Law Commons^™

How Lawyers Can Help Save The Planet, John C. Dernbach, Michael B. Gerrard

John C. Dernbach

A Response To The Ipcc Fifth Assessment, Sarah Adams-Schoen, Deepa Badrinarayana, Cinnamon Carlarne, Robin Craig, John Dernbach, Keith Hirokawa, Alexandra Klass, Katrina Kuh, Stephen Miller, Jessica Owley, Shannon Roesler, Jonathon Rosenbloom, Inara Scott, David Takacs

John C. Dernbach

This collection of essays is the initial product of the second meeting of the Environmental Law Collaborative, a group of environmental law scholars that meet to discuss important and timely environmental issues. Here, the group provides an array of perspectives arising from the Fifth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Each scholar chose one passage from one of the IPCC’s three Summaries for Policymakers as a jumping-off point for exploring climate change issues and responding directly to the reports. The result is a variety of viewpoints on the future of how law relates to climate change, a result …

Evolution Of U.S. Climate Policy, John Dernbach, Robert Altenburg

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

Can The Battle Against Climate Change Become An Effective Social Movement?, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

Federal Energy Efficiency And Conservation Laws, John Dernbach, Marianne Tyrrell

John C. Dernbach

This paper provides an overview of U.S. law and policy concerning energy efficiency and conservation. The United States appears torn between two narratives - one expressing the abundant demonstrated opportunities provided by energy savings and the other based on a fear of deprivation from using less energy. Rather than choosing between the two, U.S. law and policy splits the difference - embracing efficiency and conservation more or less halfheartedly. Energy efficiency and conservation policy thus has a Groundhog Day aspect, in which the same or similar arguments are made year after year, decade after decade, and often (it appears) to …

The Essential And Growing Role Of Legal Education In Achieving Sustainability, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

This article suggests that law schools need to play a leading role in the national and global effort to achieve sustainability, including the effort to address climate change. The article first describes the various drivers for sustainability in law schools. Clients are increasingly demanding that their lawyers 'walk the talk,' as many businesses and corporations already are. The universities that provide an institutional home for most law schools are also adopting sustainability policies and practices that influence their law schools. Within the legal profession, the American Bar Association, as well as many state and local bar associations, have adopted a …

Climate Change, Sustainable Development, And Ecosystems: 2010 Annual Report, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

The "Cash For Clunkers" Program: A Sustainability Evaluation, Marianne Tyrrell, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

This article describes and evaluates the effectiveness of the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009, also known as the “Cash for Clunkers” legislation. Under this law, Congress authorized persons trading in older and less fuel-efficient motor vehicles for newer and more fuel-efficient vehicles to receive a voucher worth up to $4,500 toward the purchase of the new vehicle. The article reviews various studies assessing the effectiveness of this legislation based on economic, social, and environmental criteria. Because these criteria are consistent with the goals of sustainable development, the legislation provides important lessons for future efforts to achieve …

Energy Efficiency And Conservation: New Legal Tools And Opportunities, John Dernbach, Robert Mckinstry, Darin Lowder

John C. Dernbach

Many new and ambitious energy efficiency and conservation laws are being enacted at all levels of government—and with greater financial incentives than provided previously. These innovations are intended to overcome or minimize market barriers such as principal-agent problems, information and transaction costs, high internal discount rates, and up-front capital needs that discourage cost-saving investments. Innovations such as public-private partnerships also require significant legal input and creativity for the client to reap the often remarkably large energy and cost savings. This article reviews a range of these tools, especially financial legal mechanisms, that could help significantly reduce U.S. energy consumption.

Climate Change, Sustainable Development, And Ecosystems: 2009 Annual Report, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

Making The States Full Partners In A National Climate Change Effort: A Necessary Element For Sustainable Economic Development, John Dernbach, Robert Mckinstry, Thomas Peterson

John C. Dernbach

This article explains why states and localities need to be full partners in a national climate change effort based on federal legislation or the existing Clean Air Act. A large share of reductions with the lowest cost and the greatest co-benefits (e.g., job creation, technology development, reduction of other pollutants) are in areas that a federal cap-and-trade program or other purely federal measures will not easily reach. These are also areas where the states have traditionally exercised their powers—including land use, building construction, transportation, and recycling. The economic recovery and expansion will require direct state and local management of climate …

