Act Locally, Affect Globally: How Changing Social Norms to Influence the Private Sector Shows a Path to Using Local Government to Improve Environmental Harms

There has been comparatively little exploration of the importance of local government in addressing large-scale environmental harms, in spite of much activity at the local level dealing with climate change. This Article posits that local governments can affect large-scale environmental harms because they can influence the private sector through tar-geted social norm creation that cannot be accomplished easily at other levels of government. The Article notes that efforts to induce the private sector to take actions without enforcement capability have been problematic, but that connections to private sector decisionmakers and influencing of their internal norms—which can occur more easily at the local level— can create action not just locally, but wherever corporations operate

Adapting Laws For A Changing World: A Systemic Approach To Climate Change Adaptation

This Essay suggests that policy responses in climate change adaptation must be addressed and that focusing on adapting laws may be a good way to undertake this work. Following a review of existing scholarship and normative theories concerning law generally, environmental law, climate change, and adaptation, this Essay then proposes a template for approaching the adaptation of laws. This template would (1) examine where climate change puts pressure on the operation of laws; (2) seek to alter the implementation of that law or to alter the law itself to hew closely to the law’s original purposes; and (3) make these alterations in the most efficient manner possible while also correcting any distributive reallocations. Where the law’s original purposes cannot be accommodated or are so broad as to fail to constitute a clear legislative principle, policy changes should be made in the democratic forum, not by an administrative process. The Essay concludes with examples from working groups implementing the template approach

The Benefits of Non-Delegation: Using the Non-Delegation Doctrine to Bring More Rigor to Benefit-Cost Analysis

This article examines the problems of benefit-cost (or cost-benefit) analysis in our regulatory system and posits that a more nuanced version of the “non-delegation” doctrine (made famous in Schechter Poultry) could improve many of the problems associated with the use of benefit-cost analysis. In particular this article notes that many of the problems with benefit-cost analysis are its use by agencies to make large policy decisions, which could be characterized as legislative. The article also notes that though the “non-delegation” doctrine may appear to be dead or dormant, that a form of it, in separation of powers doctrine, exists in court review of agency action under Chevron analysis. The article notes how Chevron and non-delegation, though from different strands of analysis, can be seen as part of one separation of powers continuum

“Offsetting” Crisis? - Climate Change Cap-and-Trade Need Not Contribute to Another Financial Meltdown

In 2009, the promise of a comprehensive federal cap and trade bill to address climate change fell apart. At least in part, this was due to the fears that exotic \u27carbon\u27 financial instruments might cause more financial crises. As California launches it economy wide carbon trading system, and other regional systems and the even possibly the EPA consider cap and trade, it is important to revisit what, if anything, about carbon denominated financial instruments might lead to financial market problems. The most problematic of the instruments, offsets, can be designed to lessen financial risk from underlying asset failure

Disclosing the Danger: State Attorney Ethics Rules Meet Climate Change

This Article suggests a novel concept in climate change law and attorney ethics law by proposing that many states’ attorney ethics laws could be interpreted to require, or at least permit, attorneys to disclose client activity relating to greenhouse gas emissions. Every state has some form of ABA Model Rule 1.6(b), either requiring or allowing attorneys to disclose client activities that result in death or substantial bodily harm. This Article asserts that precedent surrounding this disclosure rule indicates that the rule could be applicable to harms caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Attorney disclosures, in turn, could impact a wide swath of greenhouse gas-emitting activities, making it more transparent and, in certain cases, requiring attorneys to counsel cessation of such activities or withdraw from representation. Because climate advocacy organizations are seeking to use all legal tools at their disposal to slow or stop greenhouse gas emissions, attorney ethics law could present an additional strategic tool to try and control greenhouse gas emissions activities. Thus, attorneys from the private sector and in government should be aware of the potential ethical issues they may face when handling greenhouse gas-related legal work