The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused devastating turmoil. Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are dead and millions more have become refugees.[1] Civilians remaining in Ukraine lack consistent access to food, water, and other essential supplies.[2]…
For decades, the Amazon rainforest has been an important natural resource in the fight against climate change due to its ability to absorb high levels of carbon dioxide from the air and act as a “carbon sink” for emissions from human activities.[1]…
Spanning the border of Minnesota and Ontario is a pristine wilderness area called the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness, or simply the Boundary Waters. This natural area has held a place of importance for ecologists, outdoor recreationists, and native…
The utilization of the Public Trust Doctrine in litigations is often premised on its supposed ancient Roman pedigree. This article explores the origins of the doctrine and finds that, in fact, the ancient doctrine was quite different from the one we see in the United States today. What errors do scholars make, and what do those errors mean for the survival of the modern doctrine?
By Myles Douglas Young, Administrative Editor
What is it? Biodiversity–a metric that accounts for the number of distinct species of flora and fauna on Earth–is greater now than ever before.[1] However, scientists expect that to change. Historically, there have been five mass extinction events…
The European Green New Deal is an environmental plan aimed at making Europe carbon-neutral by 2050.[1] In order to achieve this ambitious goal, the European Union (“EU”) initiated the revision of a number of international agreements. Among one of those agreements is the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”). In July and September, 2020, the European Commission and EU Member States had two rounds of negotiations at the Energy Charter Conference dedicated to the modernization of the ECT.[2] The call for the ECT’s reform was, among other things, prompted by the ECT’s purported “serious threat to Europe’s climate neutrality target and more broadly to the implementation of the Paris Agreement.”[3]
The ECT’s modernization is important because this is the first targeted attempt to reshape the unique, legally-binding, energy-related multilateral treaty and marks a step towards compliance with the Paris Climate Accord. Additionally, modernization of the ECT provisions is relevant to U.S. companies investing in both the renewable and fossil fuel energy sectors of the ECT Member States. At this point, it is unclear how the two rounds of negotiations went and whether the actual changes are coming in the nearest future. The third round of negotiations is scheduled to take place in December 2020. This post will take a closer look at the ECT’s history, goals, and environmental standards. Furthermore, this post will address novel critiques as to its incompatibility with the Paris Climate Accord.
The coronavirus pandemic provides a unique opportunity to address global climate change.
By Robert Patton, Managing Editor
Do children have a right to a government that protects their interest in a sustainable climate? Will Courts give them a chance to voice the urgency of their climate-based claims?
California has seen a recent surge in local municipalities establishing Community Choice Aggregation programs to choose their electricity portfolios. But how do these programs work and are they effective?
With the consequences of forest fires being felt on both local and global levels, more needs to be done to mitigate these events – domestic government action is essential.
