Law Commons^™

U'Wa Indigenous People Vs. Columbia: Potential Applications Of The Escazu Agreement, Ariana Lippi

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Though the case is ongoing, and results are still to be seen, it in many ways sets a precedent for indigenous communities in Latin America seeking redress for environmental and cultural injustices. With Colombia’s recent ratification of The Escazú Regional Agreement (the Agreement herein) in 2022, this case presents a unique opportunity for implementation of the Agreement and greater accountability within existing domestic legislation.

Natural Resources In The Arctic: The Equal Distribution Of Uneven Resrouces, Ganeswar Matcha, Sudarsanan Sivakumar

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

This paper analyses the governance machine in place at the Arctic and examines the application of the principles of “common heritage of mankind” at the Arctic. This paper also offers some tentative propositions aimed at protecting Out Bound investment rights and how the World Trade Organization or other countries, like the U.S., can intercede in the Arctic investment sphere and attempt to regulate along with the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea.

Incentivizing Sustainability In American Enterprise: Lessons From Finnish Model, Vasa T. Dunham

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

The disparate climate performances of Finland and the United States, two of the wealthiest countries in the world, bring to light the question of how corporate responsibility has been inspired in each jurisdiction. Having established the urgency of the climate crisis and the importance of corporate behavior in optimizing a given country’s approach to protection of the global environment, an examination of each nation’s legal frameworks may shed light on features of the corporate regime that are effective in advancing sustainability goals and those that are not.22 Part I of this paper establishes a comparative framework by providing background on …

Editor's Note, Shade Streeter, Reagan Ferris

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

The Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief (ISSN 1552-3721) is a student-run initiative at American University Washington College of Law that is published twice each academic year. The Brief embraces an interdisciplinary focus to provide a broad view of current legal, political, and social developments. It was founded to provide a forum for those interested in promoting sustainable economic development, conservation, environmental justice, and biodiversity throughout the world.

Prioritizing Regional Wildlife Conservation By Rejuvenating The Western Hemisphere Convention On Nature Protection, Shade Streeter, David Hunter, William Snape Iii

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Last year, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (“CBD”), representing nearly every nation, signed a milestone agreement committing, among other things, to conserve thirty percent of Earth’s lands and oceans to stave off the rapid diminution of the planet’s biodiversity. Implementing these global commitments will require not only strong domestic measures, but also enhanced regional cooperation targeting the conservation of the region’s migratory wildlife and shared resources. Although the United States is the sole major holdout from the CBD, it can still reassert its leadership in regional wildlife conservation by rejuvenating the Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation …

Unclos, Undrip & Tartupaluk: The Grim Tale Of Hans Isle And Graense, Christopher Mark Macneill

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

“Inuit have lived in the Arctic from time immemorial.” The Arctic, in the face of climate change, has become a hot spot for exploration, resource extraction, and increased shipping and scientific activity. “[The] Inuit . . . have had a common and shared use of the sea area and the adjacent coasts” among their own communities, and contemporaneously with the world. This vast circumpolar Inuit Arctic region includes land, sea, and ice stretching from eastern Russia (Chukotka region) across the Berring Strait, to Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, and Greenland, representing an Inuit homeland known as Nunaat. Hans Isle, a small …

The Great Climate Migration: A Critique Of Global Legal Standards Of Climate-Change Caused Harm, Mariah Stephens

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Approximately 2.4 billion people, or about forty percent of the global population, live within sixty miles (one hundred kilometers) of a coastline. The United Nations (“U.N.”) determined that “a sea level rise of half a meter could displace 1.2 million people from low-lying islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with that number almost doubling if the sea level rises by two metres.” The U.N. also reports that “sudden weather-related hazards” have internally displaced an annual average of 21.5 million people since 2008. Within the next few decades, this number is likely to continue to increase. …

The Future Of Crypto-Asset Mining: The Inflation Reduction Act And The Need For Uniform Federal Regulation, Liz Guinan

