Three Essays on Climate Law

Abstract

These essays deal with aspects of climate change law that cut across national borders. "Governance Principles and Climate Disasters" examines how climate disasters present relate to general issues in public law such as federalism, emergency authority, protection of property rights, and administrative transparency and rationality. "The Unifying Force of Climate Change Scholarship" argues that climate change is a unifying theme for the sprawling field of environmental law, providing a focal point for environmental law scholarship. "Historical Responsibility for Environmental Harms" examines the issue of climate compensation through the lens of U.S. and EU tort law principles. It argues that the tort law background supports providing some form of compensation for harms caused by past carbon emissions, whether via litigation or otherwise.