This advanced seminar examines the legal frameworks governing climate change and environmental protection at the international, transnational, and domestic levels. The course explores how law attempts to regulate environmental harm in a world characterized by scientific uncertainty, economic interdependence, and political fragmentation.
Students analyze foundational principles of environmental law, global climate treaties, domestic regulatory systems, market-based mechanisms, and emerging litigation strategies. The seminar emphasizes the intersection of environmental protection with trade, energy policy, human rights, and development, highlighting how climate change challenges traditional legal concepts such as sovereignty, jurisdiction, and responsibility.
The course treats environmental law as a dynamic and evolving field shaped by competing priorities—economic growth, sustainability, equity, and technological innovation—while critically evaluating whether existing legal frameworks are capable of addressing the scale and urgency of the climate crisis.
This course assumes prior study of public international law or environmental law.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. Explain core principles of environmental and climate law.
2. Analyze international and domestic regulatory frameworks.
3. Interpret major climate agreements and legal obligations.
4. Evaluate enforcement and compliance mechanisms.
5. Assess the role of markets in environmental regulation.
6. Analyze climate litigation strategies and outcomes.
7. Understand equity and environmental justice debates.
8. Examine interactions with trade, energy, and human rights law.
9. Apply legal doctrine to contemporary environmental disputes.
10. Develop sophisticated legal and policy arguments.
