No. | Date | Topics | Guest Speaker(s) | Readings | Background Optional Materials and Comments |
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1. | Aug. 20, 2018 | Introduction - Orientation and Overview Climate Science - background |
EPA Greenhouse Gas Emission Mapping System (just explore; we'll use it in class) Executive Summary of Fourth National Climate Assessment Report (2017) |
Mauna Kea CO2 cumulative monitoring data | |
2. | Aug. 22, 2018 | Climate change belief and cultural cognition | D. Kahan et al, Cultural Cognition of Scientific Consensus, Journal of Risk Research (2013) Class PowerPoint Climate Literacy Graph |
J. Schmandt (ed.), The Impact of Global Warming on Texas, chap. 10 (Policy Options) (June 2011) D. Kahan et al. (2015) Climate Science Communication and the Measurement Problem Stephen Colbert on Ban on Use of Phrase "Climate Change" John Oliver on Climate Change Debate Melting the Polarization Around Climate Change Politics, Cal Jaffe (2018) |
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2. | Aug. 27, 2018 | Guest lecture - climate science |
Special lecture by Dr. John Nielson-Gammon | Class will meet at noon rather than our regular time. We will meet in our usual class room (TUII 111). |
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3. | Aug. 29, 2018 | Responding to Climate Change: Mitigation and Adaptation |
Lecture McKinsey GHG Cost Abatement Curve (see page 8) R. Socolow, Wedges Reaffirmed, http://www.thebulletin.org/wedges-reaffirmed, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (Sept. 27, 2011) Climate Change Reduction Interactive Feature by The New York Times |
Executive Summary of N. Stern, The Economics of Climate Change (2006) Texas No-Regrets Strategies Report (2010) Stabilization Wedges Game (2015) |
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4. | Sept. 3, 2018 | NO CLASS - LABOR DAY HOLIDAY |
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5. | Sept. 5, 2018 | Clean Air Act: Overview and EPA Authority to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions |
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6. | Sept. 10, 2018 | Climate Change and the Clean Air Act - PSD Permits, NSPS Standards, and Netting/Offsets |
Final Clean Power Plan rule for NSPS (pp. 64510-64516 only) Final Clean Power Plan rule for ESPS (pp. 64666 ["Main Elements"] to 64682) |
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7. | Sept. 12, 2018 | Climate Change and the Clean Air Act - PSD Permits, NSPS Standards, and Netting/Offsets (cont'd) | Proposed Rule to Withdraw the Clean Power Plan Affordable Clean Energy proposed rule and legal overview GHG Permitting Example |
Executive Summary of Rules to Implement H.B. 788 Texas and the Clean Power Plan Fact Sheet |
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Sept. 14, 2018 | SPECIAL WORKSHOP: Negative Emissions Technologies and the Energy Industry | ||||
8. | Sept. 17, 2018 | Climate Change and the National Environmental Policy Act | CEQ Guidance on Consideration of GHG Effects and Climate Change in NEPA Reviews (2016) Presidential Executive Order Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth (March 28, 2017) |
NAS Report on Social Cost of Carbon Allegheny Defense Project v. FERC Emergency Motion for Stay (10/30/17) |
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9. | Sept. 19, 2018 | Climate Change and CERCLA/RCRA | Special class - joint session with Pace University School of Law and U of Maryland Law Class will meet from 1pm to 3 pm in TUII 117. Lunch or snacks will be provided. |
OSWER Climate Change Adaptation Implementation Plan EPA Fact Sheet re landfills and climate change Testimony to Senate Subcommittee hearing on Disaster Response and Climate Change and questions Act of God Defenses and Climate Change by Prof. Cliff Villa PowerPoint (.pdf) Villa PowerPoint (.pdf) Lecture (audio) - due to technical difficulties, this session was not videorecorded. |
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10. | Sept. 24, 2018 | Climate Change and the Endangered Species Act | Letter from Robert Moyer to Dale Hall re Section 7 GHG consultation (2008) Alaska Oil & Gas Assn v. Pritzker PowerPoint (.pdf) |
