Over the past year, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, a joint center of Columbia Law School and the Columbia Climate School, has continued to be at the forefront of efforts to develop and advance innovative legal tools to combat climate change and advance climate justice. Our team is proud to bring you the 2023 highlights showcasing our impact in the field of climate and energy law!

Our Team is Bigger and Stronger Than Ever

The Sabin Center has expanded its team to include 12 full-time attorneys in addition to the Faculty Director, Michael Gerrard, Executive Director, Michael Burger and Deputy Director, Romany Webb. We also have a growing roster of non-resident fellows and adjunct scholars contributing to our work, along with many students. As part of our annual summer internship program, we hosted 12 students from Columbia and beyond, working on a broad range of climate-related projects.

In 2023, we hired Isabel Tañedo as our first associate director of operations, and Tiffany Challe-Campiz as our first full-time communications associate.

Our team

Climate Litigation on the Rise

In recent years, there has been a significant surge in climate litigation worldwide, involving a growing range of theories and spanning diverse geographical regions. The Sabin Center provides independent scholarship and free access resources for practitioners and researchers in the field. In addition to tracking and analyzing U.S. and global climate change litigation, the Sabin Center actively contributes to legal proceedings by submitting amicus briefs in both U.S. and international contexts.

Highlighted Activities

Sabin Center & UNEP Publish Report

In July, the Sabin Center and the United Nations Environment Programme published its Global Climate Litigation Report: 2023 Status Review, which finds that the number of climate cases has more than doubled in five years and is a key tool in advancing climate justice. Within 24 hours of the launch, 205 articles citing the report were published in 182 media outlets in 7 languages across 38 countries.

Read the report

Just Transition Litigation in Latin America: An Initial Categorization of Climate Litigation Cases Amid the Energy Transition, by Maria Antonia Tigre, Lorena Zenteno,Marlies Hesselman, Natalia Urzola, Pedro Cisterna-Gaete, and Riccardo Luporini (January 2023)
Status Report on Principles of International and Human Rights Law Relevant to Climate Change , by Katelyn Horne, Maria A. Tigre and Michael B. Gerrard (March 2023)
Climate Change in the Courts: A 2023 Thematic Retrospective, by Maria Antonia Tigre and Margaret Barry (December 2023)

Project: The Sabin Center's Peer Review Network of Climate Litigation includes practitioners and scholars from around the world who review the Sabin Center’s Global Climate Litigation database and ensure that it is comprehensive and up to date. The Network currently includes 137 scholars in 109 jurisdictions and 19 international or regional adjudicatory courts and tribunals or quasi-judicial bodies. The Network also hosts a series of webinars on key trends in climate litigation. The webinars can be accessed here.

Legal Briefs:

The Sabin Center submitted an amicus brief to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on climate law, human rights and climate science. The submission was in response to the Request for Advisory Opinion presented by Chile and Colombia. Read the blog here.
The Sabin Center also filed an amicus brief in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of the National League of Cities (NLC) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, in opposition to a challenge to EPA’s vehicle GHG emissions standards that was filed by a coalition of State Attorneys General and fossil fuel industry groups, the Texas v. EPA case.

Sabin Center at COP28

Emma Shumway, Climate Justice Fellow, attended COP28 in Dubai, UAE, alongside the UK-based NGO, Legal Response International, to provide free legal support to the delegations of developing countries. This was part of an ongoing collaboration between the Sabin Center and LRI. In her observations from COP28, Emma notes that one of the major successes of the conference was the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund to provide monetary aid to developing countries suffering climate change impacts that cannot be addressed through adaptation or mitigation measures. While this should be celebrated as a victory, it is also important to recognize the potential weaknesses of the decision that have been highlighted by developing countries, including the selection of the World Bank as interim fund host and the lack of a long-term funding mechanism.

Harnessing the Power of Carbon Management & Negative Emissions Technologies

The Sabin Center has continued to grow its work on Carbon Management and Negative Emissions Technologies. The Center continues to play a leading role in efforts to analyze and develop legal frameworks for carbon dioxide removal, with a particular focus on ocean-based removal approaches, and recently launched a new project to explore legal issues associated with methane removal.

Highlighted Activities

In April, Sabin Center experts Romany Webb, Korey Silverman-Roati and Michael Gerrard published a new book on Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal for Climate Mitigation. The book explores how the ocean could be used to remove and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, describing five commonly discussed ocean CDR techniques—rock-based ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE), electrochemical OAE, ocean fertilization, artificial upwelling and downwelling, and seaweed cultivation—and exploring the legal issues that different techniques could raise. Read it here.

Developing Model Federal Legislation to Advance Safe and Responsible Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal Research in the United States, by Romany M. Webb and Korey Silverman-Roati (March 2023)
Executive Actions to Ensure Safe and Responsible Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal Research in the United States, by Romany Webb and Korey Silverman-Roati (November 2023). Read the blog post by the report’s authors here.
Permitting CO2 Pipelines, by Martin Lockman (September 2023)

Policy Impacts: Romany Webb, Korey Silverman-Roati and Carolina Arlota gave numerous in-person and virtual talks on legal issues relating to carbon management and negative emissions technologies, including at the UN Science Summit and Capitol Hill Ocean Week, among other high level events.

