Environmental Law Commons^™

A Comparative Study On Carbon Emission Reduction Systems, Mingde Cao

Dissertations & Theses

The overwhelming majority of scientists have concluded that global warming is unequivocal. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) fifth report in 2013 concluded that the challenge of climate disruption to human beings is even more imperative than the previous report claimed, and that anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions have extremely likely been the dominant causes of the observed global warming since the mid-20th century.

Anthropogenic GHGs emissions have many implications, including more intensive, extreme meteorological events, spreading of diseases, and threatening human health and life. Climate change also causes injustice in human society because of the dislocation of the …

Assessing The Climate Impacts Of U.S. Trade Agreements, Matthew C. Porterfield, Kevin P. Gallagher, Judith Claire Schachter

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Meeting the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement will require the United States and other major greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters to integrate climate change considerations into all relevant areas of economic policy. The United States, however, has conspicuously failed to do so with regard to international trade negotiations. International trade agreements tend to increase GHG emissions due to the economic effects of trade liberalization, including increases in the scale of economic activity and changes in the composition of the affected economies. Trade agreements can also affect climate change in less quantifiable but potentially more significant ways by restricting the ability …

Energy-Water Nexus, The Clean Power Plan, And Integration Of Water Resource Concerns Into Energy Decision-Making, Sarah Ladin

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Energy regulation in the United States is now at a crossroads. The EPA has begun the process to officially repeal the Clean Power Plan and currently has no plan to replace it with new rulemaking to regulate carbon emissions from the U.S. energy sector. Even though the Clean Power Plan is more or less at its end, its regulatory structure stands as a model of the way decision-makers in the United States regulate the energy sector and the environment. Since the beginning of the modern environmental legal system, decision-makers have chosen to silo the system. Statutes and agencies focus on …

Defending Our Coasts: Ensuring Military Readiness & Economic Viability As Waters Rise, Deborah Kornblut, Angela King, Virginia Coastal Policy Center

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

Voter Psychology And The Carbon Tax, Gary M. Lucas Jr

Faculty Scholarship

Economists across the political spectrum argue that a carbon tax is the most effective and economically efficient policy for addressing climate change. Voters, however, strongly oppose the carbon tax and instead favor “green” subsidies and command-and-control regulations. If carefully designed, these policies might complement a carbon tax, but by themselves, they will make global warming mitigation incredibly expensive and perhaps even infeasible. Moreover, if poorly designed, subsidies and regulations can be counterproductive.

This Article argues that the public dislikes the carbon tax because the tax possesses attributes that make it psychologically unappealing relative to other climate policy instruments. The Article …

Wrongful Benefit & Arctic Drilling, Nicolas Cornell, Sarah E. Light

Articles

The law contains a diverse range of doctrines — “slayer rules” that prevent murderers from inheriting, restrictions on trade in “conflict diamonds,” the Fourth Amendment’s exclusion of evidence obtained through unconstitutional search, and many more — that seem to instantiate a general principle that it can be wrong to profit from past harms or misconduct. This Article explores the contours of this general normative principle, which we call the wrongful benefit principle. As we illustrate, the wrongful benefit principle places constraints both on whether anyone should be permitted to exploit ethically tainted goods, and who may be permitted to profit …

Behavioral Public Choice And The Carbon Tax, Gary M. Lucas Jr

Faculty Scholarship

In response to the historic Paris Agreement on climate change and to the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently finalized Clean Power Plan, economists and other climate policy experts have renewed the call for the United States to adopt a carbon tax. Opposition among the public presents a major obstacle. While a majority of the public supports government action on climate change, most people favor the use of “green” subsidies and command-and-control regulations—a fact that frustrates economists of all political stripes who contend that a carbon tax would be much cheaper and more effective. This Article argues that a cognitive bias known …

Climate Change And Sustainable Development In Brazilian Law, Gabriel Wedy

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This article aims to explain briefly how the National Policy for Climate Change (NPCC) in Brazil - established by Act 12.107/2009 – is structured. This Act will be critically analyzed according to what is being currently discussed on Climate Change Law, both globally and within the United States.

