Counter/Act

The 'Counter/Act' report by Earthjustice details the organization's strategic legal and advocacy response to the second Trump administration's environmental policy rollbacks between 2025 and spring 2026. The report highlights a multifaceted approach involving increased litigation, the creation of a dedicated enforcement team to fill federal gaps, strategic advocacy at the Supreme Court and appellate levels, and the pursuit of state-level climate and health protections.

• Earthjustice significantly increased its legal activity to counter the second Trump administration, opening 632 legal matters in the first year compared to 414 during the first Trump administration, representing a 53% increase.
• In response to a decline in federal enforcement—where the Department of Justice filed only 21 environmental cases and issued $15.1 million in penalties in the first year of the administration's return, down from $1.88 billion in 2024—Earthjustice launched a dedicated enforcement team. This team had over 20 active investigations within its first six months, including an April 2026 lawsuit against xAI for using 27 unpermitted gas turbines in Southaven, Mississippi, which could emit up to 19 tons of carcinogenic formaldehyde.
• Earthjustice is utilizing its Strategic Legal Advocacy initiative to influence the U.S. Supreme Court, participating in approximately 40% of the Court's cases in the current term. This includes filing amicus briefs in cases such as Chevron v. Plaquemines Parish, Enbridge v. Nessel, and Monsanto v. Durnell, as well as organizing 19 moot courts for peers and allies.
• The organization is actively litigating in U.S. Courts of Appeals to shape environmental law, with 103 cases in the D.C. Circuit (focusing on Clean Air Act rollbacks and pipeline approvals), 35 in the 9th Circuit (including salmon protection in the Columbia River basin), 11 in the 5th Circuit, 5 in the 10th Circuit, and 4 in the 11th Circuit.
• Earthjustice is scaling up state-level efforts to advance clean energy and public health. Notable achievements between 2025 and spring 2026 include securing a $1 billion plan to modernize Colorado's electrical grid, a commitment in California to transition harbor craft to zero emissions by 2035 in the Port of Long Beach, and the defense of New York's congestion pricing program, which resulted in over $550 million for city transit.
• In December 2025, Colorado adopted a rule to curb landfill air pollution that exceeds federal standards, which is expected to prevent up to 12.3 million metric tons of climate pollution annually and provide over a billion dollars in health and climate benefits.
• In January 2026, a court upheld the rules of New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Law, affirming that economic benefits cannot justify new pollution sources in overburdened communities, though the decision has been appealed to the New Jersey Supreme Court.

APA

Earthjustice (2026). Counter/Act. https://earthjustice.org/feature/counter-act-spring-2026

Chicago

Earthjustice. Counter/Act. 2026. https://earthjustice.org/feature/counter-act-spring-2026.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Earthjustice |title=Counter/Act |date=21 May 2026 |url=https://earthjustice.org/feature/counter-act-spring-2026 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{earthjustice2026counteract, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Counter/Act}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, year = {2026}, month = may, url = {https://earthjustice.org/feature/counter-act-spring-2026}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }