Environmental Law Commons^™

Criminalizing Environmental Degradation And Devastation: New Prospects For The Icc Rome Statute, Kelly Pisimisi

American University International Law Review

Over the last decade, steadily increasing voices are ringing the tocsin to the international community for the impact of human activities on climate and their potential consequences on human life and dignity. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its recent (6th) Assessment Report, confirmed this assertion. Greenhouse gas concentrations and emissions (particularly CO2), as well as the retreat of arctic glaciers and the subsequent sea level rise causing—among other issues—the acidification of the oceanic waters, are some of the most evident human-induced implications on climate and the environment.

La Limitacion De Los Derechos Humanos En La Lucha Contra El Cambio Climatico: El Caso De Los Derechos Culturales De Las Porlaciones Indigenas Y La Energia Hidroelectrica De Embalse En America Latina, Sebastian Sauter Odio

American University International Law Review

El cambio climático es el resultado de la emisión de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) producto de actividades antropogénicas. Al ser el sector energético el mayor contribuyente de GEI a nivel mundial, los esfuerzos para mitigar el cambio climático deben comprender la transformación de la matriz energética, hoy basada prioritariamente en la combustión de hidrocarburos, a una que involucre una mayor participación de las energías renovables.

La Responsabilidad Internacional De Los Estados Por Violaciones A Los Derechos Humanos Como Consecuencia Del Cambio Climatico: El Rol Del Sistema Interamericano De Proteccion De Derechos Humanos, Jose Daniel Rodriguez Orue

American University International Law Review

El fenómeno del cambio climático es una de las mayores amenazas para la garantía y protección de los derechos humanos a nivel global. Las consecuencias adversas del cambio climático, tales como incremento en el nivel del mar, el aumento de eventos meteorológicos extremos, la perdida de biodiversidad y las sequías, son susceptibles de ocasionar varias violaciones a los derechos humanos en las Américas. Estas violaciones a los derechos humanos se manifiestan con mayor intensidad en determinados grupos poblacionales que se encuentran expuestos de forma desproporcionada a la degradación medioambiental debido a su vinculación especial con los recursos naturales, pero también, …

When The Race To Net Zero Becomes A Race To The Bottom: Human Rights Violations In The Renewable Energy Transition And The Extraterritorial Obligation To Protect Human Rights, Yogi Bratajaya

American University International Law Review

Recent reports published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have shed light on and confirmed the extent of damages that will result if the world fails to keep global warming below 2°C. Irreversible adverse impacts on our ecosystems and the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters will have a significant negative effect on the enjoyment of human rights worldwide. Climate change is already affecting food security through increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and greater frequency of some extreme events. Additionally, the deteriorating conditions caused by climate change will cause millions of people to leave their homes and …

Warrantying Health Equity, Heather Payne, Jennifer Oliva

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The United States is experiencing a significant rise in the prevalence of asthma and other debilitating respiratory and cardiovascular ailments that disproportionately burden low income and marginalized Americans. This is due in large measure to climate change, which is responsible for increasingly devastating air quality events—including wildfires and drought—that trigger these serious health conditions. As a result, it is imperative that we begin to explore potential legal and policy reforms that rein in sources of health-impairing air pollution.

The common law of property has long implied in residential leasing arrangements a warranty guaranteed by landlords to tenants that the premises …

Climate Insecurity, Shi-Ling Hsu

Utah Law Review

Global climate change causes climatic events such as hurricanes, droughts, floods, and heat waves to occur more frequently and with greater severity. In addition to inflicting direct harms, climatic events disrupt the flow of commerce and natural resources, creating shortages of goods and services, sometimes temporarily, sometimes not. Climate change is getting worse, so climatic events will escalate over time, and as events cumulate, there is the potential for multiple events to heap harm on top of harm, exponentially increasing misery and disruption. What looms is the prospect of shortages of basic life necessities.