It will also seek to demonstrate the importance of the constitutional principle of sustainable development provided for in the Brazilian Federal Constitution in order to correct omissions and imperfections of the National Policy for Climate Change, whenever it is subject to interpretation and implementation by the Judiciary branch, the Executive branch and …

Symposium: Environmental Accountability In An Age Of Consequences: Foreword, Julie E. Steiner

Faculty Scholarship

The five articles in this Symposium issue each take a different approach to addressing environmental accountability. There is unequivocal evidence that the climate system is warming, caused mainly by the measurable increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The Symposium authors include Denis Binder, Susan Stark, Julie E. Steiner, Chris Erchull, Laura Fisher, and Daniel DePasquale. These Authors challenge all to think broadly about utilization of different accountability mechanisms to ensure more efficient environmental outcomes.

Exploring The Link Between Food Security And Climate Change, Kaitlin Y. Cordes

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Our growing global population is demanding a more resource-intensive and so-called “Western” diet. And that change in demand has drastic impact on how we must change our supply.

Slides: Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste, Lester Snow

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Lester Snow, Executive Director, California Water Foundation

39 slides

Slides: Perspectives On Water Management In Arizona, Kathy Jacobs

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Kathy Jacobs, Director, Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions (CCASS), Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona

25 slides

Slides: Colorado's Water Plan, Lauren Ris

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Lauren Ris, Assistant Director for Water, Colorado Department of Natural Resources

23 slides

Slides: Gwc Review Report, Larry Macdonnell

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Larry MacDonnell, University of Colorado Law School

12 slides

Slides: Food Production: Technical Challenges In Agricultural Water Conservation, Perry Cabot

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Dr. Perry Cabot, Research Scientist and Extension Specialist, Colorado Water Institute, Colorado State University

35 slides

Slides: Six Decades Of Texas Water Planning, Ronald Kaiser

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Ronald Kaiser, Professor of Water Law and Policy, Chair of Graduate Water Degree Program, Texas A&M University

32 slides

Slides: Ag Water Sharing: Legal Challenges And Considerations, Peter D. Nichols

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Peter D. Nichols, Esq., Partner, Berg, Hill, Greenleaf and Ruscitti, Boulder, CO

25 slides

Wrong Direction On Climate, Trade And Development, Lisa E. Sachs, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In pushing for Trade Promotion Authority, the Obama administration argues that the agreements it is negotiating (including TPP and TTIP) are true 21st century agreements that correct the failings of past agreements and will promote trade and investment that can both re-launch America as the key economic player and promote broad-based sustainable development at home and abroad.

Too Many Cooks In The Climate Change Kitchen: The Case For An Administrative Remedy For Damages Caused By Increased Greenhouse Gas Concentrations, Benjamin Reese

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Recent federal and state court decisions have made clear that federal common law claims against emitters of greenhouse gases are not sustainable; however, those same courts seem to have given state common law tort claims the green light, at least if the claims are brought in the state where the polluters are located. This Note contends that such suits are not an adequate remedy for those injured by climate change because they will face nearly insurmountable barriers in state court, and because there are major policy-level drawbacks to relying on state tort law rather than a federal solution. This Note …

Adaptive Law In The Anthropocene, Shalanda H. Baker

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The sky has fallen. We are now firmly rooted in a new epoch scientists have named the Anthropocene, where the activities of humans will most certainly negatively impact the trajectory of Earth and its inhabitants. What the Anthropocene fully holds is uncertain, but there are a few clues. The global ecology is shifting. The oceans are dying. The planet is getting hotter and drier, and its storms increasingly volatile.

Amidst this changing climate is evidence of a failed approach to economic development in the Global South. Globally, the poor are becoming poorer. Inequality reigns as the global economy shrinks. This …

Sustainable Development And The Brazilian Judge, Gabriel Wedy

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This article explores how Brazilian judges have used their authority to promote the environmental, social, economic, and, in particular, governance aspects of sustainable development. Through their decisions, judges have guaranteed Brazilian citizens important rights, which are stated in the progressive Constitution of 1988, drawn up after 20 years of military dictatorship. The citizen’s rights to medical treatment, medicine, surgery, housing and access to education are frequently guaranteed by judicial decisions.

