Summer/Fall 2019 - A Summary of the Key Activities of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law by Columbia Climate School

Summer/Fall 2019 A Summary of the Key Activities of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

A Summary of the Key Activities of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Contents Summary . .

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Projects . . Events . .

Publications .

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Media Mentions and Interviews .

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Earth Institute .

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Who We Are . .

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Since its creation in 2009, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law has been known as a center of expertise, providing timely information and resources on key topics and promoting advances in the interrelated fields of climate law, environmental regulation, energy regulation and natural resources law. The Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities are spearheaded by Michael Gerrard, Faculty Director of the Sabin Center and Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia Law School, and Michael Burger, Executive Director of the Sabin Center and Research Scholar and Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School. The core mission of the Sabin Center is to develop and promulgate legal techniques to address climate change, and to train the next generation of lawyers who will be leaders in the field. The Sabin Center is both a partner to and resource for public interest legal institutions engaged in climate change work. Further, the Center addresses a critical need for the systematic development of legal techniques to fight climate change outside of the realm of litigation, and the compilation and dissemination of information for lawyers in the public, private, academic and NGO sectors.

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Summary The Sabin Center currently focuses its work within four programmatic areas: Cross-cutting Issues & Initiatives, Energy Law, Environmental & Land Use Law, and International & Foreign Law. The Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thought leadership and direct engagement operate at the international, national, state and local levels.

Cross-cutting Issues & Initiatives

Energy Law

Environmental & Land Use Law

International & Foreign Law

A Summary of the Key Activities of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Projects In the absence of congressional legislation specifically addressing climate change, federal activity under the Obama Administration took place under the authority of existing environmental, energy, and natural resources law. The Trump Administration is pursuing a deregulatory agenda that has re-oriented the Sabin Center’s work—from a focus on exercising executive authority to combat climate change to a focus on limiting executive discretion to ignore it. Meanwhile, action continues to be taken at state and local levels, in the courts, and in other countries around the world. The Sabin Center conducts independent research to produce publications and useful resources; advances new techniques and direct engagement; and partners with agencies, NGOs, and the private sector to promote climate action.

Cross-cutting Issues & Initiatives Climate change cuts across law and policy domains, engaging governments, courts, businesses, scientists and others in multiple and overlapping ways. Our current cross-cutting efforts track and assess climate litigation, provide legal pathways to deep decarbonization, engage with cities to find legal answers to questions raised by policy innovations, provide pro bono legal representation to supporters of utility-scale renewable energy projects, and track attacks on and stand up for climate science. Climate Change Litigation

The Sabin Center tracks, analyzes, and submits amicus briefs in U.S. and global climate change litigation. Talks

• Ama Francis gave a presentation on the topic of “U.S. Climate Litigation in the Age of Trump,” at the Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum Symposium. • Michael Gerrard spoke about climate liability at the 2019 Insurance Law Symposium of the American College of Coverage Counsel at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida. • Michael Gerrard spoke about climate change litigation at the annual Think Tank Conference for Insurance Claims Executives in New York.

• Michael Burger gave a talk, “Climate Science and the Courts,” at the 30th Annual Judicial Forum at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Engagement

• Amicus brief in support of plaintiff-appellee and affirmance in Mayor & City Council of Baltimore v. B.P. p.l.c., by Michael Burger Cities Climate Law Initiative

In September 2019, the Sabin Center launched the Cities Climate Law Initiative. This project is aimed at helping U.S. cities achieve their climate mitigation commitments by addressing critical gaps or obstacles to advancing implementation. The Initiative is conducting foundational legal research on the policy approaches being used by cities to reduce the carbon footprints of their buildings, transportation, energy and waste sectors. The Initiative, led by Executive Director Michael Burger and Senior Fellow Amy Turner, is also working with cities to address legal questions arising in connection with carbon mitigation efforts. For more information about the types of legal issues cities are encountering, see a recent blog post here. Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization (LPDD)

Michael Gerrard co-edited (with John C. Dernbach) a 1,200-page volume, Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States, published by the Environmental Law Institute in April 2019. The book has more than 1,000

