Environmental Law Commons^™

Climate Change And The Death Of The Administrative State?: West Virginia V. Environmental Protection Agency, Davis P. Rosser

Journal of Law and Policy

In recent decades, climate change events have surged in both frequency and intensity. Paradoxically, the most vulnerable and economically disadvantaged states, despite contributing the least to global emissions, face the gravest consequences. Developed nations, despite their wealth of resources, have consistently failed to act in the face of this crisis. For example, the recent United States Supreme Court Decision, West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, limited the administrative state’s rulemaking authority and thus, its ability to enact necessary climate policy. This decision, based in the infamous “major questions doctrine,” asserts that administrative agencies must have explicit authority from Congress when …

Beyond Corporate Greenwashing: Discourse Of A 'Just' Electric Energy Transition Materialized At The Thacker Pass Lithium Mine, Laekyn Kelley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Thacker Pass in Northern Nevada is a rich desert ecosystem with spiritual significance to local Indigenous peoples, and it is also the site for what will be, for now, the United States’ largest open-pit lithium mine. Lithium is one mineral constituent of electric batteries which are essential to current U.S. electric energy transition policy, a transition which policymakers and other public groups have called on to be done in a way which is just. However, what exactly a just electric energy transition looks like in places like Thacker Pass is under continued negotiation in theoretical and practical senses. Existing research …

Development, Voice, And Vulnerability: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Policy-Making Discourse Regarding The Paris Agreement As An Organizational Response To Climate Change, David Almanza-Canas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

On December 12, 2015, the Paris Agreement was officially ratified by 196 sovereign entities. This treaty represents a global call to action to ameliorate the impact of human activities on our environment, and it creates a means of cooperation through financial support and transparent industrial practices with the goal of promoting accountability across the world. This treaty and the discourse surrounding it present fertile ground for the academic understanding of persuasive practices in policy-making. By examining the rhetorical implications of the Paris Agreement as a global policy, scholars can gain new insight about the communities represented in the conversation as …

National Legal Models To Regulate Scrubbers Washwater, Shams Al Din Al Hajjaji

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

According to the findings of this study, nations should adopt uniform regulations regarding the discharge of washwater from exhaust gas cleaning systems into their ports, territories, and Exclusive Economic Zones. Scrubbers are used by ships to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases so they can adhere to the International Maritime Organization’s limit on the sulfur content of ship fuel. The global upper limit was 0.5% in January 2020. Scrubber washwater is discharged into the ocean by ships. Toxic substances are present in the washwater for the scrubbers. The level of washwater for the scrubbers is governed by the 2008 and …

Environmental Law & Policy Networking Happy Hour, Cardozo Environmental Law Society

2023–2024 Flyers

No abstract provided.

Environmental And Natural Resources Law Symposium: Assessing The August 2023 Amendments To The Waters Of The United States Rule In The Wake Of Sackett V. Epa, Ryan Day

Maurer Law Events

In 1982, the Army Corps of Engineers adopted the EPA definition of “waters of the United States.” This brought an end to a smoldering interagency conflict over the definitions under the Clean Water Act. This relationship was formalized with a 1989 Memorandum of Agreement between the EPA and the Corps; the Corps has largely ceded definitional decision making to the EPA, which develops guidance and supporting materials, while the Corps is responsible for most case-specific jurisdictional determinations under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. In 2023, the agencies embarked on their latest round of rulemaking. In January, the Biden …

Investor–State Dispute Settlements: A Hidden Handbrake On Climate Action, Lea Di Salvatore, Lorenzo Cotula, Anirudh Nanda, Chloe Yuqing Wang

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

To achieve the Paris Agreement’s climate goals, states must move away from fossil fuels. But investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) — a system that enables companies to take states to international arbitration — can increase the cost of this transition.

Our research shows that fossil fuel companies have historically secured at least US$82.8 billion in damages and large sums continue to be invested in fossil fuels worldwide. To address this problem, investment governance must be harmonised with global climate goals.

Effective Shareholder Engagement To Address The Food Sector’S Sdg-Related Impacts In Mexico, Nora Mardirossian

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

While investor engagement on environmental and social issues have grown in recent years, they remain limited in Mexico and other emerging markets.

