Climate Change Law and Policy

This course surveys the legal and policy mechanisms, and political and social forces, that can be utilized to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases and to adapt to a warming planet. We will start with a brief introduction to the kinds of policy challenges that climate change poses to international and domestic legal regimes.  The course will then consider the international, federal, state and local legal regimes applicable to climate change, with an emphasis on U.S. law and policy.

In particular, the course will cover the negotiation, implementation and current status of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, the Copenhagen Accord, the Paris Agreement, the Glasgow Climate Pact and the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan. The focus will then turn to the past and proposed actions of the U.S. Congress, the executive branch and the courts, as well as regional, state and municipal efforts. The Clean Air Act and the National Environmental Policy Act will receive special attention, as will the authority of an administration to reverse prior policy. We will examine efforts in the U.S. and other countries to use the courts to force action on climate change.

We will evaluate the various legal tools that are available to address climate change, including cap-and-trade and carbon offsets; command-and-control regulation; litigation; and securities disclosures. Implications for international human rights, environmental and climate justice, international and intergenerational equity will be discussed.