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Crypto-asset mining is energy-intensive and environmentally harmful, presenting challenges and opportunities for federal, state and local governments, regulators, and society as a whole. As of December 2021, the United States has thirty-eight percent of the global crypto network hash rate, which is the total amount of computational power used to mine and process crypto transactions, making the United States the world’s largest crypto-asset mining industry. The total electricity consumption of crypto-asset mining in the United States is estimated to be around 121.36 terawatt-hours (“TWh”) per year, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of approximately 10.9 million households in the …

Editors' Note, Rachel Keylon, Meghen Sullivan

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

For more than two decades, the Sustainable Development Law and Policy Brief (“SDLP”) has published works analyzing emerging legal and policy issues within the fields of environmental, energy, sustainable development, and natural resources law. SDLP has also prioritized making space for law students in the conversation. We are honored to continue this tradition in Volume XXIII.

Pedal Into The Future, Elliot Wiley

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Congress severely weakened the Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment Act (E-Bike Act) when the bill was absorbed into the Build Back Better Bill. Electricity is the future, yet Congress has defanged a bill that could create significant progress in making bicycling a more accessible option for commuters.

Toward A Utah Intentionally Created Surplus Program, Devin Stelter

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

The Colorado River Basin continues to face a now two decade-long drought sparked by the drastic effects of climate change on the region. Climate forecasting predicts that the adverse effects of climate change will only increase in severity in years to come. These effects have led federal, state, tribal, and private actors operating in the basin to search for innovative and effective solutions to the significant water scarcity problems that will persist into the future. A closely linked threat stemming from Colorado River water scarcity is the prospect of a “Compact call” on Upper Basin water by the Lower Basin …

About Sdlp, Sdlp

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

The Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief (ISSN 1552-3721) is a student-run initiative at American University Washington College of Law that is published twice each academic year. The Brief embraces an interdisciplinary focus to provide a broad view of current legal, political, and social developments. It was founded to provide a forum for those interested in promoting sustainable economic development, conservation, environmental justice, and biodiversity throughout the world.

Editor's Note, Juliette Jackson, Bailey Nickoloff

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

The Sustainable Development Law and Policy Brief (“SDLP”) is celebrating twenty-two years of legal scholarship on issues related to environmental, energy, natural resources, and international development law. SDLP continues to provide cutting-edge solutions to these legal issues in the face of the global COVID-19 Pandemic, while also transitioning back into a “new normal.” This issue is no different, as we published articles challenging our lawmakers and policy heads to address the impending needs of our communities to develop more sustainable infrastructure—needs that are only exacerbated by man-made climate change. We are proud of the work published, and we are forever …

It's Time To Trash Consumer Responsibility For Plastics: An Analysis Of Extended Producer Responsibility Laws' Sucess In Maine, Marina Mozak

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Consumer responsibility for waste is a historic relic, dating back to a time when nearly all of a consumer’s waste was compostable, reusable, or marketable. Today, with the rise of plastics and complex goods like electronics, consumers lack the expertise, time, and ability to personally break down the products they consume for reuse. Much of our household waste goes to the curb and into a single stream of municipal solid waste (“MSW”). This includes a variety of wastes which each require specialized processing. Recycling this complex waste falls to municipalities which are woefully underfunded and underqualified to process such complex …

Ohio House Bills 168 And 110: Just Another Drop In The Bucket For Brownfield Redevelopment?, Mia Petrucci

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

This article examines Ohio House Bills 168 and 110. These House Bills provide liability protection to purchasers of brownfield sites, allocate $500 million dollars to brownfield funding—with $350 million allotted for investigation, cleanup, and revitalization of brownfield sites and $150 million for demolition of vacant/abandoned buildings—and create a new Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program, for the revitalization of properties surrounding brownfield sites. In the first three Sections of this article, the concept of brownfield redevelopment is introduced, the associated challenges with brownfield projects are discussed, and attempts by federal and state governments to address brownfield remediation challenges in the …

About Sdlp, Sdlp

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

The Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief (ISSN 1552-3721) is a student-run initiative at American University Washington College of Law that is published twice each academic year. The Brief embraces an interdisciplinary focus to provide a broad view of current legal, political, and social developments. It was founded to provide a forum for those interested in promoting sustainable economic development, conservation, environmental justice, and biodiversity throughout the world.