Delinking International Environmental Law & Climate Change, Cinnamon Carlarne

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

This Article challenges the existing paradigm in international law that frames global efforts to address climate change as a problem of and for international environmental law. The most recent climate reports tell us that warming is unequivocal and that we are already experiencing the impacts of climate change at the domestic level in the United States. Against this backdrop, much has been written recently in the United States about domestic efforts to address climate change. These efforts are important, but they leave open the question of how the global community can work together to address the greatest collective action problem …

Slides: Regulating Oil And Gas Emissions In The Denver Julesberg Basin, Garry Kaufman

Water and Air Quality Issues in Oil and Gas Development: The Evolving Framework of Regulation and Management (Martz Summer Conference, June 5-6)

Presenter: Garry Kaufman, Deputy Director, Colorado Air Pollution Control Division

25 slides

Let Them Eat Carbon: The End Of The Kyoto Protocol, Aiten J. Musaeva Mcpherson

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Keynote Remarks At The University Of Michigan Environmental Law And Public Health Conference, Gina Mccarthy

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

The following are the prepared remarks delivered at the University of Michigan Law School’s 2013 Environmental Law and Public Health Conference on September 26, 2013.

Holistic Climate Change Governance: Towards Mitigation And Adaptation Synthesis, Katherine Trisolini

University of Colorado Law Review

Climate change already has begun destabilizing natural systems, prompting unprecedented heat waves, droughts, floods, and severe storms. While scientists admonish us that greenhouse gases must be cut deeply and quickly to avoid the worst impacts, past emissions have committed the planet to some further warming. Resulting physical changes will require a legal system that functions amidst extreme weather, rising seas, and scientific uncertainty about the stability of natural systems upon which we relied in designing institutions and infrastructure. An effective response requires both substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to limit the harm ("mitigation') and significant adaptation. Scholars and policymakers …

Fundamental Principles Of Law For The Anthropocene?, Nicholas A. Robinson

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

A wide array of questions arises from global change to confront environmental law. The IPCC has examined social decisions affecting the climate in the design of human settlements, transport systems, industrialisation, agriculture and silviculture, waste management, provisions for energy, and virtually all other socio-economic dimensions of human life. The AR-5, too, cannot avoid raising issues of human ethics and values at local and regional scales. Such issues reach environmental policy and law directly. The IPCC’s AR-5 report furthers widespread public debate about the human dimensions of climate change, and how social theory relates to environmental change. Already, climate change has …

Climate Change Triage, Noah M. Sachs

Law Faculty Publications

Climate change is the first global triage crisis. It is caused by the overuse of a severely limited natural resource—the atmosphere’s capacity to absorb greenhouse gases—and millions of lives depend on how international law allocates this resource among nations.

This Article is the first to explore solutions for climate change mitigation through the lens of triage ethics, drawing on law, philosophy, moral theory, and economics. The literature on triage ethics—developed in contexts such as battlefield trauma, organ donation, emergency medicine, and distribution of food and shelter—has direct implications for climate change policy and law, yet it has been overlooked by …

Adaptation And The Courtroom: Judging Climate Science, Kirsten Engel, Jonathan Overpeck

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Climate science is increasingly showing up in courtroom disputes over the duty to adapt to climate change. While judges play a critical role in evaluating scientific evidence, they are not apt to be familiar with the basic methods of climate science nor with the role played by peer review, publication, and training of climate scientists. This Article is an attempt to educate the bench and the bar on the basics of the discipline of climate science, which we contend is a distinct scientific discipline. We propose a series of principles to guide a judge’s evaluation of the reliability and weight …

The Dormant Commerce Clause And California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard, Kathryn Abbott

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), enacted as part of the State’s pioneering Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), purports to regulate the amount of carbon emissions associated with fuels consumed in the state. Part of this scheme involves assigning numeric scores to vehicle fuels reflecting the amount of carbon emissions associated with their production, transportation, and use. The scores are part of a “cap-and-trade” scheme to lower the state’s total amount of carbon emissions associated with fuel use. Out-of-state industry groups brought a challenge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, alleging that the …