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Articles 1 - 30 of 34
Full-Text Articles in Law
Uncloaking The Secrecy Behind Large-Scale Land Deals, Jesse Coleman
Uncloaking The Secrecy Behind Large-Scale Land Deals, Jesse Coleman
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications
Large-scale investments in agriculture and forestry have far-reaching implications for the lives of affected individuals and communities. They are also an integral part of efforts by national governments to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and improve the governance of land resources. Despite their significance, these “land deals” and the contracts that govern them are often cloaked in secrecy, removed from relevant spheres of public scrutiny and debate.
Exploring The Link Between Food Security And Climate Change, Kaitlin Y. Cordes
Exploring The Link Between Food Security And Climate Change, Kaitlin Y. Cordes
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications
Our growing global population is demanding a more resource-intensive and so-called “Western” diet. And that change in demand has drastic impact on how we must change our supply.
Tpp Would Let Foreign Investors Bypass The Canadian Public Interest, Lisa E. Sachs, Lise Johnson
Tpp Would Let Foreign Investors Bypass The Canadian Public Interest, Lisa E. Sachs, Lise Johnson
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications
In early October, prime ministerial candidate Justin Trudeau promised Canadians “a full and open public debate” on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. With 30 chapters that would bind Canada to sweeping agreements on everything from services to intellectual property to the environment to procurement, there is much to debate.
Measuring Land Rights For A Sustainable Future, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Jeffrey D. Sachs
Measuring Land Rights For A Sustainable Future, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Jeffrey D. Sachs
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications
Land rights, both for individuals and for communities, are critical for achieving sustainable development. Security of land tenure and other rights to the land (sometimes held communally rather than individually) can accelerate poverty reduction, strengthen food security, and empower women. Land rights can reduce resource conflicts, as well as encourage the responsible use of natural resources. As the UN member countries begin to implement the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they should keep land rights in their focus, and measure and protect land rights in order to achieve the SDGs.
Wrong Direction On Climate, Trade And Development, Lisa E. Sachs, Lise Johnson
Wrong Direction On Climate, Trade And Development, Lisa E. Sachs, Lise Johnson
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications
In pushing for Trade Promotion Authority, the Obama administration argues that the agreements it is negotiating (including TPP and TTIP) are true 21st century agreements that correct the failings of past agreements and will promote trade and investment that can both re-launch America as the key economic player and promote broad-based sustainable development at home and abroad.
Natural Resource Contracts As A Tool For Managing The Mining Sector, David Kienzler, Perrine Toledano, Sophie Thomashausen, Sam Szoke-Burke
Natural Resource Contracts As A Tool For Managing The Mining Sector, David Kienzler, Perrine Toledano, Sophie Thomashausen, Sam Szoke-Burke
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications
In this report commissioned by the Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR) on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), CCSI examined the different types of legal regimes governing mining projects in 18 countries to gain a better understanding of mining deals granted and negotiated under different minerals regimes. CCSI compared the provisions of 30 mining contracts from 13 countries, analyzed a selection of mining-related legislative texts from 18 countries, and surveyed the experiences of mining contract negotiations through dozens of interviews with experts, government officials, company representatives, and members of civil society organizations.
The report …
Eyes Wide Shut On Isds, Lisa E. Sachs, Lise Johnson
Eyes Wide Shut On Isds, Lisa E. Sachs, Lise Johnson
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications
Recent agreement among congressional leaders on a “fast-track” bill may have been a victory for the Obama administration’s trade agenda. However, members of congress should take a look at the recent Bilcon case, decided by a NAFTA tribunal, to understand what they are signing up for.
Comments On The World Bank’S Revised Draft Environmental And Social Framework, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment
Comments On The World Bank’S Revised Draft Environmental And Social Framework, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications
In February 2015, CCSI sent comments to the World Bank regarding its draft Environmental and Social Framework. This took place in the context of the Bank’s consultations on the review and update of its safeguards policies. CCSI’s comments focused on ensuring consistent and comprehensive application of the framework, and on the need to more expansively incorporate human rights standards. The memo also underlined the need to protect all legitimate tenure rights, including those not currently recognized by national law, and to limit the permissibility of forced evictions. In addition, the comments include proposed amendments that would ensure that government borrowers …
The Responsible Investor’S Guide To Climate Change, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Lisa E. Sachs
The Responsible Investor’S Guide To Climate Change, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Lisa E. Sachs
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications
Around the world, institutional investors – including pension funds, insurance companies, philanthropic endowments, and universities – are grappling with the question of whether to divest from oil, gas, and coal companies. The reason, of course, is climate change: unless fossil-fuel consumption is cut sharply – and phased out entirely by around 2070, in favor of zero-carbon energy such as solar power – the world will suffer unacceptable risks from human-induced global warming. How should responsible investors behave in the face of these unprecedented risks?
