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Full-Text Articles in Law
Ny, New Jersey Adopt Laws Requiring Flood Risk Disclosure For Homebuyers, Tenants, Michael B. Gerrard, Edward Mctiernan
Ny, New Jersey Adopt Laws Requiring Flood Risk Disclosure For Homebuyers, Tenants, Michael B. Gerrard, Edward Mctiernan
Faculty Scholarship
In the wake of several incidents of unprecedented rainfall and disastrous flooding, both New York and New Jersey have adopted laws requiring the sellers of residential properties to tell buyers, and landlords to tell tenants, about known flood risks. The New Jersey law also requires disclosures in commercial transactions. A New York enactment also eliminates the commonlyused ability of sellers to avoid making property disclosures (not only about flood risk) by taking $500 off the purchase price.
Three New Federal Laws Aid New York’S Compliance With Climate Goals, Michael B. Gerrard, Edward Mctiernan
Three New Federal Laws Aid New York’S Compliance With Climate Goals, Michael B. Gerrard, Edward Mctiernan
Faculty Scholarship
The New York Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019 (CLCPA) requires total statewide greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced 40% from 1990 levels in 2030 and 85% in 2050, with a goal (aided by offsets) of 100% by 2050. It also requires 70% of electricity demand in 2030 to be met by renewables, and 100% from “zero emissions” sources (meaning renewables plus nuclear) in 2040.
Removing Carbon Dioxide Through Ocean Fertilization: Legal Challenges And Opportunities, Korey Silverman-Roati, Romany M. Webb, Michael Gerrard
Removing Carbon Dioxide Through Ocean Fertilization: Legal Challenges And Opportunities, Korey Silverman-Roati, Romany M. Webb, Michael Gerrard
Faculty Scholarship
Carbon dioxide removal (“CDR”) will be needed, alongside deep emissions cuts, to achieve global temperature goals. According to a 2022 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to keep global average temperatures within 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions must reach net-zero by mid-century. Scientists have proposed a number of land- and ocean-based CDR techniques. This paper focuses on ocean fertilization, which involves adding iron or other nutrients to the ocean to stimulate the growth of phytoplankton that uptake carbon dioxide and convert it into organic carbon. The hope is that the organic carbon …
Revitalizing Greenhouse Gas Permitting Inside A Biden Epa, Matt Haber, Seema Kakade
Revitalizing Greenhouse Gas Permitting Inside A Biden Epa, Matt Haber, Seema Kakade
Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Next Mayor Will Inherit Job Of Implementing 2019 Law Setting Building Emissions Caps, Michael B. Gerrard, Edward Mctiernan
Next Mayor Will Inherit Job Of Implementing 2019 Law Setting Building Emissions Caps, Michael B. Gerrard, Edward Mctiernan
Faculty Scholarship
Whoever becomes New York City’s next Mayor will need to pivot quickly to implementing a collection of laws adopted in 2019 and bundled together as the Climate Mobilization Act. These laws are designed to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in New York City by 40% below 2005 levels by 2030 and 80% by 2050. Because 70% of the greenhouse gases emitted in New York City are generated by how New Yorkers heat, light and power buildings, the Climate Mobilization Act includes Local Laws 92 and 94, which require that new buildings or buildings undergoing major roof renovations include solar panels …
Direct Air Capture: An Emerging Necessity To Fight Climate Change, Michael B. Gerrard
Direct Air Capture: An Emerging Necessity To Fight Climate Change, Michael B. Gerrard
Faculty Scholarship
The Paris Agreement of 2015 declared that we must keep global average temperatures well below 2.0°C (3.6°F) above preindustrial levels, and as close to 1.5°C as possible. However, a 2018 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) showed that even 2.0°C would be catastrophic; 1.5°C should be the firm goal. We are now around 1.0°C and are already seeing wildfires, hurricanes, inland precipitation, and other events of unprecedented magnitude.
Three Legal Visions Of A ‘Green New Deal’, Michael B. Gerrard, Edward Mctiernan
Three Legal Visions Of A ‘Green New Deal’, Michael B. Gerrard, Edward Mctiernan
Faculty Scholarship
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who has rocketed to such fame that she is now widely known simply as AOC, and Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), co-father of Waxman-Markey, the cap-and- trade bill that narrowly passed the House in 2009 but died in the Senate, have introduced identical resolutions to create a “Green New Deal.” H. Res. 109, S. Res. 59.