A vast literature on food and …

Democracy Dies In Broad Daylight: How The Philippines' Halted Media Speech Despite Its Commitment To The Iccpr, Alexis Mozeleski

American University International Law Review

A primary initiative of the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency was the national campaign against drug users and criminals. During the turbulent period that was Duterte’s presidency, journalists who published dissenting views on the drug war frequently became targets of Duterte’s administration, which came in the form of frivolous charges, arrests, banning media outlets, or in some instances, murder. This Comment argues that the Philippines violated international law protections of freedom of expression as codified in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. As a party to this treaty, the Philippines, under Duterte’s administration, unjustifiably restricted speech …

One Choice Is No Choice At All: Indonesia Is Violating The International Covenant On Civil And Political Rights By Requiring Political Parties To Adhere To Its National Ideology Of Pancasila, Daniel Brezina

American University International Law Review

This Comment argues that Indonesia is violating Articles 1, 18, 22, 25, and 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by requiring that all political parties adhere to its national ideology of Pancasila. This Comment will introduce the ideology of Pancasila and explain how Indonesia came to require political parties to adhere to the ideology. This Comment will also explain what rights the ICCPR guarantees and introduce the UN Human Rights Committee, which is tasked with monitoring signatories’ compliance with the ICCPR. This Comment will explain how Indonesia’s requirement violates several Articles of the ICCPR, including how …

Human Rights And Climate Change For Climate Litigation In Brazil And Beyond: An Analysis Of The Climate Fund Decision, Maria Antonia Tigre, Joana Setzer

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

In 2022, the Brazilian Supreme Court announced a groundbreaking decision in the Climate Fund case. The decision, rendered amidst a challenging political climate, acknowledges the significance of the Paris Agreement within the country’s legal framework. The Court’s ruling established that the executive branch has a constitutional obligation to allocate funds from the Climate Fund for climate change mitigation and adaptation, grounded in the constitutional right to a healthy environment, international rights and commitments, and the principle of separation of powers.

Notably, the Court recognized the Paris Agreement as a human rights treaty, granting it “supranational” status. The implications of the …

Complexities Of Community Consultation In Chile's Lithium Industry, Isabella R. Whelan

Honors Theses

Echoed by November’s COP27 in Egypt, the climate crisis has become an increasingly pressing and global issue, with the need to move away from fossil fuels more urgent than ever. In attempts to decarbonize the global economy, many countries and companies have turned to electrification –particularly within the transportation sector, one of today’s largest contributors of greenhouse gasses. A crucial component of energy storage and batteries is lithium, now considered a “critical mineral.” Demand for lithium has skyrocketed in recent years and is only expected to continue growing. More than fifty percent of the world’s lithium supply is found within …

In California And Europe, A New Dawn For Corporate Climate Disclosure, Magali Delmas, Michael B. Gerrard, Eric Orts

Faculty Scholarship

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to finalize a new rule this month to cover required corporate climate disclosures by public-reporting companies. But the bigger news is that California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has announced that he will soon sign into law two climate change disclosure bills passed by the state Legislature.

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.

New York’S Professor John R. Nolon: A National Leader In Land Use Law With A Large Impact Across The Hudson Valley And The State Of New York, Patricia E. Salkin, Samuel Stewart

Scholarly Works

As Professor John R. Nolon steps down from active law teaching, this article reflects not only on his contributions as a national thought leader in the field, but also on how he has a hand in changing the land use and conservation patterns in New York while promoting affordable housing and combating discrimination.

Protecting The Ocean - Moving Forward At 50: London Convention/Protocol And Stockholm Declaration, Fiftieth Anniversary Proceedings, Ronán Long, José Manuel Pacheco Castillo, Elnaz Barjandi, Ríán Derrig, Linda Del Savio, Dorothee Seybold, Andrew Birchenough, Fredrik Haag

Conference Papers

Fifty years have elapsed since environmental concerns were brought to the fore of the international community’s attention. The year 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the London Convention and the Stockholm Declaration, two landmark international instruments that set a path towards the current international environmental regulatory framework. The International Maritime Organization and the World Maritime University hosted the joint International Academic Conference ‘Protecting the Ocean – Moving forward at 50: London Convention and Stockholm Declaration’ with the aim of raising awareness, discussing ocean-climate-related topics, and charting new avenues for impactful future research and policy initiatives. This report …

Net Zero Roadmap For Copper And Nickel, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment, Carbon Trust, Rmi, Payne Institute For Public Policy

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

As we seek to meet the challenges of climate change impacts, many commodities will play an increasing role in decarbonizing economies. There are increasing challenges of addressing the emissions from extraction of these commodities needed to support the zero-carbon transition.

CCSI, in a consortium with Carbon Trust, RMI, and the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines, developed the Net Zero Roadmap to 2050 for Copper and Nickel Value Chains to support the copper and nickel mining sectors in taking collective, coordinated action by providing a clear, approachable, and accepted roadmap for decarbonization.