Memo To The Obama Administration On The U.S. National Action Plan On Responsible Business Conduct, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Lisa E. Sachs
Memo To The Obama Administration On The U.S. National Action Plan On Responsible Business Conduct, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Lisa E. Sachs
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications
In January 2015, CCSI sent a memo to President Obama to provide input on the U.S. National Action Plan on responsible business conduct. The memo applauded the U.S. Government’s decision to develop a National Action Plan consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, noting that responsible and rights-respecting outward investment can support sustainable development in host countries, and that the U.S. Government has an important role to play in promoting responsible business operations. The memo urged the government to explore in particular how the National Action Plan can address …
An Analysis Of Senator Mcconnell's Letter Urging States Not To Comply With Epa's Clean Power Plan, Daniel Selmi
An Analysis Of Senator Mcconnell's Letter Urging States Not To Comply With Epa's Clean Power Plan, Daniel Selmi
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
On numerous occasions Senator Mitchell McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, has attacked the upcoming Clean Power Plan regulations that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to issue in June of this year. Most notably, on March 19, 2015, he sent a letter to the National Governors Association urging the governors of all fifty states not to prepare state plans in response to those regulations. In that letter he laid out what he termed his “serious legal and policy concerns” regarding the EPA proposal. The letter received wide publicity.
Daniel Selmi has written an essay analyzing legal statements made by …
Legal Tools For Climate Adaptation Advocacy: Nepa, Jennier Klein, Ethan Strell
Legal Tools For Climate Adaptation Advocacy: Nepa, Jennier Klein, Ethan Strell
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1970. NEPA requires federal agencies to evaluate the environmental effects of a wide range of actions, including direct federal undertakings and projects that receive federal funding or permits. Many states have since enacted similar laws of varying scope, requiring evaluation of the environmental impacts of certain state and local actions. For instance, New York State enacted the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) in 1975. Some municipalities, including New York City, have their own environmental review procedures.
The purpose of NEPA and similar state laws …
Designing A Climate Change Displacement Coordination Facility: Key Issues For Cop 21, Jessica A. Wentz, Michael Burger
Designing A Climate Change Displacement Coordination Facility: Key Issues For Cop 21, Jessica A. Wentz, Michael Burger
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
There have been several proposals to include a “climate change displacement coordination facility” in the upcoming UNFCCC agreement, but there has been very little public discussion about what this facility would entail and how it would operate. This briefing note highlights some of the functions that the displacement coordination facility could fulfill, as well as some key questions for negotiators in the lead-up to COP 21 and subsequent talks. The note is not intended to be a proposal for how the facility should operate, nor do the functions highlighted below necessarily reflect what is politically or economically feasible. Rather, the …
A Legal Approach To The Improvement Of Energy Efficiency Measures For The Existing Building Stock In The United States Based On European Experience, Teresa Parejo-Navajas
A Legal Approach To The Improvement Of Energy Efficiency Measures For The Existing Building Stock In The United States Based On European Experience, Teresa Parejo-Navajas
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
Energy consumption in buildings is on the rise and represents almost half of the total greenhouse gas emissions in cities, which are the main cause of global warming on the planet. There is a great scientific consensus that improving energy efficiency of building systems and operations is a very effective way to tackle this important problem. However, despite the fact that the existing building stock has the greatest potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction, most laws and regulations have focused primarily on new buildings. Hence, improving energy efficiency in existing buildings represents a great opportunity for reducing greenhouse gas emissions …
Sustainable Development And The Brazilian Judge, Gabriel Wedy
Sustainable Development And The Brazilian Judge, Gabriel Wedy
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
This article explores how Brazilian judges have used their authority to promote the environmental, social, economic, and, in particular, governance aspects of sustainable development. Through their decisions, judges have guaranteed Brazilian citizens important rights, which are stated in the progressive Constitution of 1988, drawn up after 20 years of military dictatorship. The citizen’s rights to medical treatment, medicine, surgery, housing and access to education are frequently guaranteed by judicial decisions.
Heat In Us Prisons And Jails: Corrections And The Challenge Of Climate Change, Daniel W.E. Holt
Heat In Us Prisons And Jails: Corrections And The Challenge Of Climate Change, Daniel W.E. Holt
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
This paper addresses two important but largely neglected questions: How will increased temperatures and heat waves caused by climate change affect prisons, jails, and their staff and inmate populations? And what can correctional departments do to prepare for greater heat and minimize the dangers it poses?
