The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has held that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) applies to major federal government projects that contribute to climate change.

The judgment was given in a case brought by Friends of the Earth USA, Greenpeace USA and the cities of Arcata, Boulder, Oakland and Santa Monica, against the US export credit agencies, the Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

The judge said that "it would be difficult for the Court to conclude that Defendants have created a genuine dispute that [greenhouse gases] do not contribute to global warming."

More information on this case is available on a web site devoted to the case: climatelawsuit.org.