Our key messages …

Climate Change And The Law Of National Security Adaptation, Mark P. Nevitt

Faculty Articles

The Department of Defense (DoD) is the largest employer in the world, owns and operates an enormous global real estate portfolio, and emits more Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) than many nations. Entrusted with the national security, the DoD is now threatened by a new enemy—climate change. Climate change imperils national security infrastructure while undermining the military’s capacity to respond to climate-driven disasters at home and abroad. However, legal scholarship has yet to address what I call “the law of national security adaptation” and related questions. For example, how do environmental and climate change laws apply to the U.S. military? What laws …

Climate Change And The Specter Of Statelessness, Mark P. Nevitt

Faculty Articles

What happens when climate change extinguishes entire nations? Neither international nor environmental law has provided a satisfactory answer to this weighty question. Climate change-induced flooding, storm surge, and sea level rise threaten the territorial integrity and habitability of several small island developing states, raising the specter of statelessness. We know that climate catastrophe is coming, but we have failed to take the necessary steps to safeguard several developing nations. This Article argues that innovative legal and policy solutions are needed today to prevent nation extinction tomorrow. I focus on two potential international governance solutions: the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate …

Climate Security Insights From The Covid-19 Response, Mark P. Nevitt

Faculty Articles

The climate change crisis and COVID-19 crisis are both complex collective action problems. Neither the coronavirus nor greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions respect political borders. Both impose an opportunity cost that penalizes inaction. They are also increasingly understood as nontraditional, novel security threats. Indeed, COVID-19’s human cost is staggering, with American lives lost vastly exceeding those lost in recent armed conflicts. And climate change is both a threat accelerant and a catalyst for conflict—a characterization reinforced in several climate-security reports. To counter COVID-19, the President embraced martial language, stating that he will employ a “wartime footing” to “defeat the virus.” Perhaps …

Manure, Methane, And Money: The Anaerobic Digester Disaster In California, Pegga Mosavi

Animal Law Review

The small, idyllic family farms that come to mind at the first mention of farming are all but gone, replaced by enormous factories that churn out animals at record speed, with little regard for their health and welfare. These factory farms produce a host of issues, including pervasive water and air pollution, particularly in vulnerable agricultural communities like those of the San Joaquin Valley in California. While the detriments of the factory farm model are numerous, contribution to climate change in particular has garnered significant attention. Animal agriculture in the U.S. produces 36% of the country’s methane, a greenhouse gas …

From The United States To Pakistan: Can Climate Change Pave Toe Way For An International Right To Animal Rescue In Disasters?, Altamush Saeed

Animal Law Review

Over 69% of the world’s wildlife has been lost between 1970 and 2018. Catastrophic events like the Australian bushfires, the Amazon rainforest fires, and the ongoing floods in the United States have led to the deaths of several billion animals. Ongoing apocalyptic floods have put one-third of Pakistan underwater and led to the deaths of over a million livestock animals. Climate change, human rights, and animal rights have become so intertwined that all life—including human, nonhuman, and plant life—is on the brink of extinction.

Climate Choice Architecture, Felix Mormann

Faculty Scholarship

Personal choices drive global warming nearly as much as institutional decisions. Yet, policymakers overwhelmingly target large-scale industrial facilities for reductions in carbon emissions, with individual and household emissions a mere afterthought. Recent advances in behavioral economics, cognitive psychology, and related fields have produced a veritable behavior change revolution. Subtle changes to the choice environment, or nudges, have improved stake-holder decision-making in a wide range of contexts, from healthier food choices to better retirement planning. But the vast potential of choice architecture remains largely untapped for purposes of climate policy and action. This Article explores that untapped potential and makes the …

Illuminating The Land-Energy Nexus, Danielle Stokes

Law Faculty Publications

The complexities of climate change have infiltrated every facet of life. From environmental preservation and food production to employment opportunities and policymaking, climate plays a role. These respective touchpoints have a direct connection to the Farm Bill. This law serves as the crux of agricultural programs and cements the relationship between farmers and the federal government. What began as a safety net following the Great Depression has expanded into a multi-title behemoth that now regulates nutrition assistance, rural economic development initiatives, and everything in between. In recent years, thought leaders such as the Farm Bill Law Enterprise have brought climate-centered …

Natural Gas And Net Zero: Mutually Exclusive Pathways For The Southeast, Adam D. Orford

Scholarly Works

Climate policy increasingly focuses on pathways to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, providing a clear standard against which to evaluate energy system planning. Examining the current and projected fuel mix of the electric power sector in the southeastern United States shows that an ongoing transition to natural gas for electricity risks locking in decades of greenhouse gas emissions at levels fundamentally incompatible with net zero goals. Furthermore, southeastern regulatory proceedings are not well designed to engage with this reality, although useful regulatory models are emerging. Natural gas will remain an important part of the southeastern fuel mix …

