Climate Change Law, Hist&Pol'y

Climate change represents one of the most significant challenges of our time, but the problem has been long in the making. Humans first started emitting greenhouse gases during the industrial revolution of the 18th century, and scientists began to study the possibility that these pollutants could alter the climate as far back as the 19th century. By 1995, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that greenhouse gas emissions had caused a discernible human influence on global climate and posed severe future risks to the planet — a view shared by the vast majority of climate scientists and professional scientific organizations. Despite these warnings, over the past three decades the U.S. and the world have barely reduced annual greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, transportation, and other sectors of the economy. Indeed, some countries have dramatically increased their greenhouse gas emissions during this period. Nor are we on target to lower emissions fast enough to stabilize global temperatures at levels that will avoid the most serious environmental and public health harms. How did we get here, and how can we now address this seemingly existential threat? What role do science, technology, and the law have to play in solving the climate crisis?
This course aims to give law students a broad understanding of climate change history, law and policy. It will first cover the basics of how the planet’s climate has changed over time and how scientists came to understand humanity’s role in causing the phenomenon. The course will then examine the most significant legal and policy proposals for addressing climate change, including both mitigation of emissions and adaptation to a warming world. While including a discussion of international regimes, the course will focus on U.S. law, such as agency regulations, climate litigation, and legislative solutions. Students who wish to do a deeper dive on international climate law should take International Law of Climate Change (Law 661). The course will also not devote significant attention to aspects of energy law that will be part of any comprehensive effort to address climate change. Students who wish to do a deeper dive on energy regulations should take Energy Law (Law 534).