Climate Change

Climate change is perhaps the most important environmental and public policy issue of our generation. As greenhouse gas emissions increase, temperatures rise, and the impacts of climate change increasingly can be observed, appropriate legal mechanisms are necessary to address the problem. This course will explore domestic legal mechanisms for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Topics covered will include common law tort actions, federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, proposals for a federal mitigation statute, and mitigation approaches adopted by sub-national governments. The course seeks to provide students with an understanding of the domestic legal options available to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and invites students to develop opinions about their viability, interplay, and desirability. No pre-requisites or co-requisites are required, but Environmental Survey is recommended. This course will meet twice a week at the beginning of the semester but less frequently thereafter to give students time to research, write, and revise their course paper.