Proposed revisions to ESA regulations under Sections 4, 4d, and 7 (July 28, 2018). |
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11. | Sept. 26, 2018 | Climate Change and the Clean Water Act | Dealing with Ocean Acidification by R. Craig (2016), pp. 387-419, 466-470 Conservation Law Foundation v. ExxonMobil complaint (D. Mass. 2016) (skim) Notice of intent to sue by Center for Biological Diversity to EPA for failure to identify Oregon coastal waters as impaired by acidification (Aug. 18, 2018) |
Integrated Reporting and Listing Decisions Related to Ocean Acidification, EPA (Nov. 2010) Columbia Riverkeeper v. Pruitt Motion for Summary Judgment (8/30/17, W.D. Wash.) EPA Rule on TSCA Petition re Ocean Acidification |
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12. | Oct. 1, 2018 | Regional Initiatives -- RGGI, WCI and compacts State and local initiatives -- California, NY, Houston State climate change laws and permitting |
Climate Change and Federalism from Climate Change Law by Dan Farber (2018) California Faces Big Hurdles to Meet Lofty Carbon-Neutral Goal (Sept. 12, 2018) Guest lecturer: Gavin Dillingham, Houston Advanced Research Center, re Houston's climate resiliency plan City of Houston's Climate Action Plan |
California Executive Order B-55-18 (Sept. 10, 2018) State Renewable Portfolio Standards and Goals by National Conference of State Legislatures (July 20, 2018) State and Regional Responses to Climate Change, Wold et al., Climate Change and the Law (2013) - pages 1-37 DEIS for Auto Effficiency Standards - GHG Impacts (2018) |
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Oct. 3, 2018 | Carbon taxation |
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GUEST LECTURE: former U.S. Rep. Bob Ingliss on carbon taxation as a conservative strategy to control climate change, UH Hilton, 6 pm. Attendance not mandatory, but strongly recommended that you attend and take advantage of this opportunity. |
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14. | Oct. 8, 2018 | U.S. tort liability for climate change: state law; public trust doctrine |
American Electric Power v. Connecticut Comer v. Murphy Oil Co. panel opinion (5th Cir.) Alec L v. Jackson Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss by United States San Mateo County v. Chevron (complaint) - just skim for general nature of claims and requested relief PowerPoint (.pdf) |
Comer v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc. (district court decision on re-filing) Kivalina v. ExxonMobil district court; Ninth Circuit ruling U.S. Litigation Tracking Chart Rise in global atmospheric CO2, surface temperature, and sea level from emissions traced to major carbon producers by Ekwurzel et al (2017). |
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15. | Oct. 10, 2018 | Practical perspectives and strategies of climate change litigation | Guest speaker: Jenn Barks, Kelley Drye & Warren | No readings assigned yet by speaker Lecture was not recorded |
Global Warming of 1.5 Degrees, IPCC Report (10/7/18) Juliana v. US complaint, MSJ, MSJ Response, and SCOTUS denial of stay |
16. | Oct. 15, 2018 | International Law: Basic Principles, and the road to the UN Framework Conventional on Climate Change (UNFCCC) | Excerpts from Louis Henkin, Foreign Affairs and the United States Constitution (1998) International Law Whiteboard Chart |
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17. | Oct. 17, 2018 | International Law: the UNFCCC; Kyoto Protocol | Powerpoint (.pdf) Full text of U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (focus only on portions that we discuss in class) Lecture (audio) |
Full text of Kyoto Protocol (as on-line reference) |
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18. | Oct. 22, 2018 | The Paris Agreement and Next Steps |
Paris Agreement whiteboard |
U.S. Initial Nationally Determined Contribution | |
19. | Oct. 24, 2018 | Climate Change COP 24 Simulation | Contact list of delegates Draft Negotation Principles Document General Issues in Elaborating the Paris Rulebook, by Dan Bodansky and Lavanya Rajamani Negotiations (audio) |
