Species Protection as a Natural Climate Solution

June 2020
Citation:
50
ELR 10498
Issue
6
Author
Mackenzie Landa

This Article, adapted from Chapter 16 of What Can Animal Law Learn From Environmental Law?, 2d Edition (ELI Press, forthcoming 2020), explores existing and potential wildlife conservation policies that could play a vital role in mitigating global climate change. It describes how climate change is impacting wildlife and biodiversity around the globe and reviews the history and current state of U.S. policy, including how the federal government currently manages climate change issues under the ESA. It then proposes ways that the ESA and other wildlife conservation policies can mitigate climate change as natural climate solutions. It analyzes new wildlife conservation policies for their potential to mitigate climate change, and concludes that these can provide much-needed protection for species and biodiversity, while also serving as a valuable and meaningful tool to combat climate change.

Mackenzie Landa is Counsel for the U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, where she leads the Committee’s work on nature-based climate solutions.

Article File