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specific recommendations for federal, state and local action to move the U.S. away from fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. Since publication of the book, Professors Gerrard and Dernbach, together with Rick Horsch, a member of Columbia University’s adjunct faculty and a retired environmental partner at White & Case, have launched an effort to recruit pro bono law firms to draft the model laws recommended by the book. More than 20 law firms have already signed up and are at work. Michael Gerrard has given numerous in-person presentations and webinars about the book and the pro bono project, including events sponsored by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute , National Association of Clean Air Agencies, Environmental Law Institute and American Bar Association, Call to the Bar/Law Firm Sustainability Forum, and Earthjustice. Defending Climate Science

In response to recent attacks on climate science, the Sabin Center has partnered with the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund to develop the Silencing Science Tracker, which records government attempts to restrict or prohibit scientific research. We have also played a pivotal role in advocating for targeted scientists’ rights. The Sabin Center consulted informally with the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform on the Trump administration’s attempts to censor climate science. The Sabin Center filed an appeal in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in Physicians for Social Responsibility, et al. v. Pruitt. In this case, Michael Burger is working with the Columbia Environmental Law Clinic to represent two scientists who have challenged EPA’s policy banning scientists with EPA grants from the agency’s science advisory committees. Other Activities

• Michael Burger spoke on climate risk, litigation and policy at the Virginia Environmental Law Journal’s annual

symposium, “The Green New Deal: Examining Climate Change in the Business Context.” • Ama Francis gave a presentation at “The Green New Deal: A Public Assembly,” at the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture.

Environmental & Land Use Law Decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing resilience to climate impacts involve use of existing environmental, natural resource, and land use laws.They also demand creation of new approaches. Our current efforts focus on federal, state, and local laws and regulations related to air pollution; environmental impact assessment; public lands management; and zoning and land use controls. Adaptation & Resilience

As well as taking steps to mitigate climate change, humanity must also find ways to adapt to it. The Sabin Center conducts research into how existing laws and regulations can be used to promote short and longer-term adaptation efforts within government and the private sector. Talks

• Michael Gerrard made a presentation to the New Jersey Pinelands Commission in New Lisbon, New Jersey about potential mitigation and adaptation actions in view of climate projections. • Michael Gerrard spoke on a panel, “Building NYC’s Resilient Future,” at the Our Future Festival NYC on Governor’s Island. • Michael Burger spoke to the Waterfront Alliance about the role of climate litigation in promoting climate change adaptation. Clean Air Act

The Environmental Protection Agency has authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate mobile and stationary sources of greenhouse gases. The Sabin Center has been active in

A Summary of the Key Activities of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

informing and defending EPA’s affirmative regulations, in advocating for more ambitious action and in opposing deregulation by the Trump administration. Filed comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed revisions to its new source performance standards for oil and gas facilities. Environmental Assessment

to clean energy development and integration, public utility regulation, and the extraction, transport, and consumption of fossil fuels. Engagement

• The Sabin Center consulted informally with Congressional staffers on two bills aimed at controlling methane emissions from oil and gas development.

The National Environmental Policy Act and its state and international analogs provide for the assessment of environmental impacts of proposed projects, plans and programs. The Sabin Center examines legal requirements and practices relating to the analysis of GHG emissions and the impacts of climate change on proposed projects under these statutes.

• The Sabin Center is participating in a four -year study, funded by the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, to develop an integrated negative emissions system that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using direct air capture technology and permanently sequesters it in subseabed geologic formations.

Talks

• The Sabin Center became a party to Consolidated Edison’s latest rate case before the New York Public Service Commission. Michael Gerrard represented the Sabin Center in negotiations on developing and implementing recommendations resulting from a scientific study (instituted in part by a Sabin Center intervention in 2014) of the effect that climate change could have on Con Edison’s service territory.

• Michael Gerrard spoke at a program, “Strategies for Better Community Involvement in the Environmental Review Process,” at Pace University’s downtown campus. Engagement

• Submitted comments on FERC’s Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Delta LNG and Delta Express Pipeline Project. • Submitted comments on FERC’s Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment Statement for the Planned Port Arthur LNG Expansion Project. • Submitted comments on FERC’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Planned Alaska LNG Project.

