As we discussed back in our March 29 blog, the battle is joined in the first climate change liability coverage suit:  Steadfast Insurance Co. v The AES Corp.  Steadfast reserved its rights and offered a defense of the Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil suit, and then reversed course and filed a declaratory judgment action in Virginia. Shortly thereafter it filed a motion for summary judgment asserting that there is no occurrence, and that coverage is barred by the loss in progress and pollution exclusions. AES's opposition was a long time in coming as it sought depositions (wh...

It’s only been six weeks since the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed broad-sweeping climate and energy legislation, but signs are emerging already that rougher sledding is ahead for the measure in the U.S. Senate.  Just over a week ago, a consortium of 10 Democratic Senators from mostly Midwestern “rust belt” states wrote to President Barack Obama, expressing their strong support for adding measures to the bill, The American Clean Energy and Security Act (HR 2454), to ensure the strength and viability of American manufacturing. “Any climate change legislation must prevent ...

The August Wine Spectator reports on the grape harvest in the Southern Hemisphere.  I wondered whether the extremes of weather characteristic of climate change would evidence themselves in the grape.  The theory was vindicated in Australia where record-breaking heat challenged vintners.  And in Chile there was no rainfall from October through harvest. But to stop there would not be telling the full story.  New Zealand had moderate conditions at harvest and in South Africa, “the Stellenbosch and Paarl growing districts enjoyed ideal conditions.”  All of which proves t...