International Environmental Law
A Green Tint for Rio Tinto
It’s not just a U.S. thing. Shareholder worries about climate risks are global.
Rio Tinto historically has been far from an environmental paragon. That made an investor revolt last week over the giant mining company’s climate disclosures especially notable. It’s also notable that this took place in London, showing that investor worries about climate change are worldwide. These are people with real money at stake, unlike conservative politicians …
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CONTINUE READINGGovernors’ Climate and Forests Task Force Kicks Off Annual Meeting in Heart of the Amazon Basin
12th Annual Meeting of GCF Task Force hosted by Governor of Amazonas in Manaus, Brazil, March 15-18, 2022
This week, on the banks of the largest river system in the world, Governors, environment secretaries and civil servants, Indigenous peoples and local community leaders, national governments, the private sector, and partner organizations will be meeting to discuss innovative partnerships and solutions to the threat of tropical deforestation at the 12th Annual Meeting of the …
CONTINUE READINGCOPs as Three-Ring Circus
Reflections on Glasgow a few weeks later
It is often hard to make sense of what happens at the annual climate meetings, and easy to get cynical. For two or three weeks, climate politics gets intense worldwide news coverage. Acute pressure mounts over the two weeks to get some announcable achievement, which almost always happens after all-night negotiations on the final day. …
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CONTINUE READINGGuest Contributor Sharaban Tahura Zaman: COP26 outcome on Carbon Markets: Takeaways for the Global South
Where is the Global South heading with carbon market mechanisms in the coming decade?
As a government delegate, I have been involved in the UN climate negotiation process since 2017 to uphold Bangladesh’s and the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group’s position. After an unsuccessful COP in Madrid (2019), as a Bangladeshi citizen (a country often referred to as “ground zero” for its climate vulnerability) I had to wait another …
CONTINUE READINGBold Climate Rulings Beyond Our Borders
Courts in other Western countries are stepping up to the climate challenge.
The atmosphere for climate litigation in our Supreme Court is decidedly chilly. Some of its peers in other countries have taken a much different approach. US lawyers tend to be inward focused, adept at understanding our own legal system but largely unaware of developments elsewhere. Here, I want to briefly summarize some key rulings. Germany. …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Change in the Law School Curriculum
What role will the subject play in the curriculum of the future?
Someone asked me recently what I thought law schools should be teaching about climate change. Naturally, my first reaction is that everyone everywhere needs to put climate change at the top of their agenda. As usually happens, when I got past that gut reaction, things got more complicated. There are many important societal issues that …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Fuss about Methane
Part 1: Science and weird facts
Methane is getting a lot of attention in climate debates. There was even a “Methane Day” last Tuesday at the climate conference in Glasgow. Several new regulations controlling methane emissions have been adopted recently, including two new rules for the US oil and gas sector announced last week. There’s a new informal international agreement to …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat do U.S. states do at a COP, anyway?
Newsom’s out, but California and other states continue with robust delegations headed to Scotland
You’ve likely heard that the big annual United Nations climate conference is about to get underway in Glasgow, with nations around the world gathering together to try to advance international climate cooperation. But it’s not just national representatives who will attend; many subnational jurisdictions, including California and other U.S. states, also send significant delegations. Although …
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CONTINUE READINGShow Time: Stark message from the International Energy Agency
As the 26th Climate Conference (COP26) approaches, there is lots of discussion of the recent IPCC report. There will be a flood of other climate reports landing over the next couple of weeks, from international agencies, environmental groups, industry associations, and many others, all timed for maximum attention at the COP. But for a concrete …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate and Colonialism: Some Columbus Day Thoughts
Is climate change itself a form of colonialism?
“In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” That’s what we learned in my grade school. Today, Columbus Day remains a day of celebration for some but has become a symbols of colonialism for others. Rather than entering that debate, I’d like to reflect on how issues of colonialism might relate to climate change. The study …
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