Environmental Law Commons^™

Paving A Path To Independent Tiny Living: An Introduction To Roadblocks, Jaclyn Troutner

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

“Tiny living” is a growing trend in which small-scale, ecoconscious housing is used as an alternative means for homeownership. Tiny homes are smaller than the average detached home with the appearance and character of a traditional freestanding residential home. They are one-story, single-occupant dwellings and usually constructed on a trailer base for towing. State-of-the-art building techniques provide a lower environmental burden and utility cost per square foot. Due to their smaller size, tiny homes are cheaper with an average price of $52,000, opening a wider door to home ownership. The typical design is to include all the standard amenities and …

Rulemaking Doubletake: An Opportunity To Repair And Strengthen The National Environmental Policy Act, Rachel Keylon

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Introduction

In the middle of the twentieth century, there was a turning point in the United States and around the world in the understanding of the human relationship with the natural environment and natural resources. It was a shift from a perspective of natural resources endlessly available for exploitation to a perspective that natural resources are finite, and conservation and preservation are necessary to ensure that these resources are available for future generations. The accumulation of chronic environmental degradation, such as the unchecked proliferation of pesticides and other toxic chemicals, pollution to the nation’s waters, loss of land to erosion, …

About Sdlp

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

The Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief (ISSN 1552-3721) is a student-run initiative at American University Washington College of Law that is published twice each academic year. The Brief embraces an interdisciplinary focus to provide a broad view of current legal, political, and social developments. It was founded to provide a forum for those interested in promoting sustainable economic development, conservation, environmental justice, and biodiversity throughout the world.

Because our publication focuses on reconciling the tensions found within our ecosystem, it spans a broad range of environmental issues such as sustainable development; trade; renewable energy; environmental justice; air, water, and …

Editor's Note, Juliette Jackson, Bailey Nickoloff

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Dear Readers,

For more than two decades, the Sustainable Development Law and Policy Brief (SDLP) remains true to its mission of providing innovative solutions to some of the most important legal issues related to environmental law, energy law, and natural resources law. We are honored to be the Editors-in-Chief during these unprecedented times in our history, as we witnessed a historical presidential election and now enter the third year of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Despite these unparalleled times, the SDLP staff brought our readership another great issue.

In this issue, our authors provide an in-depth analysis into current regulations and …

A Broad View Of Broadview Solar: How Ferc’S Whiplash-Inducing Orders Expand The Scope Of Purpa, Christopher Cerny

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

The Road Ahead For Environmental Impact Assessment In India: Insights From Expansion In Coal Mining, Sneha Thapliyal, Meenakshi Kapoor, Krithika Dinesh

Articles

One of the most contentious changes proposed in the draft environmental impact assessment notification, 2020 in India is the circumvention of public consultations for the expansion of projects for up to 50% of their original capacity. Similar exemption from public hearing, albeit for 40% capacity expansion, has been permitted as a special case for the coal mining sector since 2017. The minutes of the meetings of the coal mining expert appraisal committee between August 2017 and January 2021, which reviewed the requests for coal mine expansion, are analysed herein. It was found that the expert appraisal committees had effectively sidelined …

A Legal Update On Environmental Justice In Virginia: Where Are We Now?, Jasdeep S. Khaira, Patrice Lewis, Abigail Thompson, Scott Foster

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Environmental justice (“EJ”) is rapidly evolving in Virginia while people

are still trying to understand what EJ actually means. As a result, regulators

are unsure of how to incorporate environmental justice in their decisionmaking

process while the regulated are uncertain of how to proceed in the

ever-changing political, social, and regulatory landscape. This article gives

an overview of EJ’s evolution in Virginia, synthesizing notable environmental

justice legal decisions; providing supplementary research on environmental

justice studies, workgroups, and reports; and offering several predictions

on EJ’s fate in the Commonwealth.