Energy Law The Sabin Center seeks to advance the decarbonization of the energy sector and to encourage a more rational accounting of climate change-related impacts of energy use in the U.S. and elsewhere. Our current efforts focus on federal, state, and local laws and regulations related

Workshops

• The Sabin Center co-hosted a two-day workshop for energy regulators from the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Workshop participants discussed emerging trends in the energy sector, including challenges arising from the decarbonization of electricity and gas systems. • Renewable Energy Legal Defense Initiative (RELDI) • Achieving lower carbon emissions in the United States will require massive construction programs for wind, solar, and other renewable energy facilities, as well as associated storage, distribution, and transmission. Local opposition often

Summer/Fall 2019 impedes such development. For this reason, the Sabin Center has launched the Renewable Energy Legal Defense Initiative (RELDI). Its purpose is to provide pro bono legal representation to community groups and local residents who support renewable energy development in their communities, but are facing opposition.

Engagement

Michael Gerrard and Laura Cottingham, a visiting associate research scholar at Columbia Law School and an associate at Arnold & Porter, represented a community group, Friends of Flint Mine Solar, in litigation in support of a solar energy project that had been banned by a local government in New York State. Michael Gerrard and Hillary Aidun, a Climate Law Fellow, represent a community group in proceedings before the NYS Public Service Commission, in support of a new offshore windfarm.

International & Foreign Law Climate change is a global problem that demands a global response. Recognizing this, the Sabin Center provides legal support for and participates in international efforts to address the causes and effects of climate change. We also track how foreign jurisdictions are addressing climate change through legal reforms and litigation. Human Rights and Climate Change

Climate change poses a very real threat to the enjoyment of human rights: sea level rise, heat waves, floods, drought, and other effects can cause death and injury, displace people from their homes, undermine food and water security, and otherwise interfere with the lives, health, and well-being of millions of people. The Sabin Center’s research explores how international human rights law can be used to enhance mitigation ambition and protect people from these effects. Talks

• Ama Francis presented her paper on the topic of “Climate Migration & Sover-

eignty” at Vermont Law School Colloquium on Environmental Scholarship. • Ama Francis gave a presentation at the Geneva Dialogue on Climate, Displacement and Rights Expert Roundtable, hosted by the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, Earthjustice and the Center for International Environmental Law. • Michael Gerrard gave the keynote talk, and Michael Burger and Ama Francis moderated panel discussions, at “The Climate Crisis, Global Land use, and Human Rights,” a Climate Week conference held at the Ford Foundation and co-sponsored by the Sabin Center. Threatened Island Nations

Climate change poses a substantial risk to many small island nations. These nations may be partially or completely submerged by rising sea levels in the coming decades, and are also vulnerable to other disruptions caused by increasing temperatures and changing precipitation patterns.We have worked with threatened island nations since 2009 to develop legal strategies to address these problems. Talks

• Michael Gerrard and Michael Burger spoke at the Permanent Mission of Vanuatu to the United Nations about legal issues in presentation of a climate change case to the International Court of Justice. • Michael Gerrard spoke at the United Nations at a workshop convened by the Asian African Legal Consultative Organization on the topic “Legal Implications for Maritime Activities, Zones and Treaties: Effects of Changing Coastlines.” Engagement

• Hillary Aidun joined the Legal Response Initiative team at COP25 in Madrid, Spain to provide legal support to Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

A Summary of the Key Activities of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Events From June–December 2019, the Center sponsored or co-sponsored a total of 10 events and conferences. • Climate Justice for Future Generations: Seeking an Advisory Opinion From the International Court of Justice: The Sabin Center hosted a lunch time talk at Columbia Law School, featuring guest speaker Antonio Oposa.

• Shelter from the Storm: Seeking Dignity in the Age of Climate Migration: The Sabin Center, International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Development Program hosted a Climate Week side event with leading experts on climate change and migration.

• The Climate Crisis, Global Land Use, and Human Rights: The Sabin Center, the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, Landesa and Wake Forest Law School hosted a day-long conference on the intersection between land use, the climate crisis and clean energy transition, and human rights.

• Climate Change, Water & National Security for Jordan, Palestine and Israel: This forum discussed scientific findings and policy recommendations to address the Middle East’s looming ecological crisis and its national security implications. The program was sponsored by the Sabin Center, the Earth Institute, EcoPeace Middle East, and Columbia Water Center. It was generously supported by the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation, Lois Perelson-Gross and Stewart Gross.

• Electrifying New York City Transport: The Way Forward: The Sabin Center, Center for Sustainable Development and the Center for Science and Society hosted a forum on progress and challenges facing electrification of NYC’s transportation sector. It featured representatives of New York City government, environmental justice activists, private industry representatives, and Columbia University researchers.

