Climate Change and the Law

This new book comprehensively assesses the law and science of climate change, as well as the policy choices for responding to this global problem. Given the all-encompassing reach of climate change, Climate Change and the Law allows students to study how the many different areas of law--public international law, public administrative law, federal environmental law, state and municipal regulations, and the common law--can be implicated in addressing a major social issue. This textbook thus provides students with an integrated experience to study law and an understanding of the many climate-related challenges facing the next generation of lawyers. The book begins by exploring the international climate change regime, including a detailed investigation of emissions trading and the controversial regime for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through land use and forest management practices. It also explores options for a future international agreement in light of calls to reduce emissions by as much as 80 percent. The book also addresses how other international agreements can help spur climate change mitigation or adaptation, exploring, for example, whether petitions to list World Heritage Sites as endangered due to climate change and petitions to declare climate change a violation of human rights will advance global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.The book then delves into domestic efforts to address climate change, including:The consequences of the Supreme Court's ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA that the U.S. EPA has authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide;The implications of listing the polar bear and other animals as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act;The potential role of common law litigation such as the claims of the Inupiat Village of Kivalina that ExxonMobil and other large emitters of greenhouse gases should pay the costs of relocating their village, which is subsiding into the ocean due to climate change;An examination of how U.S. energy policy and transportation policies affect climate change; andAn exploration of regional, state, and local actions, including regional emissions trading programs and renewable portfolio standards.Climate Change and the Law also includes numerous class exercises, mock negotiations, and other participatory exercises designed to engage students in a lively discussion about how best to respond to climate change.