The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law develops legal techniques to fight climate change, trains law students and lawyers in their use, and provides the public with up-to-date resources on key topics in climate law and regulation. The center works closely with Columbia University's Earth Institute and with governmental, nongovernmental and academic organizations.
Publications from 2016
Presentation: Northwestern University Transportation Library EIS Collection – Our History, Roberto A. Sarmiento
Presentation: Use Cases for EIS Databases, Malanding S. Jaiteh
Report: Climate Change and Human Trafficking After the Paris Climate Agreement, Michael Gerrard
Report/Policy Paper: Conference Report: Climate Change and Sustainable Investment in Natural Resources: From Consensus to Action, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
Publications from 2015
Article: A Legal Approach to the Improvement of Energy Efficiency Measures for the Existing Building Stock in the United States Based on European Experience, Teresa Parejo-Navajas
Article: America’s Forgotten Nuclear Waste Dump in the Pacific, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: An Analysis of Senator McConnell's Letter Urging States Not to Comply with EPA's Clean Power Plan, Daniel Selmi
Article: Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change on the Built Environment under NEPA and State EIA Laws: A Survey of Current Practices and Recommendations for Model Protocols, Jessica A. Wentz
Article: Draft NEPA Guidance Requires Agencies to Consider Both GHG Emissions and the Impacts of Climate Change on Proposed Actions, Jessica A. Wentz
Article: Reconciling International Investment Law and Climate Change Policy: Potential Liability for Climate Measures Under the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Meredith Wilensky
Article: Save Birds Now or Birds Later, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Sustainable Development and the Brazilian Judge, Gabriel Wedy
Note: Designing a Climate Change Displacement Coordination Facility: Key Issues for COP 21, Jessica A. Wentz and Michael Burger
Paper: Climate Change and International Peace and Security: Possible Roles for the U.N. Security Council in Addressing Climate Change, Dane Warren
Paper: Climate Change in the Courts: An Assessment of Non-U.S. Climate Litigation, Meredith Wilensky
Paper: Electricity Sector Adaptation to Heat Waves, Sofia Aivalioti
Paper: Federal Implementation Plans for Controlling Carbon Emissions from Existing Power Plants: A Primer Exploring the Issues, Daniel Selmi
Paper: Heat in US Prisons and Jails: Corrections and the Challenge of Climate Change, Daniel W.E. Holt
Paper: How Much Does the Existing Regulatory Patchwork Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions?, Justin Gundlach
Paper: Legal Tools for Climate Adaptation Advocacy: Clean Water Act Permitting and Funding Programs, Channing R. Jones
Paper: Legal Tools for Climate Adaptation Advocacy: Flood Insurance, Matt Sienkiewicz
Paper: Legal Tools for Climate Adaptation Advocacy: NEPA, Jennier Klein and Ethan Strell
Paper: Legal Tools for Climate Adaptation Advocacy: Securities Law, Nina Hart
Paper: Potential Liability of Governments for Failure to Prepare for Climate Change, Jennier Klein
Paper: States Should Think Twice Before Refusing Any Response to EPA's Clean Power Rules, Daniel Selmi
Report: Climate Change and Human Rights, Michael Burger and Jessica A. Wentz
Publications from 2014
Article: Deluge of New York City Laws Guards Against Flooding, Protects Environment, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Federalism Obstacles to Advancing Renewable Energy, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Narratives in Conflicts: Alaska Natives and Offshore Drilling in the Arctic, Michael Burger
Article: New York Environmental Legislation and Regulations in 2013, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: New York State Leading on Utility Climate Change Adaptation, Ethan Strell and Christine Fazio
Article: Solving the CSO Conundrum: Green Infrastructure and the Unfulfilled Promise of Federal-Municipal Cooperation, Casswell F. Holloway, Carter H. Strickland Jr., Michael B. Gerrard, and Daniel M. Firger
Article: Survey of 2013 Cases Under State Quality Review Act, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: US Federal Climate Change Law in Obama’s Second Term, Michael B. Gerrard and Shelley Welton
Note: Climate Change and Forced Displacement, Jessica A. Wentz
Paper: Authority of Pacific Island States to Regulate Greenhouse Gases from the International Shipping Sector, Meredith Wilensky
Paper: Flag State Regulation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Regulatory Authority of Flags of Convenience and Franchised Registries, Alyssa Kutner and Meredith Wilensky
Paper: Moving at a Glacial Pace: What Can State Attorneys General Do about SEC Inattention to Nondisclosure of Financially Material Risks arising from Climate Change?, Nina Hart
Paper: Reverse Environmental Assessment Analysis for the Adaptation of Projects, Plans, and Programs to the Effects of Climate Change in the EU Evaluation of the Proposal for an EIA Directive, Teresa Parejo-Navajas
Paper: The Day After Tomorrow: A Survey Of How Gulf Coast State Utility Commissions and Utilities are Preparing for Future Storms, Katherine Carey
Working Paper: Climate Change Securities Disclosures in Australia, Amanda Liu
Publications from 2013
Article: Climate Change Action Without Congress, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Courts Rulings Accept Climate Science, Michael Gerrard
Article: Environmental Law/Environmental Literature, Michael Burger
Article: Federal Executive Actions to Combat Climate Change, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Fracking and Federalism Choice, Michael Burger
Article: Michael Bloomberg's Environmental Record, Bill de Blasio's Promises, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Recovering from the Recovery Narrative: On Glocalism, Green Jobs and Cyborg Civilization, Michael Burger
