This advanced seminar examines the legal, constitutional, and regulatory challenges associated with implementing the Paris Agreement within the United States. While the Agreement establishes a global framework for climate mitigation through nationally determined contributions (NDCs), its effectiveness in the U.S. depends on domestic legal authority, administrative regulation, and political stability.
The course explores the interaction between international commitments and U.S. constitutional structure, including executive authority, congressional power, and federalism. Students analyze how existing statutes—particularly the Clean Air Act—serve as the primary legal vehicles for implementing climate obligations, and how judicial review, administrative law constraints, and political shifts shape regulatory outcomes.
The seminar emphasizes that U.S. participation in global climate governance is mediated through domestic law. It critically evaluates whether current legal frameworks are capable of delivering meaningful compliance with international commitments, and how legal uncertainty affects global climate leadership.
This course assumes prior study of environmental law, administrative law, or public international law.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. Explain the structure and legal nature of the Paris Agreement.
2. Analyze U.S. constitutional constraints on treaty implementation.
3. Evaluate executive and congressional roles in climate policy.
4. Interpret statutory authority for climate regulation.
5. Assess judicial review of climate-related regulations.
6. Understand federalism challenges in environmental governance.
7. Evaluate compliance with internationally pledged targets.
8. Analyze litigation strategies related to climate regulation.
9. Assess political and institutional instability in climate commitments.
10. Develop advanced legal-policy arguments on U.S. climate governance.