Investors have an opportunity to do more to help address critical SDG-related issues in these contexts through their active ownership efforts. By doing so, they can be more responsible in ensuring respect for human rights, protecting shared systems, and supporting their long-term financial interests. Importantly, they can also ensure they comply with – and support their portfolio companies in complying with – emerging legal frameworks requiring reporting and due diligence on the impacts of their global value chains. …

Using Objective Characteristics To Target Household Recycling Policies, W. Kip Viscusi, Joel Huber, Jason Bell

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Household recycling is valuable because it reduces demand for virgin raw materials and lessens the cost of making products containing paper, metal, glass, or plastic. Effective recycling programs limit the amount of materials sent to landfills. Understanding the policies and contexts that are most conducive to promot- ing recycling can assist in the development of more effective recycling systems. It can also help businesses that are concerned with the disposition of their products and packaging. Using the most comprehensive data set on U.S. household recycling behavior, this Comment quantifies the relative impact on recycling of characteristics associ- ated with recycling …

Maurer Environmental Law Expert Is Lead Author On Science Insights Policy Forum Article, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

The Indiana University Maurer and McKinney Schools of Law jointly will convene leading scholars and practitioners to discuss the implications of the 2023 United States Supreme Court case of Sackett v. EPA. The event, “Sackett v. EPA: What the Supreme Court’s Decision Means for Regulation and Wetlands Conservation,” will take place November 10 in the Wynne Courtroom and Steve Tuchman and Reed Bobrick Atrium at IU McKinney in Indianapolis.

Abuja Mou As A Facilitator For The Implementation Of Imo Instruments In The West And Central African Region, Paul Chika Ochulor

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Enhancing South Africa’S Ship Registry : A Comparative Analysis Of Competitiveness Effectiveness And Legal Frameworks With A Special Focus On The Singapore Registry Model, Tebogo Alfred Moloko Ramatjie

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Crude Oil Trade On Nigeria’S Economy : A Time Series Approach, Ihuoma Grace Chukwuma-Ekwueme

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Big Oil Liability In Canada: Lessons From The Us And The Netherlands, David W-L Wu

Dalhousie Law Journal

The number of nuisance and negligence tort claims in the US against “Big Oil” companies have grown significantly in the last five years. The Netherlands case of Milieudefensie et al v Royal Dutch Shell represents the first major success of such a claim internationally. While the US cases and Milieudefensie demonstrate starkly different approaches as to how to seek accountability from Big Oil for climate change harms, the increasing judicial engagement on these issues may mean the time is right for similar lawsuits in Canada. Three Canadian common law causes of action are examined: nuisance, negligence, and unjust enrichment. Defences …

Bureaucratic Overreach And The Role Of The Courts In Protecting Representative Democracy, Katie Cassady

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

The United States bureaucracy began as only four departments and has expanded to address nearly every issue of public life. While these bureaucratic agencies are ostensibly under congressional oversight and the supervision of the President as part of the executive branch, they consistently usurp their discretionary authority and bypass the Founding Fathers’ design of balancing legislative power in a bicameral Congress.

The Supreme Court holds an indispensable role in mitigating the overreach of executive agencies, yet the courts’ inability to hold bureaucrats accountable has diluted voters’ voices. Since the Supreme Court’s 1984 ruling in Chevron, U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense …

The Refugee Burden Of Proof: Legal Gaps And Future Considerations For Climate Migrants, Aedan Raleigh

Pace Law Review

As impacts of climate change become increasingly imminent and devastating, especially for the world’s most vulnerable communities, climate processes and events have forced certain populations to flee their homes. Climate refugees, also called environmental or climate migrants, describes those displaced by environmental disruption; however, international law has yet to delineate how these individuals fit into current refugee law or other areas of immigration assistance. This paper begins by examining current international refugee law, challenges to seeking asylum, and how this applies, or fails to apply, to climate migrants. I will then explore the burden of proof for the principle of …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Anti-Woke Capitalism, The First Amendment, And The Decline Of Libertarianism, Amanda Shanor, Sarah E. Light

Northwestern University Law Review

Firms across the globe, including financial institutions like banks, asset managers, and pension fund managers, are adopting strategies to account for the risks they face from climate change. These strategies include declining to invest in certain emissions-intensive projects or advising firms in their portfolios to report or reduce climate impacts and risks. These forms of private environmental governance can be characterized as one aspect of the “E” within a broader management strategy of “ESG,” or the management of environmental, social, and governance factors. Regulators in the United States and other countries are beginning to mandate that firms take some of …

Law School News: Rake To Plate: Rwu Law Students Dive Into The Clamming Industry 10-4-2023, Grace Boland

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Cle Working Paper No.1/2023--Driving Global Heating To 1.7° And Above: The New Canada Energy Future 2023 Report And Canada's Projected Oil Production To 2050, David Gooderham

Centre for Law and the Environment

The Canada Energy Regulator on June 20, 2023, released its new report Canada’s Energy Future 2023. For the first time the Federal Government’s energy regulator has directly addressed whether the currently projected growth of oil production in Canada to 2040 and 2050 is compatible with keeping increased warming to 1.5°C. The regulator’s analysis is based on three scenarios. Only the CER’s first scenario, the “Global Net-zero Scenario” (stated to be based on the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) “Net-Zero by 2050 Scenario”), is aligned with limiting warming to 1.5°C. That would require a very dramatic reduction in Canada’s existing oil production …