The Case Against Regional Transmission Monopolies, Kristen Van De Biezendos

Faculty Scholarship

Over the next decade, the United States will need to build significant regional transmission infrastructure to achieve the country’s goal of net-zero power by 2035. However, there is a significant barrier: the transmission system is almost entirely owned by private monopolies. As a result, the grid has grown not to serve the public interest but in accordance with the economic priorities of these monopolies, which are not incentivized to innovate, find efficiencies, or lower costs. Past attempts to encourage competitive bidding for regional transmission projects have been stymied by laws intended to protect the monopolies, including the right of first …

Growth ≠ Density: Zoning Deregulation And The Enduring Problem Of Sprawl, Christopher Serkin, Kelsea Best

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

According to its many critics, zoning bears significant responsi- bility for the housing crisis in America andfor promoting unsustain- able development patterns. Reformers argue that zoning reduces the supply of new housing and therefore drives up prices in thriving communities. Zoning also increases carbon emissions by restricting density in the urban core and promoting carbon-intensive, land- consuming, automobile-dependent sprawl in single-family suburbs. A growing chorus calls for relaxing zoning limits in order to pro- mote growth in the urban core as a response to the twin crises of housing costs and climate change. Relaxing zoning limits will al- most certainly …

Achieving Climate Justice Through Land Back: An Overview Of Tribal Dispossession, Land Return Efforts, And Practical Mechanisms For #Landback, Vanessa Racehorse

Faculty Scholarship

Due to the increasing pressures of the climate change crisis, federal and state governments are beginning to acknowledge that Indigenous-led stewardship and control over Tribal aboriginal homelands is a crucial component of addressing climate change. In the United States, Tribal nations have a long history of responsible land stewardship, with environmental conservation and respect for the world's biodiversity being an inextricable piece of Tribal customs, traditions, and knowledge. This Article strives to pay due respect to traditional land stewardship and its important role in the past, present, and future.

Part I of this Article starts with an overview of the …

Fixing The Climate: Charles Sabel In Conversation With Filippo Barbera, Filippo Barbera, Charles F. Sabel

Faculty Scholarship

In this interview with Filippo Barbera, Charles F. Sabel discusses his latest book, Fixing the Climate (Princeton University Press, 2022, with D.G. Victor), that dramatically reorients our thinking about the climate crisis. It provides a road map to institutional design oriented around concrete problem-solving that can finally lead to self-sustaining reductions in emissions that years of global diplomacy have failed to deliver. The discussion touches upon a number of key issues of general interest for social scientists: global governance; decisions under uncertainty and risk; pragmatic solutions to wicked problems; technological solutions and innovation.

Statehood And Sea-Level Rise: Scenarios And Options, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

Sea-level rise may make some low-lying nations uninhabitable by the end of this century, if not before. If a country is under water, is it still a state? Does it still have a seat in the United Nations? What is the citizenship, if any, of its displaced people?

These questions take on increasing urgency as the world continues doing too little to avert catastrophic climate change. Many climate policy analyses agree the goal should be to keep global average temperatures within 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial temperatures. That is the level that the small island states have demanded, as a matter …

Saving Climate Disclosure, Scott Hirst

Faculty Scholarship

Designing a regulatory response to climate change is one of the defining challenges of our era. In an attempt to address it, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently proposed a historic rule requiring climate-related disclosure by companies, resting squarely on the rationale of "investor demand." The proposed climate disclosure rule has met with an unprecedented response, some of it reflective of investor demand, but also including a broad array of opponents critical of the rule, who cast doubt on the rule's validity. A judicial challenge is all but inevitable.

This Article explains that the best way for the …

Status Report On Principles Of International And Human Rights Law Relevant To Climate Change, Katelyn Horne, Maria Antonia Tigre, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

The report aims to provide high-level guidance on the legal issues to be analyzed by the ICJ on the advisory opinion request on climate change. The status report addresses (i) advisory proceedings before the ICJ, including the Court’s jurisdiction and procedure (Section II), and (ii) key legal principles relevant to the request for an advisory opinion, including principles of international environmental law and international human rights law (Section III). The report identified, in a non-exhaustive manner, key relevant principles of international environmental law, key relevant principles of international human rights law, and issues of intergenerational equities that apply to the …