Article: Reducing Legal Hurdles to Combined Heat and Power in New York, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Survey of 2012 Cases Under State Environmental Quality Review Act, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: The (Re)Federalization of Fracking Regulation, Michael Burger
Article: Will Greenhouse Gas Rules Prohibit New Coal Power Plants?, Christine Fazio and Ethan Strell
Book: Threatened Island Nations: Legal Implications of Rising Seas and a Changing Climate, Michael B. Gerrard and Gregory E. Wannier
Paper: Carbon Capture and Storage Policy in China, Yan Gu
Paper: Compilation of International Authorities Supporting Specific Measures to Combat Climate Change, Fiona Kinniburgh
Paper: Digest of Hydraulic Fracturing Cases, Smita Walavalkar
Paper: Encouraging Energy Efficiency through the Clean Air Act, Moneen Nasmith
Paper: Envisioning Resilient Electrical Infrastructure: A Policy Framework for Incorporating Future Climate Change into Electricity Sector Planning, Sam C.A. Nierop
Paper: Federal Regulatory Barriers to Grid-Deployed Energy Storage, Andrew Meyer
Paper: "Green" Product Procurement Policy in the European Union: Treatment of Lifecycle Carbon Analysis and Environmental PPM Restrictions, Shawna Ganley
Paper: Legal Issues in Integrated, Multi-Pollutant Planning for Energy and Air Quality, Shawna Ganley and Shelley Welton
Paper: NEPA and Downstream Greenhouse Gas Emissions of U.S. Coal Exports, Elizabeth Sheargold and Smita Walavalkar
Paper: Technology Transfer and Dissemination Under the UNFCCC: Achievements and New Perspectives, Stéphanie Chuffart
Report: Discussion of Climate Change-Related Water Impacts in Federal Environmental Impact Statements (EISs), January-September 2012, Cathy Li
Report: Managed Coastal Retreat: A Legal Handbook on Shifting Development Away from Vulnerable Areas, Anne Siders
Report: Regulating Electricity Imports into RGGI: Toward a Legal, Workable Solution, Shelley Welton, Michael Gerrard, and Jason Munster
Report: State Hazard Mitigation Plans and Climate Change: Rating the States, Matthew Babcock
Report: The Opportunities for and Hurdles to Combined Heat and Power in New York City, Alexis Saba, Bianca Howard, Michael Gerrard, and Vijay Modi
Working Paper: Red China Going Green: The Emergence and Current Development of Carbon Emissions Trading in the World's Largest Carbon Emitter, Xiaotang Wang
Publications from 2012
Article: At Issue: Energy Efficiency, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: DC Circuit Clears Path for GHG Rules, but Politics Remain, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: FERC Order 1000 as a New Tool for Promoting Energy Efficiency and Demand Response, Shelley Welton and Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Hurricane Katrina Decision Highlights Liability for Decaying Infrastructure, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Mexico's General Climate Change Law, Michael B. Gerrard and Anne Siders
Article: Obama Reelection Clears Path for Numerous New EPA Regulations, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Recent Developments Under State Environmental Quality Review Act, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Reverse Environmental Impact Analysis: Effect of Climate Change on Projects, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Science Heads List of Candidate Debate Queries, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: State Dynamism, Federal Constraints: Possible Constitutional Hurdles to Cross-Border Cap-and-Trade, Shelley Welton
Article: State Public Utility Commissions' Powers to Advance Energy Efficiency, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: The Environment in New York State, Michael B. Gerrard and Claire H. Woods
Article: The Law on What Documents Scientists Must Keep and Disclose, Michael B. Gerrard and Elizabeth Sheargold
Article: What Litigation of a Climate Nuisance Suit Might Look Like, Michael B. Gerrard
Book: The Law of Adaptation to Climate Change: U.S. and International Aspects, Michael B. Gerrard and Katrina Fischer Kuh
Paper: Analysis of California, Washington, and New York Insurer Climate Risk Surveys for the 2011 Reporting Year, Irene Shulman
Paper: Encouraging Energy Efficiency through NEPA Comments, Adam Reidel
Paper: Legal Issues in Regulating Imports in State and Regional Cap and Trade Programs, Erin Parlar, Michael Babakitis, and Shelley Welton
Paper: Livestock and Climate Change – Annotated Bibliography, Julia Christian, Andrew Kirchner, Derek Nelson, and Jessica A. Wentz
Report: Consideration of Climate Change in Federal EISs, 2009-2011, Patrick Woolsey
Report: Court Ruling Gives Green Light to EPA GHG Regulations – Positive for Natural Gas, Renewables, and Efficient Vehicles, Mark Fulton, Michael B. Gerrard, Jake Baker, and Lucy Cotter
Report: Public Utilities Commissions & Energy Efficiency: A Handbook of Legal and Regulatory Tools for Commissioners & Advocates, Shelley Welton, Chen Xu, Brian Troxler, Chao Huang, Andrew Kirchner, Krista Yacovone, and Maria Hristova
Working Paper: Bundling Solutions for Financing Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit Projects in Residential and Commercial Buildings, Michael Kerstetter
Publications from 2011
Article: 2010 Developments Under State Environmental Quality Review Act, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: 'American Electric Power’ Leaves Open Many Questions for Climate Litigation, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Climate Change and the WTO: Expected Battlegrounds, Surprising Battles, Daniel M. Firger and Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Domestic Mitigation of Black Carbon from Diesel Emissions, Hannah Chang
Article: Environmental and Energy Legislation in the 112th Congress, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Governmental and Private Liability for Flooding, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Increasing Use of Renewable Energy: Legal Techniques and Impediments, Michael B. Gerrard
Article: Model Municipal Ordinance Project Designed to Facilitate Wind and Solar Projects and Green Buildings, Michael B. Gerrard and Danielle Sugarman