Law Commons^™

Greenhouse Gases: Emerging Standards For Impact Review, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

Numerous federal and state judicial decisions have established that environmental impact statements (EISs) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its state equivalents should examine the impact of proposed projects on emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), the principal anthropogenic cause of climate change. Administrative agencies and court settlements are now establishing the guidelines for the conduct of these examinations.

State Bar Task Force: 22 New York Actions To Address Climate Change, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

The new Obama administration is reversing eight years of federal refusal to take mandatory action to address climate change. However, the lower levels of government will continue to play central roles. States and municipalities are the principal regulators of building construction, land use, and electric utilities; they are major users of goods and services that generate greenhouse gases (GHGs) – and they have other key roles.

To see how New York can better contribute to these efforts, in 2008 Bernice K. Leber, president of the New York State Bar Association, convened a Task Force on Global Warming. Its 12 members …