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• Should Storm Surge Barriers be Built to Protect NY/NJ From Flooding?: The Sabin Center and the Earth Institute hosted this public forum, which included presentations from the Corps of Engineers about the nature and status of the study; from an earth scientist about the nature of the flooding risks; and by a proponent and opponent of storm barriers. Other events • Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States

• OUT for Sustainability • Mobilizing for the Climate Emergency: Bill McKibben and Marie Toussaint

• Implementing New York’s New Climate Law: This event, co-hosted by the Sabin Center, the Earth Institute, New York League of Conservation Voters, and the Office of New York Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell, brought together experts across various sectors to explore pathways to achieving carbon neutrality.

A Summary of the Key Activities of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Publications The Sabin Center produces papers, surveys and other legal resources, and its members edit and co-author books with other climate law and energy experts from around the globe. Our website at climate.law.columbia.edu contains landing pages for each of our program areas, which include links to relevant projects, publications, and other resources. In addition, the Center publishes the Climate Law Blog and maintains a growing presence on social media, including on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, as well as a YouTube channel. Highlights • Survey of Greenhouse Gas Considerations in Federal Impact Statements and Environmental Assessments for Fossil Fuel-Related Projects, 2017-2018, by

Madeleine Siegel and Alexander Loznak (November 2019) • FMAs & Climate-Induced Migration: A Caribbean Case Study, by Ama Francis (October 2019)

• New Climate Law Will Reshape NY’s Key Sectors, by Michael Gerrard and Edward McTiernan, New York Law Journal (July 2019) • Overcoming Impediments to Offshore C02 Storage: Legal Issues in the U.S. and Canada,

by Romany Webb and Michael Gerrard, 49 Environmental Law Reporter 10634 (July 2019)

• State Hazard Mitigation Plans & Climate Change: Rating the States 2019 Update, by Dena Adler and Emma Gosliner (September 2019)

• Climate Change, FERC, and Natural Gas

• Annual Review of Developments Under SEQRA, by Michael Gerrard and Edward McTiernan, New York Law Journal (September 2019)

NYU Environmental Law Journal (forthcoming 2019)

Pipelines: The Legal Basis for Considering Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act, by Romany Webb,

• Five legal principles for the Green New Deal, by Michael Burger, Washington Post (May 2019)

Highlights from the Climate Law Blog • 12 Legal Tools to Push Climate Preparedness, by Michael B. Gerrard, December 5, 2019 • Student Viewpoint: New York’s Climate Laws Require Columbia to Decrease Emissions, Too, by Arianna Menzelos

• Legal Considerations for Urban Carbon Mitigation Policies, by Amy Turner

• Here’s How Science Has Suffered During the First 1,000 Days of Trump, by Lauren Kurtz and Susan Rosenthal • The Significance of the High Court’s Decision in Friends of the Irish Environment v. Ireland, by Michael Burger and

Hillary Aidun

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Media Mentions and Interviews Sabin Center experts were interviewed and/ or quoted directly or mentioned via one of the products produced by the Center in approximately 100 media and news items. Highlights • Lawyers are unleashing a flurry of lawsuits to step up the fight against climate change, ABA Journal

This article highlights Michael Gerrard’s legal practice, including the Renewable Energy Legal Defense Initiative as part of ABA House of Delegate’s resolution urging lawyers to give pro bono assistance to climate change efforts. • New Climate Change Lawsuits Plague Oil Industry During Rough Week, Newsweek

In this article, Michael Burger comments on the growing wave of climate lawsuits due to government and fossil fuel companies’ failure to address climate change. • Fossil Fuels on Trial: New York’s Lawsuit Against Exxon Begins, The New York Times

In this article, Michael Gerrard discusses the significance of New York’s lawsuit against ExxonMobil. • Climate Change Will Create 1.5 Billion Migrants by 2050 and We Have No Idea Where They Will Go, Vice

In this article, Ama Francis discusses her home island, Dominica and its efforts to become “climate leaders instead of climate victims.” • Climate Liability Lawsuits Could Help With Costs of Adapting to a Hotter Earth, NPR Radio

Michael Burger discusses the climate lawsuits around the world, the impacts they address and the role of science of attribution.

