Can an international border erase thousands of years of Indigenous rights? In this episode, we dive into a cross-border legal battle unfolding between Southeast Alaskan tribes and British Columbia. As the Canadian government fast-tracks mining operations in the headwaters of the Stikine, Unuk, and Taku Rivers, downstream Alaskan tribes face devastating threats to their waters, livelihoods, and sacred ooligan runs.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(00:50) Tens of thousands of years of Ingineous stewardship

(02:25) Indigenous testimony

(03:29) The Saviour Fish

(06:40) Industrial mining in the 1990s

(09:37) An inherently destructive, depleting industry

(13:13) Complaints go unheard

(14:45) Eskay Creek mine reopens

(16:53) The Desautel decision

(24:07) The fight for consultation rights

(27:39) Amendments to the Environmental Assessment Act

(31:45) A seat at the table

(33:40) Nature at a crossroad

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Climate Court Voices is an independent podcast shedding light on pivotal court battles through the voices of those at the forefront of climate justice and environmental activism. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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This month, a French court will deliver a historic verdict on the nation’s first climate lawsuit aimed at holding a multinational oil giant legally accountable for its role in global warming. Launched in 2020 by a coalition of local French authorities, Notre Affaire à Tous, and four other civil society organizations, the case targets TotalEnergies – one of the world’s top six "supermajor" oil companies. The lawsuit challenges the corporation's continued expansion of oil and gas production, which proceeds despite decades of indisputable scientific evidence showing that fossil fuels are the primary drivers of the climate crisis.

In this episode of Climate Court Voices, we sit down with Paul Mougeolle, strategic advisor for Notre Affaire à Tous. He breaks down the strategy behind this groundbreaking legal battle, explains how past international litigation inspired their case against Total, and explores what a victory would mean for global corporate accountability at a time when the 1.5°C warming threshold is slipping dangerously out of reach.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(01:21) Introducing Paul

(02:21) First steps toward suing TotalEnergies

(03:59) Who is TotalEnergies?

(05:14) France's Corporate Duty of Vigilance Law

(08:40) International legal landscape

(10:24) The ICJ advisory opinion's influence on the case

(12:27) TotalEnergies accused of greenwashing

(13:35) Scope 3 emissions

(16:38) February's hearings

(19:31) France's public prosecutor intervenes

(21:10) What happens if the court rules against Total?

(22:54) A new reality for corporate accountability?

For nearly two decades, the Endangerment Finding served as the legal bedrock of American climate policy, compelling the Environmental Protection Agency to treat carbon pollution as a threat to human survival. Today, that foundation is gone. Following the Trump administration's landmark repeal, the very framework used to regulate US emissions has vanished.

In this episode of Climate Court Voices, Noah Perch-Ahern, an attorney at Greenberg Glusker LLP, joins us to break down the fallout, from the firestorm of litigation hitting the courts to the sudden, high-stakes shift toward a patchwork of state-level regulations.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(02:23) A landmark Supreme Court ruling changes everything

(06:50) The Endangerment Finding changes everything

(09:37) Trump announces the "biggest deregulation action in US history"

(11:12) Legal challenges pile up

(13:22) What happens now?

(20:33) What happens to the EPA without the Endangerment Finding?

(22:38) Can states step in?