Law Commons^™

Will Climate Change Be The Next Grotian Moment?, Michael P. Scharf

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

Under the classic paradigm of international environmental law articulated in the 1941 Trail Smelter arbitration decision, States are responsible for downstream or downwind harm that crosses from their territory into another State. But climate change threatens not just neighboring States but the entire global commons. This Article explores whether the conditions are ripe for a “Grotian Moment”—a paradigm shifting development leading to accelerated formation of customary international law related to the human right to a healthy environment.

U.S. National Security And Climate Change, Alexandra E. Koch, Nicole K. Carle, Gregory P. Noone

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

As sea temperatures rise and natural disasters intensify, it is critical that the U.S. national security strategy actively include plans to account for global climate change and address the complex environmental and humanitarian challenges that parallel and are driven by rising temperatures, such as resource scarcity, forced displacement, and regional instability. Climate change acts as a “threat multiplier for instability” in some of the most volatile regions of the world and can contribute to rising tensions even in historically stable regions. Climate change can also lead to increased vulnerability of military infrastructure and logistics, undermine military readiness, and demand a …

Deadly Journeys: Climate Change, U.S. Border Enforcement, And Human Rights, Julia Neusner

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

Extreme weather events and slow onset disasters, exacerbated by climate change, are increasingly driving global displacement. As displaced people seek cross-border protection in unprecedented numbers, the United States has responded by tightening border controls and restricting asylum access. These policies have exposed migrants and asylum seekers in transit to greater risks of injury and death due to the impacts of climate change and climate-related disasters. Drawing on legal analysis, historical context, and firsthand interviews with people seeking U.S. asylum, this Article examines the implications of U.S. policies that limit freedom of movement and asylum access. The Article raises critical legal …

Drops In The Ocean: The Hidden Power Of Rights-Based Climate Change Litigation, Craig Martin

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

An increasing number of legal challenges to government climate change policies are being advanced on the basis that states are violating the human rights or constitutional rights of applicants. A number of high-profile cases in Europe have upheld such claims and ordered governments to adjust their policies. But questions remain regarding how effective such rights-based cases may be in the effort to enforce climate change law obligations or encourage government responses to the crisis. This Article explores how such rights-based cases may exercise greater influence than is typically understood.

After explaining briefly the relevant human rights and climate change law, …

Talking Foreign Policy: "Foreign Policy And Climate Change" November 20, 2023 Broadcast, Cwru Law School

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Climate Change, John Godfrey

Canada-United States Law Journal

This after-dinner speech by John Godfrey on March 21, 2019 discusses bilateral and international issues faced by nations addressing the impact of climate change.

Panel: Balancing Acts -- Energy Innovation In A Complex Market, David Hults, Gitane De Silva, Chris Ziegler

Canada-United States Law Journal

A panel discussion is presented between the speakers of the Canada-United States Law Institute Conference namely David Halts, Gitane De Silva, and Chris Zeigler. Topics include impact of energy industry on climate change; enacting climate policy for bringing out environmental justice, and protection; and enactment of U.S. Clean Air Act for addressing the same

International Law In A Turbulent World, Lawrence L. Herman

Canada-United States Law Journal

10th Annual Canada-United States Law Institute Distinguished Lecture by the diplomatic officer at the Canadian Mission to the United Nations, on human rights, climate change and terrorism, and UNCLOS (Law of the Sea Convention)

Climate Change Negotiations: Legal And Other Issues On The Road To Paris, Susan Biniaz

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

This article is born of a panel discussion from September 18, 2015, regarding "Regulating and Treaty-Making: Addressing Climate Change under the Obama Presidency." The article examines issues that affected discussions shortly before the final negotiations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015.

The Obama Administration's Clean Air Act Legacy And The Unfcc, Uma Outka

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

This article is born of a panel discussion from September 18, 2015, regarding "Regulating and Treaty-Making: Addressing Climate Change under the Obama Presidency." The article examines issues that affected discussions shortly before the final negotiations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015.

Energy In The Great Lakes Region, Sara L. Seck

Canada-United States Law Journal

This article will reflect upon what it might mean to devise an energy strategy for the Great Lakes region in light of our shared responsibility as stewards of a globally significant fresh water resource at a time of increasing water scarcity associated with climate change. The article argues that we must not let short-term economic fears drive our decision-making or risk adopting policies that will prove detrimental to the long-term futures of our children’s children.

