Join the Parties: 25+ Ways to Promote Participation in Multilateral Environmental Agreements

By Susan Biniaz Negotiators of multilateral environmental agreements are frequently faced with the challenge of striking the right balance between stringency of commitment and breadth of participation. A perfect agreement on paper, with strong commitments and a robust compliance mechanism, might attract too few Parties (or too few key Parties) […]

Update on the “Carbon Majors” Petition: the Role of the Philippine Commission on Human Rights

By Richmund Sta. Lucia The world is currently looking with great interest at how the groundbreaking case known as the “Carbon Majors” petition will unfold. On September 22, 2015, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement, and numerous other interest groups filed a petition with the Philippine Commission on Human […]

Environmental Professor Drops Defamation Suit Against Fellow Scientists

Guest Blog by Augusta Wilson* A Stanford environmental professor’s high-stakes defamation suit over a peer-reviewed critique evaluating renewable energy outcomes, came to an end last week. Dr. Mark Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of Stanford’s Atmosphere/Energy program, announced on February 22 that he will drop the […]

March 2018 Updates to the Climate Case Charts

Each month, Arnold & Porter and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law collect and summarize developments in climate-related litigation, which we also add to our U.S. and non-U.S. climate litigation charts.  If you know of any cases we have missed, please email us at columbiaclimate at gmail dot com. HERE ARE THE ADDITIONS […]

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law Wins Award from International Association for Impact Assessment

By the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law has been selected as the winner of the International Association for Impact Assessment’s (IAIA) 2018 Institutional Award for its outstanding efforts in climate change and the law governing environmental impact assessment (EIA). “In […]

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights Recognizes a Right to a Healthy Environment in Recent Advisory Opinion

By Jose Felix Pinto-Bazurco* Since its founding in 1979, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (the Court) has issued 24 advisory opinions. Although it has previously recognized the existence of a relationship between environmental protection and the enjoyment of other human rights, it has done so only in relation to […]