Resource: Juliana v. United States

Recently, in Juliana v. United States, the Ninth Circuit held that ordering the federal government to adopt “a comprehensive scheme to decrease fossil fuel emissions and combat climate change” would exceed a federal court’s remedial authority. The result in Juliana is not surprising. But Juliana’s reasoning, which suggests that “limited and precise” legal standards must always constrain a court in issuing equitable relief, subtly but significantly narrows the remedial capacity of courts adjudicating large-scale “structural reform” cases.