• Exxon Knew: A Conversation with Michael Gerrard, Good Law I Bad Law

In this podcast, Michael Gerrard talks about the specifics of the New York Exxon Trial, the legal arguments surrounding the suit, and more. • War on science: Trump Administration muzzles climate experts, critics say, The Guardian

This article mentions the Silencing Science Tracker and quotes Lauren Kurtz, director of the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund. • What the climate petition filed by 16 kids at the U.N. really means, Grist

Michael Burger comments on what these climate petitions have in common—they are “seeking ultimately a declaration of the obligations of states or in the once case corporations to address climate change under human rights law.” • Climate Cases to Watch Around the World, E&E News

In this article, former climate law fellow Dena Adler discusses the implications of early victories for climate lawsuits in the Netherlands and in Colombia.

A Summary of the Key Activities of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Online Resources

• Climate Change Litigation Database The Center maintains U.S. and non-U.S. climate litigation charts. (The US database is maintained in collaboration with Arnold & Porter.) The Sabin Center continues to track the growing wave of international and domestic climate change litigation. Our databases of climate change litigation now provide a resource with information and case documents for over 1000 climate change lawsuits from around the world. To subscribe to the Center’s monthly update, contact: columbiaclimate@gmail.com.

• Climate Deregulation Tracker The Climate Deregulation Tracker monitors efforts undertaken by the Trump administration to scale back or wholly eliminate federal climate mitigation and adaptation measures. The tracker also monitors congressional efforts to repeal statutory provisions, regulations, and guidance pertaining to climate change, and to otherwise undermine climate action. Finally, the tracker will monitor any countervailing efforts to advance climate change mitigation and adaptation in the face of these deregulatory actions.

• Climate Change Laws of the World The Sabin Center and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment have collaborated to create an online database of the laws, regulations, policy statements, and other directives issued by national governments, with links to the Sabin Center litigation charts.

• Silencing Science Tracker The Silencing Science Tracker is a joint initiative of the Sabin Center and the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund. It tracks government attempts to restrict or prohibit scientific research, education or discussion, or the publication or use of scientific information, since the November 2016 election.

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Earth Institute The Sabin Center is a member center of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and frequently collaborates with Earth Institute scientists on cutting edge interdisciplinary research. Campus Sustainability and Climate Action

Michael Gerrard has continued his leadership role in the campus-wide Sustainability Initiative, as co-chair on the Senior Advisory Committee, which has launched the effort to come up with a new sustainability plan for the period 2021-2030.Climate law fellow Dena Adler was also involved in the Initiative, serving on the Greenhouse Gas and Energy Focus Team.The Initiative is now engaged in a comprehensive greenhouse gas master planning effort that will reshape decision-making relating to emissions and energy use on campus.

A Summary of the Key Activities of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Who We Are

Michael B. Gerrard Faculty Director

Michael Burger Executive Director

Amy Turner Senior Fellow Cities Climate Law Initiative

tel: 212-854-3287 mgerrard@law.columbia.edu

tel: 212-854-2372 mburger@law.columbia.edu

Romany Webb Senior Climate Law Fellow

Dena Adler Climate Law Fellow (2017–19)

Ama Francis Climate Law Fellow (2018–20)

tel: 212-854-0080 rwebb@law.columbia.edu

tel: 212-854-0081 dadler3@law.columbia.edu

tel: 212-854-0106 arf2167@columbia.edu

Hillary Aidun Climate Law Fellow (2019–21) tel: 212-854-0081 hwa2108@columbia.edu

Tiffany Challe Communications Associate

Kemi Adetayo Program Coordinator

tel: 212-854-0594 tc2868@columbia.edu

tel: 212-854-8213 aadetayo@law.columbia.edu

tel: 212-854-3268 aturner@law.columbia.edu

The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law Columbia Law School | Jerome Greene Hall 435 West 116th Street, New York, New York 10027 tel: 212-854-3287 | fax: 212-854-8213

Summer/Fall 2019

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A Summary of the Key Activities of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

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Summer/Fall 2019

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W E B . L AW. C O LU M B I A . E D U / C L I M AT E - C H A N G E Columbia Law School Jerome Greene Hall, Room 525 435 West 116th Street New York, New York 10027 tel: 212-854-3287 fax: 212-854-8213