Climate Change Law (LAW269H1F)

How do we get to net zero emissions by 2050?  It’s a key question both internationally and domestically.  The science tells us we need to hit this mark if we hope to limit global temperature increases and countries have committed to achieving it.  It will take a massive transformation and it is not clear whether the law and legal institutions are in place to make it happen or even a clear sense of what it entails.  This class is designed to equip students to develop creative domestic or international legal reforms that can aid in overcoming the obstacles to achieving net zero.   

To this end, we will first examine the basic structure of the problem raised by climate change, the international legal regime, and the domestic framework.  Our discussions will focus on questions of climate justice, the respective value of binding and non-binding international commitments, the role of both international and domestic litigation, the split of powers across federal, provincial and Indigenous governments, the framework for domestic accountability and the potential role of geoengineering.  With that grounding, students will be asked to develop and present their vision of a legal initiative or reform that could help achieve net zero.  We hope students will be able to imagine an approach that both is based on and extends existing law and legal institutions.