The U.S. Dairy Industry In The 20th And 21st Century, George B. Frisvold

Journal of Food Law & Policy

At the beginning of the 20th Century, the U.S. dairy industry was comprised of millions of small-scale operations producing for their own or for very local consumption. By the end of the 20th Century, the industry was dominated by large-scale producers marketing products via large cooperatives. Improvements in transportation, advances in animal breeding and feeding technologies, and scale economies have allowed the industry to be more competitive on global markets, where there is now active international trade in dairy products. Major government programs to support dairy farm income date back to Depression-era problems facing the industry. Federal programs to support …

The Key To Engaging With The Sdgs: Utilizing Rio Principle 10 To Succeessfully Implement The U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, Taís Ludwig

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

The Next Generation Of Trade And Environment Conflicts: The Rise Of Green Industrial Policy, Mark Wu, James Salzman

Northwestern University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Epic Struggle For Dolphin-Safe Tuna, Lauren Sullivan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In May 2012, the World Trade Organization (WTO) struck down the United States' dolphin-safe tuna labeling standard as a barrier to trade that is prohibited by the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (TBT). The analysis in the US-Tuna II report questions the validity of standardized eco-labels enforced by WTO Member States, which are an increasingly popular means to achieve environmental and consumer protection. This Note considers the merits of state-backed eco-labeling schemes, the implications of the US-Tuna II report for the WTO's approach to nontrade interests, and potential accommodations within the current WTO framework for eco-labels. It ultimately suggests that …

Selected Bibliography: The Reintegration Of Hong Kong Into China, Audrey E. Haroz, Jonathan R. Smith

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The reintegration of Hong Kong into the People's Republic of China (hereinafter P.R.C.) on July 1, 1997, brought together two countries, one capitalist and one communist, under one rule. As evidenced by the variety of perspectives offered at the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law's Symposium on Hong Kong's Reintegration into the P.R.C., there is much scholarly debate concerning this merger and the effect it will have on the people and politics of both countries as well as on the international community.

An earlier version of this bibliography is included in the May 1997 issue of the Journal. This bibliography has …

Protection, Not Protectionism: Multilateral Environmental Agreements And The Gatt, Betsy Baker

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Dean Baker examines the compatibility of multilateral environmental agreements with the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The author discusses the key provisions of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the GATT. The author then reviews the conflict between unilateral environmental protection and open and free trade under the GATT. The author concludes the collective interests represented by international environmental agreements, and the agreements themselves, should provide a …

Trade Protectionism And Environmental Regulations: The New Nontariff Barriers, C. Ford Runge

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article reviews some economic and legal aspects of the growing role of environmental, health, and safety regulations operating as disguised barriers to trade. While this has always been a recognized problem in trade policy, the issue has gained new force as environmental policies move to the forefront of many national agendas. Because environmental standards have a growing national constituency, they are especially attractive candidates for disguised protectionism. International distinctions in the tolerable level of environmental risks are created because the weight attached to environmental standards tends to vary with the income levels of different countries. Incentives are created to …

The Controls On The Transfrontier Movement Of Hazardous Waste From Developed To Developing Nations: The Goal Of A "Level Playing Field", Michelle M. Vilcheck

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

In the 1970s, the United States Congress began passing national environmental legislation. One reason for such legislation was to "level the playing field" among the fifty states so that economic advantage did not accrue to one state at the expense of environmental quality and public health.' The world now faces a similar need for environmental legislation on an international level. Environmental laws of individual nations have become more and more divergent as developed countries, such as the United States, enact tougher environmental laws, while less developed nations fail to enact any environmental regulations. The variant standards of these environmental laws …