Toward Indigenous Visions Of Nature-Based Solutions: An Exploration Into Canadian Federal Climate Policy, Graeme Reed, Nicolas D. Brunet, Deborah Mcgregor, Curtis Scurr, Tonio Sadik, Jamie Lavigne, Sheri Longboat

Articles & Book Chapters

Political traction for nature-based solutions is rapidly growing as governments recognize their role in addressing the simultaneous climate and biodiversity crises. While there has been recognition of the role of Indigenous Peoples in nature-based solutions, there has also been limited academic review on their relationship. This paper explores how the Government of Canada’s conceptualization of nature-based solutions either support or prevent Indigenous sustainable self-determination. Drawing on past policy frameworks, we construct a novel four-dimensional sustainable self-determination policy lens focused on: Indigenous knowledge systems; Indigenous jurisdiction over land; the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples; and Indigenous Peoples as rights-holders …

The Covid–19 Pandemic Highlighted The Need For Mandated Esg Disclosures: Now What?, Nicholas P. Mack

University of Miami Business Law Review

This is not simply your run–of–the–mill COVID–19 article. Instead, this article highlights a salient issue that has been right in front of our eyes this whole time and COVID–19 simply took our blinders off. ESG—short for environmental, social, and governance—is gaining significant momentum both at the firm level and in investment strategy, yet the SEC is trailing behind in ensuring the market is adequately informed of firms’ ESG information. It is important to note that the COVID–19 pandemic initially threw the market into an unanticipated downward spiral; however, many ESG funds still managed to outperform the market in the midst …

Anthropocene Fiction: Empathy, Kinship, And The Troubled Waters At The End Of The World, Megan Mandell Stowe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anthropocene literature features characters and environments grappling with the devastation of climate change. Donna Haraway’s term Chthulucene narrows this category further by exposing the tentacular connections between overpopulation, dependence on material goods, species loss, and other facets of global warming—such as water as a resource. Three novels of the Chthulucene exhibit these connections, centering on the importance of water to both ecologies and personal identity. As seen in the novels, place attachment brings ecology and identity together by forging a stewardship between person and location, often resulting in efforts to defend and preserve a place. In Octavia Butler’s Parable of …

A Twisted Fate: How California's Premier Environmental Law Has Worsened The State's Housing Crisis, And How To Fix It, Noah Dewitt

Pepperdine Law Review

California, the iconic Golden State, holds the infamous record for the largest population of people experiencing homelessness in the United States. These record-setting numbers have been steadily on the rise for decades and are due in large part to the state’s severe housing shortage, which is currently just under one million housing units. From those directly experiencing homelessness to those living in the country’s most expensive zip codes, the compounding economic and social impacts of the crisis touch every Californian. The extent of the crisis is not lost on California’s leaders, but despite countless initiatives on both the state and …

Whither The Lofty Goals Of The Environmental Laws?: Can Statutory Directives Restore Purposivism When We Are All Textualists Now?, Stephen M. Johnson

Pepperdine Law Review

Congress set ambitious goals to protect public health and the environment when it enacted the federal environmental laws through bipartisan efforts in the 1970s. For many years, the federal courts interpreted the environmental laws to carry out those enacted purposes. Over time, however, courts greatly reduced their focus on the environmental and public health purposes of the environmental laws when interpreting those statutes due to the rise in textualism, the declining influence of the Chevron doctrine, and the increasing willingness of courts to defer to agency underenforcement of statutory responsibilities across all regulatory statutes. In 2020, the Environmental Protection Network, …

Adapting To A 4°C World, Karrigan Börk, Karen Bradshaw, Cinnamon P. Carlarne, Robin Kundis Craig, Sarah Fox, Joshua Ulan Galperin, Shi-Ling Hsu, Katrina F. Kuh, Kevin Lynch, Michele Okoh, Jessica Owley, Melissa Powers, Shannon Roesler, J.B. Ruhl, James Salzman, David Takacs, Clifford J. Villa

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The Paris Agreement's goal to hold warming to 1.5°-2°C above pre-industrial levels now appears unrealistic. Profs. Robin Kundis Craig and J.B. Ruhl have recently argued that because a 4°C world may be likely, we must recognize the disruptive consequences of such a world and respond by reimagining governance structures to meet the challenges of adapting to it. In this latest in a biannual series of essays, they and other members of the Environmental Law Collaborative explore what 4°C might mean for a variety of current legal doctrines, planning policies, governance structures, and institutions.

