This advanced seminar examines the rapidly evolving landscape of climate litigation in U.S. courts. As legislative and regulatory responses to climate change remain contested and often incomplete, litigants have increasingly turned to the judiciary to address climate-related harms. These cases span constitutional claims, statutory interpretation, tort law, administrative challenges, and corporate accountability.
The course explores how climate litigation has emerged as a central mechanism for shaping environmental policy, testing the limits of judicial authority, and redefining legal responsibility for global environmental harm. Students analyze doctrinal barriers such as standing, causation, political question doctrine, and federal preemption, alongside innovative legal theories grounded in public nuisance, human rights, and fiduciary obligations.
The seminar emphasizes litigation as both a legal strategy and a policy tool, critically assessing the capacity of courts to address systemic environmental problems.
This course assumes prior study of environmental law, constitutional law, or federal courts.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. Analyze major trends in U.S. climate litigation.
2. Evaluate constitutional and statutory claims related to climate change.
3. Understand procedural barriers such as standing and causation.
4. Assess the role of courts in environmental policymaking.
5. Analyze corporate liability for climate-related harm.
6. Evaluate administrative law challenges to climate regulation.
7. Understand federalism conflicts in climate litigation.
8. Assess strategic use of litigation by states and NGOs.
9. Critically evaluate judicial capacity and limits.
10. Develop advanced litigation and policy arguments.