At the Forefront of Environmental Justice

The Sabin Center worked with WE ACT for Environmental Justice on a project to develop model legislation related to environmental justice, cumulative impacts analysis, and permit renewals for polluting facilities –M.O.D.E.L for dismantling injustice.

Helping Cities Act on Climate

The Sabin Center’s Cities Climate Law Initiative (CCLI) has provided thought leadership, resources and direct assistance to dozens of cities to help them achieve their climate goals, by addressing critical gaps and helping cities navigate legal obstacles to implementation.

In July, the Sabin Center was proud to support Smart Surfaces Coalition’s Cities For Smart Surfaces project to deploy solutions to improve health, reduce inequality and slow climate impacts while helping families and cities save money.

Highlighted Activities

Urban Climate Law: An Earth Institute Primer, by Michael Burger and Amy Turner (October 2023)

This book examines the key issues surrounding climate mitigation policies across the buildings, transportation, waste, and energy sectors, with an emphasis on environmental justice.

Columbia University Press is offering a Holiday special. Use the coupon code, GIFTS. Order your copy here.

The Legal Case for Equity in Local Climate Action Planning, by Amy Turner (November 2023)

Legal Impacts: The Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of the League of Cities, the League of California Cities, and California State Association of Counties, in California Restaurant Ass’n v. Berkeley, a case at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Accelerating the Clean Energy Transition

The Sabin Center seeks to advance energy system decarbonization and to encourage a more rational accounting of climate change–related impacts of energy use in the U.S. and elsewhere. We have undertaken many activities within the energy law space. Below, we highlight two projects:

Renewable Energy Legal Defense Initiative (RELDI)

RELDI facilitates and coordinates pro bono legal representation to local residents, community groups and public interest organizations who support renewable energy development in their communities.

RELDI has worked with local residents and community groups in Michigan, New York, and Ohio this year. We supported a local resident who intervened in an administrative proceeding before the Ohio Power Siting Board for approval of the 800-MW Oak Run Solar Project. Our RELDI senior fellow Matthew Eisenson, with assistance from Sidley Austin LLP, filed an amicus brief on behalf of various individuals and groups supporting renewable energy siting regulations promulgated by the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting. He also submitted several letters of behalf of local landowners in LaSalle Township, Michigan, to the Township’s Board and Planning Commission, urging them against adopting unlawful restrictions on solar energy projects.

Learn more

Opposition to Renewable Energy Facilities in the United States: May 2023 Edition, by Matthew Eisenson (May 2023). This report finds that at least 228 local laws, ordinances and policies have been enacted in 35 states to restrict renewable energy projects. This third edition of the report has been downloaded over 4,500 times and has been cited numerous times by media outlets.

Access our Energy publications here.

Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States

The Sabin Center and Widener University’s Environmental Law & Sustainability Center maintain the Model Laws for Deep Decarbonization in the United States website, which provides policy makers at the federal, state and local levels with legal tools needed to transition away from fossil fuels. More than 40 pro bono law firms are at work drafting additional model laws as part of this project. The LPDD project has, to date, authored over 70 model laws applicable at the state, local, and federal levels addressing the different recommendations in the 2019 text, Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States. Most recently, the project has published a model state law on studying the work force needs of a decarbonizing economy and a model federal law on amending the value for which coal projects may lease federal land to represent its true value. Earlier this year, the LPDD project published 8 model laws on amending the federal permitting process for renewable energy. The LPDD project's outreach team continues to engage state, local, and federal policymakers to educate them about the resources available at our website.

Learn more

Advancing the Climate Law & Finance Nexus

Highlighted Activities

The Sabin Center in collaboration with the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment launched a new Climate Law and Finance Initiative (CLFI) this year. CLFI will explore how legal tools can be used to ensure that climate-related financial risks are accounted for in policy and regulation at multiple scales of governance. We expect the CLFI website to launch in January 2024. Stay tuned!

We also continued to grow the Initiative on Climate Risk and Resilience Law (ICRRL), a project initiative of the Sabin Center, Environmental Defense Fund, the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law, and Vanderbilt Law School. ICRRL aims to develop innovative legal solutions to mitigate and manage climate-related risks, including in the financial sector, and has been highly active in ongoing regulatory proceedings before the Securities and Exchange Commission and other federal bodies.

Antitrust and Sustainability: A Landscape Analysis, a joint report by the Sabin Center and CCSI which explores antitrust law's impact on sustainability goals. Read the press release here.
Decommissioning Liability at the End of Offshore Oil and Gas: A Review of International Obligations, National Laws, and Contractual Approaches in Ten Jurisdictions, another joint report by the Sabin Center and CCSI, which identifies risks in offshore decommissioning regimes around the world and provides recommendations to strengthen them.

