Climate Law Blog

By Dena Adler Last month the Midwest faced historic floods that devastated rural communities, drowned farms, contaminated water supplies, and resulted in billions of dollars in damages. As climate change exacerbates the risk of these catastrophic flooding events in the Midwest and throughout the U.S., a growing number of citizens will need support rebuilding their […]

By Romany Webb On Wednesday, March 13, the United Nations Environment Programme released its sixth Global Environment Outlook warning that “[t]ime is running out to prevent the irreversible and dangerous impacts of climate change.” Consistent with other UN reports, the Outlook calls for urgent action to reduce climate-damaging carbon dioxide emissions, which must reach “net […]

By Dena Adler Since September 2017, Congress has kept the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) afloat with a series of short-term extensions, repeatedly punting on a valuable opportunity to issue a long-term reauthorization and reform the program to better protect communities from the increased risks of flooding spurred by climate change. But  the federal government […]

By Dena Adler The escalating costs of damages from extreme weather events, many exacerbated by climate change, makes poignant a question with a serious price tag: who will be on the hook to pay for climate damages? In 2018, a host of lawsuits wound their way through the courts seeking an answer, including several from […]

by Michael Burger Today is “pub day” for Climate Change, Public Health, and the Law, a new volume I conceptualized, developed and edited with former Sabin Center Senior Fellow Justin Gundlach (now at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority). The volume draws on contributions from leading legal scholars and public health practitioners […]

By Romany Webb The U.S. is currently in the midst of a natural gas boom, with production growing dramatically in recent years. The resulting glut of natural gas has led to a decline in prices which has, in turn, prompted increased gas use in electricity generation and other applications. Many see this as a positive […]

By William Omorogieva* The intensity of recent hurricanes and the damage they have caused in America have garnered lots of national news coverage. After Hurricane Katrina, it became evident how a lack of planning for natural disasters can have dangerous and deadly consequences. However, often hidden from public view is the struggle that some of […]

By Richmund Sta. Lucia On March 27, 2018, the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) held its first hearingon the petition seeking to hold the “Carbon Majors” accountable for contributing to global emissions of greenhouse gases and the resultant impacts of climate change. The said petition requests the CHR to investigate the responsibility for climate-related human […]

By Susan Biniaz You may be an experienced negotiator of international environmental agreements.  Or you may be new to the field and excited to negotiate your very first one.  In both cases, you know your precedents, helped craft your government’s positions, and are anxious to get started.  But wait…before you negotiate the agreement, you will […]

by Justin Gundlach and Romany Webb Resilience—the capacity to withstand, absorb, recover from, and better adapt to disruption—is currently a popular topic of discussion and debate. Several factors, including a string of disasters and unrelated but coincident regulatory processes, have made resilience a key objective for a wide array of policy makers. They include the […]