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20. | Oct. 29, 2018 | International law - international human rights and climate change law |
Human Rights Principles and Climate Change by John Knox The State of Netherlands v. Urgenda Foundation (Oct. 9, 2018) (skim for discussions of ECHR Arts. 2 and 8) |
Animal Legal Defense Fund v. United States, Complaint (D. Ore. filed 10/22/18) Statement of UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Environment re Friends of Irish Environment proceeding (Oct. 25, 2018) |
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21. | Oct. 31, 2018 | Transnational lawsuits and arbitrations (in both domestic and international fora) | Compliance and Dispute Settlement in Multinational Agreements -- focus on pp. 322-333 Transnational Liability in U.S. Courts for Environmental Harms Abroad (2018) Transnational Enforcement PowerPoint (.pdf) |
Gbemre v. Shell (High Court of Nigeria, Nov. 14, 2005) |
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22. | Nov. 5, 2018 | International Trade and Climate Change |
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Trade Considerations for Decarbonization Strategies (draft), Prof. Elizabeth Trujillo (2018) US-Mexico-Canada proposed trade agreement Trade and Climate Whiteboard |
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23. | Nov. 7, 2018 | Comparative Climate Change Law | GUEST SPEAKER: Alexis Andres, General Counsel of France (Houston) | Current NDCs for China (English translation begins on p. 17); India; Brazil; and Canada NDC for European Union and Supplemental Statement from France R. Lord ed., Climate Change Liability: Transnational Law and Practice (2012) (chapter on India) |
T. Hester, Private Claims for a Global Climate: U.S. and Indian Litigation Approaches to Climate Change and Environmental Harm (July 2011) |
24. | Nov. 12, 2018 | Climate engineering and other technology-based proposals |
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Remaking the World to Save It, T. Hester (2011) (skim) PowerPoint (.pdf) Lecture (audio) |
H. 6001 (Rhode Island 2017) Scientists' Letter to House Space Science and Technology Subcommittee re Geoengineering (Nov. 8, 2017) The Law of Direct Air Capture by Hester (2018) Stratospheric controlled |
25. | Nov. 14, 2018 | Role of non-governmental organizations and corporate initiatives; voluntary commitments and actions; disclosure-based initiatives; social cost of carbon |
GUEST SPEAKER: Margaret Peloso and Sarah Fortt, Vinson & Elkins |
SEC Guidance on Climate Change Disclosure NY v. Exxon Corp. summons and complaint (Oct. 24, 2018) (skim) Attia v. Exxon (S.D. Tex. 2017) (skim only) Powerpoint (.pdf) |
Unburnable Carbon (CERES Report, 2013) Inadequate Carbon Risk Disclosure by Oil & Gas Companies, letter from CERES to SEC (April 17, 2015) Sample carbon disclosure request letter (CERES, Sept. 9, 2013) Assessing Exxon Climate Change Communications by Supran (2017) In the Matter of Investigation by Eric Schneiderman into Peabody Energy Corporation, Assurance of Discontinuance (Nov. 8, 2015) |
23. | Nov. 19, 2018 | Voluntary Review Emerging issues: climate bankruptcy and corporate restructuring; climate disobedience and necessity defense |
Final exam sample question and instructions |
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations v Chevron (Superior Ct. Cal. - San Francisco) (complaint filed 11/14/18) In re Peabody Coal (E.D.Mo.-bankruptcy) (10/24/17) Surprise Acquittal in Pipeline Protesters' Case (MPR News, 10/9/18) Note - cover sheet for sample exam includes rules for take-home exams |
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Nov. 29 - Dec. 12, 2018 | Final Exam - 8-hour take-home examination. You can check out the exam online starting at 9:00 am on Thursday, Nov. 29, and you must submit your exam answers by 5:00 p.m. on Dec. 12. You will have only eight (8) hours to complete your exam once you check it out online. Please send me any email queries by Nov. 27 at noon - I will compile responses and distribute before the exam period opens on Nov. 29. |
Final review email questions |
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