Business, Human Rights, & The Triple Planetary Crisis: Confronting Overconsumption, Sara Seck

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

According to the United Nations, the world is facing a triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature (biodiversity) loss, and pollution and waste, with the most egregious consequences felt by those least responsible. These crises are also intertwined: nature-based solutions are promoted as climate change solutions even as heat domes fuel forest fires; extraction of minerals for green energy solutions negatively impacts biodiversity and creates pollution and waste; and carbon major companies are also among the largest producers of plastic pollution. International human rights law is increasingly grappling with environmental rights and responsibilities, as evidenced by the work of special …

North Africa Can Reduce Europe's Dependence On Russian Gas By Transporting Wasted Gas Through Existing Infrastructure, Mark Davis, Perrine Toledano, Thomas Schorr

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Russia's war against Ukraine is a wake-up call to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian oil, gas, and coal. It is also a defining moment to accelerate the energy transition to a net-zero society with more supply diversity, energy security, and resilience. Europe needs to massively invest in a cleaner energy system. In the short term, this crisis should accelerate our focus on reducing waste gas from flaring, venting, and leaking – some 260 billion cubic meters (BCM) globally or 1.7x that of the European Union's gas imports from Russia. By capturing gas from flaring, venting, and leaking in North Africa, …

Legal Primer: Respecting The Human Rights Of Communities In Wind And Solar Project Deployment, Sarah Dolton-Zborowski, Sam Szoke-Burke

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

As a companion to the Business Guide, the Legal Risk Primer is geared towards general counsels and corporate legal teams, as well as internal and external stakeholders. It provides an overview of the wide range of potential legal risks for wind and solar energy companies associated with community-related adverse human rights impacts. The legal risks outlined arise from home and host government laws, community litigators, financiers, and power purchase agreements.

Together, these two resources support wind and solar energy companies – as well as external stakeholders seeking to influence companies, including investors, civil society organizations, and project-affected communities – …

Business Guide: Respecting The Human Rights Of Communities In Wind And Solar Project Deployment, Sarah Dolton-Zborowski, Sam Szoke-Burke

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Companies involved in commercial wind and solar projects are facing heightened scrutiny of their human rights performance. This Business Guide provides companies with information and strategies to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for adverse human rights impacts that they cause, contribute to, or are directly linked to through their operations, products, or services by virtue of their business relationships. It may also be useful for investors, business partners, government actors, civil society organizations, communities, and other stakeholders.

Drawing on the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, the Guide provides practical recommendations, with over 40 examples from peer companies …

Climate Action Needs Investment Governance, Not Investment Protection And Arbitration, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

A response by the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment to the OECD Public Consultation on Investment Treaties and Climate Change.

The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) — a joint research center of Columbia Law School and the Earth Institute at Columbia University — explores elements of the international investment legal framework, including the impact of investment treaties, investor–state dispute settlement, and home and host government policies governing inward and outward investment, among many other issues.

How Much Have The Oil Supermajors Contributed To Climate Change?, Jiarui Chen, Perrine Toledano, Martin Dietrich Brauch

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In the 40-year period 1980–2019, annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel combustion, including flaring, increased by more than 80%, and total emissions from those sources represented approximately 83% of anthropogenic CO2 emissions (also including cement production and land-use change) without accounting for sinks. Understanding the carbon footprint of countries and companies along the oil value chain is fundamental to outlining paths to reduced reliance on fossil fuels. However, academic analyses of carbon footprints are limited by the lack of a reliable dataset and carbon accounting method that would allow comparisons across countries and companies.

Ccsi’S Consolidated Feedback On The Wba Draft Nature Benchmark Methodology, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Private sector actors are paying more attention to their negative impacts on climate, nature, and biodiversity. CCSI engages with private sector initiatives, frameworks, and benchmarks in this area to ensure the core corporate responsibility to respect human rights is prioritized and addressed.

As part of this work, in March and April 2022, CCSI submitted comments to and engaged with the World Benchmarking Alliance on their Draft Methodology for their Nature and Biodiversity Benchmark. The World Benchmarking Alliance is a leading multi-stakeholder organization which creates benchmarks to publicly assess and rank the world's most influential companies on their contributions to …