Cities, E-commerce & Public Health: 3 Legal Pathways to Limiting Freight Vehicle Emissions

A new Sabin Center white paper is linked here. In recent years, cities have become increasingly defined by e-commerce – the sprawling network of goods delivery from central warehouses to neighborhood distribution centers to residents’ front doors. This growing network of warehouses and the freight vehicles that serve them contribute […]

Climate Change, Health Impacts, and State Obligations under International Law

  The Sabin Center has recently published two reports on the connection between climate change, health impacts, and State obligations under international law. These reports are aimed at providing insights on issues to be analyzed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its upcoming advisory opinion on climate change, […]

Sabin Center Files Amicus Brief Supporting New York City’s Motion to Appeal in Local Law 97 Case

On June 20th, 2024, the Sabin Center filed an amicus brief in support of the City of New York’s Motion for Leave to Appeal to the New York State Court of Appeals in Glen Oaks Village Owners, Inc., et al. v. City of New York. Glen Oaks – a 2022 […]

‘Relevant Rules’ as Normative Environment: Harmony vs Cacophony in the ITLOS Advisory Opinion on Climate Change

On 21 May 2024, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delivered its much anticipated Advisory Opinion on Climate Change. Other blog-posts have already dealt with various aspects of the Advisory Opinion (see, for instance, here and here), including the Tribunal’s approach to interpreting the United Nations […]

Developments in Opposition to Renewable Energy Facilities Through December 2023

Local opposition has proven to be a significant barrier to the rapid expansion of renewable energy facilities across the United States. A new edition of the Sabin Center’s Opposition to Renewable Energy Facilities in the United States report identifies 378 renewable energy projects across 47 states that have encountered significant opposition. […]

More than a Sink: The ITLOS Advisory Opinion on Climate Change and State Responsibility

The oceans absorb large quantities of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities. This “sink” function is so significant that, until 1957, one objection to a causal link between anthropogenic emissions and global warming was that the oceans would absorb most of the excess CO2, thus breaking this link. That […]

Finding Light in Dark Places: Specific Obligations for Climate Change and Ocean Acidification Mitigation

  Can the new advisory opinion interpreting the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) move us beyond the lethargy of unmet climate change policy needs? The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (the Tribunal, ITLOS) established the gravity of this question by stating that […]