Regulating In The Face Of A Changing World: Legal Regulation Of Climate Change, Michael B. Gerrard
Regulating In The Face Of A Changing World: Legal Regulation Of Climate Change, Michael B. Gerrard
Faculty Scholarship
Everyone knows that the temperatures have been going up. While tern, peratures bounce around from year to year, when looking at five,year averages, the trend is unmistakable. A well,known adverse effect of these changes is that the Arctic is warming; the extent of Arctic sea ice declin, ing had dipped to a record low in 2015. A decreased level of sea ice has led to the rise of sea levels, which have increased at an accelerated pace. There are a number of projections about what the future pace of sea level rise will be, but most scientists believe it most …
Can Clean Energy Policy Promote Environmental, Economic, And Social Sustainability?, Felix Mormann
Can Clean Energy Policy Promote Environmental, Economic, And Social Sustainability?, Felix Mormann
Faculty Scholarship
Two and a half decades of clean energy policymaking focused primarily on environmental and economic sustainability have yielded considerable environmental and economic benefits. Along the way, however, other policy considerations, such as the social sustainability of the transition to a cleaner, renewably fueled energy economy, have gone largely overlooked. As clean energy technologies continue to gain ever-greater traction in the United States and global energy economies, the social impacts of their enabling policies become more and more salient. Already, ratepayers, taxpayers, and other stakeholders who fear being left behind by the clean energy transition question the “fairness” of today’s renewable …
A Tale Of Three Markets: Comparing The Renewable Energy Experiences Of California, Texas, And Germany, Felix Mormann, Dan Reicher, Victor Hanna
A Tale Of Three Markets: Comparing The Renewable Energy Experiences Of California, Texas, And Germany, Felix Mormann, Dan Reicher, Victor Hanna
Faculty Scholarship
The Obama administration has repeatedly identified the large-scale build-out of clean, renewable energy infrastructure as a key priority of the United States. The President’s calls for a cleaner energy economy are often accompanied by references to other industrialized countries such as Germany, hailed by many as a leader in renewable energy deployment. Indeed, the share of renewables in Germany’s electricity generation mix is twice that of the United States, and the ambitious “Energiewende” commits the country to meeting 80% of its electricity needs with renewables by 2050. While some praise the German renewables experience as successful proof of concept, others …
The 2015 Paris Agreement On Climate Change: Significance And Implications For The Future, Hari Osofsky, Lisa Benjamin, Michael B. Gerrard, Jacqueline Peel, David Titley
The 2015 Paris Agreement On Climate Change: Significance And Implications For The Future, Hari Osofsky, Lisa Benjamin, Michael B. Gerrard, Jacqueline Peel, David Titley
Faculty Scholarship
On December 12, 2015, nearly 200 countries created a major new agreement on climate change, accompanied by national commitments to act. The Paris Agreement has rightly been celebrated as a breakthrough, but was unquestionably constrained by the need for compromise, and its details will continue to be developed at the international, national, and local levels. On January 9, 2016, a panel of expert commentators and delegation members from a variety of national jurisdictions convened at the annual American Association of Law Schools meeting to analyze the Paris Agreement; they considered how the agreement evolved from prior efforts, the structure of …
Clean Energy Federalism, Felix Mormann
Clean Energy Federalism, Felix Mormann
Faculty Scholarship
Legal scholarship tends to approach the law and policy of clean energy from an environmental law perspective. As hydraulic fracturing, renewable energy integration, nuclear reactor (re)licensing, transport biofuel mandates, and other energy issues have pushed to the forefront of the environmental law debate, clean energy law has begun to emancipate itself. The emerging literature on clean energy federalism is a symptom of this emancipation. This Article adds to that literature by offering two case studies, a novel model for policy integration, and theoretical insights to elucidate the relationship between environmental federalism and clean energy federalism.
Renewable portfolio standards and feed-in …
Enhancing The Investor Appeal Of Renewable Energy, Felix Mormann
Enhancing The Investor Appeal Of Renewable Energy, Felix Mormann
Faculty Scholarship
This article introduces an investor-oriented framework for the evaluation of renewable energy policy, applies these newly developed criteria to a qualitative comparison of the primary policy instruments, and offers recommendations to enhance the investor appeal of renewable energy in the United States.
The multi-trillion dollar task of scaling renewable energy technologies to mitigate climate change, ensure energy security, and create green jobs is one of the most daunting challenges of the twenty-first century. It is, in fact, too great a challenge for either the public or private sector to shoulder alone. Rather, public policy must catalyze private investment in renewable …