Agenda For A Sustainable America, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

An Agenda For Sustainable Communities, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

This article summarizes progress toward sustainable communities in the United States since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (or Earth Summit) in 1992. It shows the significant initiative that many communities have undertaken and identifies existing state and federal laws as impediments to achieving sustainability. This article also makes recommendations for further progress based on what we have already learned about how to achieve sustainable communities. They include not only more and strengthened sustainable community efforts, and broad state and federal legal support, but also deep engagement of all affected citizens. This article is based primarily on three …

Environmental Law: The Policy Implications Of The Reaction To Climate Change, Jeffrey Sutton, Jonathan Adler, John Dernbach, Steven Hayward, Jeremy Rabkin

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

Engaging Individuals In Climate Change Mitigation, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

Navigating The U.S. Transition To Sustainability: Matching National Governance Challenges With Appropriate Legal Tools, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

Sustainable development would require the United States to maintain and improve human prosperity while at the same time greatly reducing its consumption of energy, materials, water, and land. The scope of the challenge includes, but is not limited to, climate change. This Article suggests the elements of a legal structure for achieving sustainability.

Because achieving sustainable development is a significant learning experience, the United States will need to employ a form of governance—reflexive governance—that requires constant learning and supportive citizens and stakeholders who are also working to ensure sustainability in their own activities. The two basic problems reflexive governance must …

Achieving Early And Substantial Greenhouse Gas Reductions Under A Post-Kyoto Agreement, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

This article explains why policy makers should seriously consider substantial early reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as a part of any post-Kyoto framework, and sets out suggested elements of a framework for early action in a post-Kyoto agreement. Substantial early reductions are needed because of the growing urgency of the climate change science, the precautionary approach identified in the Framework Convention on Climate Change as a decision-making principle, the fact that cost-effective measures are now available, and the significant non-climate benefits (security, economic, social, and environmental) that can be achieved by implementing them. As a practical matter, too, long-term greenhouse …

Harnessing Individual Behavior To Address Climate Change: Options For Congress, John C. Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

Federal Climate Change Legislation As If The States Matter, John C. Dernbach, Robert B. Mckinstry,, Thomas D. Peterson

John C. Dernbach

The growing prospect of comprehensive national climate change legislation raises many important questions about the role of state efforts in a national climate change program. This article identifies the key state/federal issues that should be addressed in any comprehensive national comprehensive climate change legislation. It also provides recommendations for resolving these issues. In addition to a cap-and-trade program and uniform national standards for some sectors, federal climate change legislation should adopt and modify the State Implementation Plan model in the Clean Air Act. That is, states should be given responsibility through State Implementation Plans to achieve specified emissions reductions, including …

Developing A Comprehensive Approach To Climate Change Policy In The United States That Fully Integrates Levels Of Government And Economic Sectors, John C. Dernbach, Thomas D. Peterson, Robert B. Mckinstry

John C. Dernbach

The United State Supreme Court's holding in Massachusetts v. EPA that greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act makes it virtually certain that federal climate change legislation will be accomplished by amending that Act. This Article explains and justifies an approach to federal climate legislation that uses and builds on the Act's various tools, including air quality standards, technology-based limitations, and state implementation plans. The Article discusses models for climate response that have emerged from state responses to date and presents the reductions that could be achieved if these were scaled up to the federal level. Federal …

Guest Perspective: Energy Efficiency And Conservation: The Most Cost-Effective Approach To Climate Change, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

Stabilizing And Then Reducing U.S. Energy Consumption: Legal And Policy Tools For Efficiency And Conservation, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

Rising global demand for energy, high energy prices, climate change, and the threat of terrorism all point to the need for greater energy efficiency and conservation in the United States. While technological innovation is plainly needed, our laws and institutional arrangements must also play an important role. The United States has scores of legal and policy tools from which to choose to improve energy efficiency and curb energy consumption. This article evaluates a handful of these tools: transit-oriented development; fuel taxation; real-time pricing for electricity use; public benefit funds; improved efficiency in existing residential and commercial buildings; and expanded use …

Introduction, Symposium Facing Climate Change: Opportunity And Tool For States, John C. Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

Federal Fossil Fuel Subsidies And Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Case Study Of Increasing Transparency For Fiscal Policy, John Dernbach, Doug Koplow

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.