…

August 2, 2019

Yesterday, Sierra Club filed direct testimony of its expert witness in the rate case of Interstate Power & Light (IPL) at the Iowa Utilities Board. IPL owns all or part of seven coal plants in Iowa.

July 26, 2019

WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union today announced that it will seek to expedite proceedings before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in order to restore a permanent block on border wall construction using unauthorized military funds.…

July 26, 2019

Today, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a permit that the ACP needs to continue construction

July 22, 2019

Earlier today, Senators Leahy, Feinstein, Grassley, and Cornyn sent Andrew Wheeler and the EPA a letter on their dangerous changes to the FOIA process. Below is a quote from Sierra Club’s Legislative Director Melinda Pierce on the news:

10M+

acres of wilderness protected

200+

lawsuits filed to resist Trump

1K+

miles of dirty fuel pipelines blocked

390

coal plants retired