Climate Creep

May 2022
Citation:
52
ELR 10374
Issue
5
Author
Cinnamon P. Carlarne

At this point in time, climate change pervades every aspect of contemporary life. It is a persistent current through our lives and, increasingly, throughout the law. One would be hard-pressed to find any area of law that has not or will not soon be touched by climate change. The onset of climate change has prompted decades worth of deep and wide efforts to reshape law and policy. Yet, alongside this development, there is also erosion. This Comment takes up these two competing trends: the steady development of climate-related legal and political measures versus countermoves designed to undercut the emerging rule of law around climate change. It suggests that, despite the lack of climate-specific legislation, there is a growing body of law that advances efforts to limit climate change, and limits the ability of political actors (including the U.S. Supreme Court) to undercut legal progress.

Cinnamon P. Carlarne is Associate Dean for Faculty and Intellectual Life and Alumni Society Designated Professor of Law, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University.

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