Clinic Petitions Export-Import Bank to Stop Fueling Climate Crisis

In early August, the Global Law Alliance for Animals and the Environment and Friends of the Earth United States petitioned the Biden Administration to instruct the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) to deny funding applications for projects that contribute significantly to climate change.

The petition, “Request for Chafee Determination for Export-Import Bank’s financing of activities and projects that substantially contribute to greenhouse gas emissions” was researched and drafted by students in Lewis & Clark’s international environmental clinic, under the guidance of clinical faculty and Friends of the Earth United States.

EXIM is an independent federal agency that facilitates the export of U.S. goods and services to support the employment of American workers. EXIM provides loans, guarantees, insurance, and credit to American exporters, providing funding when “private sector lenders are unable or unwilling” in order to make U.S. exports more competitive against foreign exports.

A provision in the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, the Chafee Amendment, provides that EXIM should deny applications when the President determines that such denial would be in the national interest. The law provides that both environmental protection and human rights are in the “national interest.”

The petition exemplifies the type of cutting-edge legal work undertaken in Lewis & Clark’s environmental clinics, where public interest lawyering engages real world issues and clients.

Macaela Burke ’25 shared that her work on the petition gave her insight into the creativity required to practice climate change law. “My work on this project taught me how important it is to consider novel ideas and be creative because seemingly unrelated areas of law can help achieve environmental protections. It is really exciting to have had the opportunity to work on something that will be seen by high-level decision makers in our government.”