Arctic Ice Melt: Emerging Resources, Emerging Issues, The, Thomas Au, Theodore Parran Iii, Jessica Rubin, Jonathan Slomski

Canada-United States Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Global Warming Heats Up The American-Canadian Relationship: Resolving The Status Of The Northwest Passage Under International Law, William Y. Kim

Canada-United States Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Climate Change, Presidential Power, And Leadership: "We Can't Wait", Chris Wold

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Water Rights, Markets, And Changing Ecological Conditions, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

Conventional environmentalist thought is suspicious of private markets and property rights. The prospect of global climate change, and consequent ecological disruptions, has fueled the call for additional limitations on private markets and property rights. This essay, written for the Environmental Law Symposium on 21st Century Water Law, presents an alternative view. Specifically, this essay briefly explains why environmental problems generally, and the prospect of changing environmental conditions such as those brought about by climate change in particular, do not counsel further restrictions on private property rights and markets. To the contrary, the prospect of significant environmental changes strengthens the case …

Three Climate Crises, Deepa Badrinarayana

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Heat Expands All Things: The Proliferation Of Greenhouse Gas Regulation Under The Obama Administration, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

The Obama Administration has been moving aggressively to control greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act and other pre-existing statutory authority. Much of this new regulation was facilitated – if not mandated – by the Supreme Court’s decision in Massachusetts v. EPA. These regulatory initiatives mark a dramatic expansion of federal environmental controls on private economic activity. These efforts are unwise. Regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, in particular, will impose substantial regulatory costs for minimal environmental gain. Extensive GHG regulation will not produce much actual climate change mitigation. Mitigating the threat of anthropogenic climate change requires …

Water Marketing As An Adaptive Response To The Threat Of Climate Change, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

Demographic changes and existing water use patterns have placed tremendous pressures upon water supplies, particularly in the West. Global climate change will exacerbate pressures on water resources. The gradual warming of the atmosphere is certain to change the distribution and availability of water supplies, with potentially severe consequences for freshwater supplies. While climate change will have a significant impact on water resources through changes in the timing and volume of precipitation, altered evaporation rates, and the like, the precise nature, magnitude, timing, and distribution of such climate-induced changes are unknown. This uncertainty complicates the task of water managers who are …

Sepas, Climate Change, And Corporate Responsibility: The Contribution Of Local Government, Catherine J. Lacroix

Faculty Publications

Municipalities in the United States are increasingly active in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Data suggest that the physical layout of communities and the buildings they contain make significant contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and thus to climate change. One useful tool for municipalities could be the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), pioneered in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) at the federal level and subsequently adopted as a policymaking guide in the State Environmental Policy Acts (SEPAs) of many states. A SEPA requires state governments - and, in six states, local governments as well - to consider the …

Massachusetts V. Epa Heats Up Climate Policy No Less Than Administrative Law: A Comment On Professors Watts And Wildermuth, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

In their essay Breaking New Ground on Issues Other than Global Warming, Professors Kathryn A. Watts and Amy J. Wildermuth have presented a thoughtful preliminary analysis of the Supreme Court's handiwork in Massachusetts v. EPA. They are correct that the decision potentially paves new ground in administrative law, particularly with regard to state standing. The Court's approach to review of agency decisions to decline rulemaking petitions is also potentially significant, but perhaps less ground-breaking than they suggest. In the context of climate change policy their assessment of the Court's decision is too modest, however, for Massachusetts virtually ensures federal regulation …

Warming Up To Climate Change Litigation, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

The surprise in Massachusetts v. EPA was not that it was a close, hotly contested case. Rather, the surprise was the facility and ease with which the Court majority dispatched opposing arguments and redefined prior precedents. Not content to widen doctrines on the margins, Justice Stevens' majority opinion blazed a new path through the law of standing and unearthed newfound regulatory authority for the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Under the Court's new interpretation, the Clean Air Act ("CAA" or "the Act") provides EPA with roving authority, if not responsibility, to regulate any substance capable of causing or contributing to …

Victims Of Climate Change And Their Standing To Sue: Why The Northern District Of California Got It Right, Joseph M. Stancati

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Climate Change And Crises Of International Law: Possibilities For Geographic Reenvisioning, Hari M. Osofsky

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.