New Legal Tools

The Sabin Center has expanded its robust set of online resources. In addition to our existing resources, such as our Climate Change Litigation Databases, Climate Attribution Database, Carbon Dioxide Removal Law Database, New York State and New York City Climate Law Trackers, Silencing Science Tracker and Climate Reregulation Tracker, which are regularly used by practitioners, we launched three new tools in 2023:

The Inflation Reduction Act Tracker

Launched in March, the IRA Tracker catalogues all the climate-related provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act and monitors federal agencies’ progress in implementing those provisions.

Explore

CLCPA Scoping Plan Tracker

Launched in July, the CLPCA Scoping Plan Tracker monitors New York’s progress in implementing the recommendations made by the Climate Action Council’s Scoping Plan under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).

Explore

Community Benefits Agreements Database

Launched in September, the database compiles a list of publicly available Community Benefits Agreements from climate-related projects, such as solar, onshore & offshore wind, fossil fuel infrastructure, transportation, waste management and more. This database was launched in conjunction with the publication of a guidebook on Expert Insights on Best Practices for Community Benefits Agreements.

Explore

The Climate Law Blog

The Climate Law Blog was revamped in February and lead to increased readership due to frequent posts and improved navigation and visuals. Here are the top four blog posts:

The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion on Climate Change: What Happens Now?, by Maria Antonia Tigre and Jorge Alejandro Carrillo Bañuelos

The Clean Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC): Direct Pay Claimants’ Race Against Time, by Amy Turner

Navigating the Intersection of Climate Change and the Law of the Sea: Exploring the ITLOS Advisory Opinion’s Substantive Content, by Maria José Alarcon and Maria Antonia Tigre

New York State Court Upholds Local Law 97, by Amy Turner

2023 Events

In 2023, the Sabin Center hosted or co-sponsored 17 in-person events, conferences and webinars, which were attended by more than 2,500 people. All past events are all listed here. Below are some highlights:

Real Solutions or Expensive Distractions? Proving or Disproving Ocean-based Carbon Dioxide Removal in the Next 5 Years — This Climate Week NYC event was co-hosted by the Sabin Center and Ocean Visions at the New York City Bar Association. Our deputy director Romany Webb discussed the need for legal reform in the ocean-based carbon removal space.

Watch the video

Tracking the Inflation Reduction Act: Benefits to Date from America — The Sabin Center and the Environmental Defense Fund co-hosted a webinar in which experts discussed progress and next steps with the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. The video is available here.

Strategic Climate Change Litigation In Brazil - 2020 to 2023 — The Sabin Center and Brazilian Climate Observatory (Observatório do Clima - OC) co-hosted a half-day event that aimed to foster insightful discussions surrounding Brazil's climate change litigation between 2020 and 2023.

Key Environmental Issues in U.S. EPA Region 2 — The Sabin Center hosted its biennial conference, Key Environmental Issues in U.S. EPA Region 2, co-sponsored by EPA and the American, New York State, New Jersey, and New York City bar associations, which examined key environmental issues in the Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 area, which includes New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Michael Gerrard chaired the conference.

Corporate Net Zero Pledges: Are Nature-Based Offsets Legitimate? — The Sabin Center and ClientEarth co-hosted a Climate Week NYC panel discussion exploring the key challenges – and evolving legal implications – for corporations that rely on nature-based offsets to meet their zero pledges.

Upcoming Events

Awards, Recognition & Media Mentions

Our Executive Director Michael Burger was awarded a research grant from the Climate Hub Rio to embark on groundbreaking research on climate litigation in Brazil.
Michael Burger was featured among the “Power Players in Climate, Energy and Sustainability” in Politics NY.
Columbia Spectator published an article profiling the Sabin Center – its leadership under Michael Gerrard and Michael Burger, its groundbreaking and prolific research, resources, and initiatives and how it is “carving out its role in developing anew era of climate law.”
In August, a group of young people in Montana won a “landmark lawsuit” in Held vs. Montana, the first constitutional climate trial in the United States, confronting the state's responsibility for climate change. A judge declared that a Montana law violated this right by stopping agencies from considering climate impacts when conducting environmental reviews. Sabin Center staff was extensively interviewed by the media. A full list of the media coverage is available here. The Climate School also published a roundup of Sabin Center media coverage related to the trial.
The Sabin Center staff was prominently featured on TV and podcasts, including Espresso with the Experts, ClimateNow, Meet the Press Now, KCBS, CBS News, among other platforms. A full list of media mentions and interviews can be accessed here.

Looking Ahead

We look forward to further expanding our work, increasing our impact and growing our team in 2024!

We are grateful for the generous support of our foundation partners and donors, without whom our work would not be possible.

Please visit our page to find out how you can support our work in advancing climate action. You can also support our work by joining our mailing lists to stay up-to-date on the latest news in climate and energy law.

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