Climate Change (generally)
S. 3269
Update Type
Committee Name
Committee on Environment and Public Works
Sponsor Name
Carper
Sponsor Party Affiliation
D-Del.
Issue
4
Volume
50
Update Issue
6
Update Volume
50
Congress Number
116
Congressional Record Number
166 Cong. Rec. S989

would set and meet a national goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2050.

H.R. 4737
Update Type
Issue
4
Volume
50
Update Issue
6
Update Volume
50
Congress Number
116
Congressional Record Number
166 Cong. Rec. H991-93

which would amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security to research and evaluate existing federal research regarding approaches to mitigate climate change on homeland security to identify areas for further research within the Department, and research and develop approaches to mitigate the consequences of climate change on homeland security, was passed by the House.

H.R. 5709
Update Type
Committee Name
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Sponsor Name
Neguse
Sponsor Party Affiliation
D-Colo.
Issue
3
Volume
50
Update Issue
4
Update Volume
50
Congress Number
116
Congressional Record Number
166 Cong. Rec. H712

would require the Comptroller General to evaluate and issue a report on the structural and economic impacts of climate resiliency at FEMA, including recommendations on how to improve the building codes and standards that the agency uses to prepare for climate change and address resiliency in housing, public buildings, and infrastructure such as roads and bridges.

Climate Change and the Role of Emerging Economies
Author
Daniel Ling Tien Chong
Author Bios (long)

Daniel Ling Tien Chong is an LL.B. candidate at the National University of Singapore.

Date
February 2020
Volume
50
Issue
2
Page
10125
Type
Comment(s)
Summary

The principles of “common but differentiated responsibility” (CBDR) and sustainable development play an integral role in international environmental law. However, these principles have come under fire in recent years, particularly from the global North, which has grown impatient over the lack of contribution on climate change from the emerging economies. Much effort has been expended toward the establishment of greater contribution, and the shouldering of greater responsibility from these countries. This Comment seeks to analyze principles of CBDR and sustainable development, two central pillars upon which international climate change law and policy have developed, and to identify the reasons for the present discontent of the global North over the obligations of emerging economies. It also seeks to establish a basis for a new interpretation of the principle of CBDR to assist the forward march of global climate change negotiations.

Democracy Defense as Climate Change Law
Author
Craig Holt Segall
Author Bios (long)

Craig Holt Segall is an attorney for the state of California, and previously worked for an environmental nonprofit organization.

Date
February 2020
Volume
50
Issue
2
Page
10115
Type
Comment(s)
Summary

In 1990, when the Clean Air Act (CAA) was last substantially amended, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels stood at about 350 parts per million (ppm). Now they are close to 414 ppm, and the U.S. Congress has not amended the CAA despite broad public support for action.The law of democracy and the law of climate change are fundamentally intertwined: how politics and law will be able to adjust to the future turns on who decides the law, and so on the health of our democracy. So far, the prognosis is mixed: a vital protest movement, active state responses, and growing economic pressure for action are balanced against powerful political actors seeking stasis and a sclerotic jurisprudence that limits democratic responsiveness. This Comment discusses the ways inequities in climate change risk and in democratic representation mirror each other, addresses the U.S. Supreme Court’s inconsistent and unhelpful jurisprudence on democracy and agency action and how it tends to reinforce this crisis of democracy, suggests alternate theories of judicial action that would better reinforce democratic responsiveness, and reflects on a broadened conceptual framework for climate law—as a legal framework fundamentally concerned with preserving equity and democracy in the face of climate change, and as a foundation for climate action.

The Reasonable Investor and Climate-Related Information: Changing Expectations for Financial Disclosures
Author
Hana V. Vizcarra
Author Bios (long)

Hana V. Vizcarra is a staff attorney at Harvard Law School’s Environmental & Energy Law Program.

Date
February 2020
Volume
50
Issue
2
Page
10106
Type
Comment(s)
Summary

In recent years, the drumbeat for more expansive climate-related corporate disclosures has grown louder and more consistent within a broader swath of the financial community. This intensifying call argues for considering more climate-related information legally material under existing U.S. securities disclosure law. A key component of materiality as defined in U.S. securities law—who is a “reasonable investor”—is evolving when it comes to climate-related information. This evolution may soon impact what climate-related information courts consider material. Uunderstanding how courts may treat such information under the existing securities law framework is crucial to achieving more expansive disclosures. This Comment attempts to contribute to that conversation by surveying current trends that may influence courts’ analyses of the materiality of climate-related topics.

H.R. 5625
Update Type
Committee Name
Committees on Foreign Affairs, the Judiciary, Financial Services, Oversight and Reform, and Ways and Means
Sponsor Name
Escobar
Sponsor Party Affiliation
D-Tex.
Issue
3
Volume
50
Update Issue
3
Update Volume
50
Congress Number
116
Congressional Record Number
166 Cong. Rec. H324

would authorize the imposition of sanctions with respect to significant actions that exacerbate climate change and reinforce comprehensive efforts to limit global average temperature rise.

S. 3204
Update Type
Committee Name
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Sponsor Name
Markey
Sponsor Party Affiliation
D-Mass.
Issue
3
Volume
50
Update Issue
3
Update Volume
50
Congress Number
116
Congressional Record Number
166 Cong. Rec. S276

would direct the Administrator of FEMA to revise agency policy to address the threats of climate change and include considerations of climate change in the agency's strategic plan.

H.R. 4737
Update Type
Committee Name
Committee on Homeland Security
Committee Report
H. Rep. No. 116-375
Issue
3
Volume
50
Update Issue
3
Update Volume
50
Congress Number
116
Congressional Record Number
166 Cong. Rec. H179

would amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security to research and evaluate existing federal research regarding approaches to mitigate climate change on homeland security to identify areas for further research within the Department, and research and develop approaches to mitigate the consequences of climate change on homeland security.

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