Reconciling International Investment Law And Climate Change Policy: Potential Liability For Climate Measures Under The Trans-Pacific Partnership, Meredith Wilensky
Reconciling International Investment Law And Climate Change Policy: Potential Liability For Climate Measures Under The Trans-Pacific Partnership, Meredith Wilensky
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
The pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement has raised controversy, fueled by leaks of the draft text and congressional debate over fast-track negotiation authority. Like similar agreements, the TPP creates the risk of government liability for enacting regulations, especially new or comprehensive measures to address climate change. This Article analyzes how the TPP’s investor protection provisions and dispute settlement mechanism might be invoked to challenge climate change policy. The author concludes that the negotiators’ efforts to date are insufficient to protect climate measures from the risk of liability, and suggests reforms to the draft text.
States Should Think Twice Before Refusing Any Response To Epa's Clean Power Rules, Daniel Selmi
States Should Think Twice Before Refusing Any Response To Epa's Clean Power Rules, Daniel Selmi
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
The date is approaching for EPA to finalize its rules for controlling carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, and states are contemplating their responses to those rules. A number of commentators have recommended that states “just say no” to EPA and refuse to prepare state plans complying with the rules. Some states are considering bills and a few have enacted laws that would make it difficult for their state environmental agencies to prepare responses that EPA could accept. In turn, EPA has announced it will release a “federal implementation plan” (FIP) for states that fail to submit legally adequate …
Legal & Scientific Integrity In Advancing A "Land Degradation Neutral World", Shelley Welton, Michela Biasutti, Michael B. Gerrard
Legal & Scientific Integrity In Advancing A "Land Degradation Neutral World", Shelley Welton, Michela Biasutti, Michael B. Gerrard
Faculty Scholarship
It is no secret that the fight against desertification isn't going well. In the two decades since the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification ("UNCCD") came into force, desertification – defined as degradation in the quality of "arid, semi-arid, and dry subhumid" land areas – has worsened considerably. Recent United Nations estimates suggest that fifty-two percent of drylands currently under agricultural cultivation are moderately or severely degraded, and 12 million hectares of productive land become barren each year due to desertification and drought. And while drylands are the focus of the UNCCD, the challenge isn't limited to them: somewhere around …
Save Birds Now Or Birds Later, Michael B. Gerrard
Save Birds Now Or Birds Later, Michael B. Gerrard
Faculty Scholarship
Due to a combination of climate change, habitat loss, water diversions, pesticides and other toxics, and other factors, the Earth is now facing the sixth mass extinction event in its geological history, on a par with the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs and much else.
The international goal for fighting climate change, as adopted and reaffirmed at several United Nations climate conferences, is to keep global average temperatures from rising more than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial conditions. Even an increase at that level would have very negative consequences to humans as well as other species — the low-lying island …
Legal Tools For Climate Adaptation Advocacy: Clean Water Act Permitting And Funding Programs, Channing R. Jones
Legal Tools For Climate Adaptation Advocacy: Clean Water Act Permitting And Funding Programs, Channing R. Jones
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
Climate change imperils the quality of water resources and aquatic ecosystems by introducing or exacerbating supply challenges and pollution threats. Existing legal frameworks, including permitting and grant programs, can incorporate climate change adaptation into the way we protect water. In particular, the Clean Water Act – the primary tool used nationwide to protect surface waters from pollutant discharges and fill activity – can be used to promote climate change adaptation in a number of ways.
The Clean Water Act was enacted in 1972 and amended in 1977 and 1987. The statute is principally administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, …
Climate Change And International Peace And Security: Possible Roles For The U.N. Security Council In Addressing Climate Change, Dane Warren
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
This paper considers what actions the United Nations Security Council has taken with regard to climate change thus far, and what actions the Security Council could legally take going forward. To this point, the U.N. Security Council (“UNSC” or “Council”) has played a very minimal role in addressing climate change. The UNSC has held two debates on the relationship between climate change and security, first in 2007 and then in 2011, the latter producing a formal Presidential Statement on the topic.
The U.N. Charter and the literature suggest that the UNSC could theoretically take two possible actions related to climate …
Legal Tools For Climate Adaptation Advocacy: Securities Law, Nina Hart
Legal Tools For Climate Adaptation Advocacy: Securities Law, Nina Hart
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
Corporations today face increasing risks from climate change. These risks threaten not only the operations and infrastructure of the corporations, but ultimately their long-‐‑term financial soundness as well. For example, as has been noted with respect to the oil and gas industries, refineries often do not have high profit margins because most of the profits come from extraction. Therefore, refineries, which frequently are near the coasts and vulnerable to increasing sea levels and storms surges, could suffer material financial losses if their operations were disrupted.1 To prevent this physical infrastructure or operational damage, as well as the attendant financial losses, …
Draft Nepa Guidance Requires Agencies To Consider Both Ghg Emissions And The Impacts Of Climate Change On Proposed Actions, Jessica A. Wentz
Draft Nepa Guidance Requires Agencies To Consider Both Ghg Emissions And The Impacts Of Climate Change On Proposed Actions, Jessica A. Wentz
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
On December 24, 2014, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) released revised draft guidance on how federal agencies should evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the impacts of climate change when conducting reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The CEQ’s new guidance does not impose any new legal requirements on federal decision-makers, but it does clarify how federal agencies should consider the effects of GHG emissions and climate change in a manner consistent with their preexisting obligations under NEPA. It is significantly more detailed than the draft guidance released by CEQ in February 2010, and unlike its predecessor, …
Climate Change In The Courts: An Assessment Of Non-U.S. Climate Litigation, Meredith Wilensky
Climate Change In The Courts: An Assessment Of Non-U.S. Climate Litigation, Meredith Wilensky
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
In 2007 Arnold & Porter (later joined by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School) compiled and proceeded to update a comprehensive collection of judicial decisions from U.S. courts concerning climate change. Largely drawing on that work, in 2012, Professor David Markell of Florida State University College of Law and Professor J.B. Ruhl of Vanderbilt University Law School published an empirical assessment of climate change litigation in the United States. Since 2011, the Sabin Center has maintained a compilation of climate change cases from outside the United States. Using the categorization methods employed in the Markell …
Review Of Benjamin K. Sovacool And Michael H. Dworkin's Global Energy Justice: Problems, Principles, And Practices, Michael B. Gerrard
Review Of Benjamin K. Sovacool And Michael H. Dworkin's Global Energy Justice: Problems, Principles, And Practices, Michael B. Gerrard
Faculty Scholarship
Energy powers the world. Having enough energy is essential to maintaining even the most minimal quality of life. But extracting and using energy renders some places uninhabitable, and now threatens the ecological integrity of the planet.
Current energy systems involve profound injustices. These injustices can arise in the ways that energy is produced – including through local and global environmental degradation, human rights abuses, corruption, and social and military conflict. Injustice can also arise in the ways that energy is or is not available – with more than a billion people having far too little for a decent existence, while …
Legal Tools For Climate Adaptation Advocacy: Flood Insurance, Matt Sienkiewicz
Legal Tools For Climate Adaptation Advocacy: Flood Insurance, Matt Sienkiewicz
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
This paper explores the impact that climate change will have on flooding and provides details on the operation and functions of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The paper then discuss the ways the current regime discourages adaptation to climate change, and offers suggestions for how readers can promote climate change adaptation by advocating for changes to the NFIP.
Federal Implementation Plans For Controlling Carbon Emissions From Existing Power Plants: A Primer Exploring The Issues, Daniel Selmi
Federal Implementation Plans For Controlling Carbon Emissions From Existing Power Plants: A Primer Exploring The Issues, Daniel Selmi
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
Much has been made of late about EPA’s authority to develop federal implementation plans (FIPs) to achieve the state-based GHG emissions reduction targets the agency is preparing establish under Clean Power Plan. Led by Senator Mitch McConnell, objectors have loudly urged states not to submit plans at all. Instead, they have argued, states need not be concerned about EPA imposing FIPs on their states. In turn, EPA has announced that it will release a draft federal implementation plan this summer.
Since 1970, Section 110 the Clean Air Act has required EPA to implement a FIP if a state implementation plan …
Electricity Sector Adaptation To Heat Waves, Sofia Aivalioti
Electricity Sector Adaptation To Heat Waves, Sofia Aivalioti
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
Electricity is very important for human settlements and a key accelerator for development and prosperity. As heat waves become more frequent and intense the reliability and efficiency of the electricity systems is threatened. Increased temperatures have adverse effects on electricity generation, transmission, distribution and demand. The high temperatures cause intentional or unintentional brownouts and blackouts, which come at high costs for people and economies. The case studies in this analysis highlight the importance of heat wave impacts to the electricity sector and the need for adaptation. The electricity sector requires a holistic approach for adaptation that comprises technological, behavioral and …
Climate Change And Human Rights, Michael Burger, Jessica A. Wentz
Climate Change And Human Rights, Michael Burger, Jessica A. Wentz
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
This report, commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), describes the nexus between climate change, environmental degradation, and the impairment of fundamental human rights, such as the rights to food, water, housing, and life. It explains how governments and other actors can address climate change in a manner consistent with their obligations to respect, protect, promote and fulfill human rights. The report was released during COP21 to help inform the development of the Paris Agreement.