The first biennial symposium of the Institute for Global Understanding at Monmouth University was held March 25-27, 2021. The symposium assembled experts from the government, nonprofit, academic, community, and private sectors to examine topics at the intersection of human rights and the environment and to propose solutions for the future. One session hosted panelists for a round table discussion on climate and energy justice. This Dialogue presents a transcript of that discussion, which has been edited for style, clarity, and space considerations.

Local land use law has evolved into a flexible and powerful technique for achieving sustainable development. This Article, adapted from Chapter 3 of Choosing to Succeed: Land Use Law & Climate Control (ELI Press 2021), looks at the authority and strategies that enable municipalities to lower their carbon footprint. It describes and analyzes many methods, both traditional and innovative, to use the power of local governments to reshape human settlements to mitigate climate change.

The United States’ federal environmental laws and many international treaties protecting the environment apply to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), both within the United States and at permanent overseas military installations. However, there are very few constraints on DOD actions in war zones and contingency areas, which leads to environmental harm.

The United States has introduced increasingly stronger measures to incentivize production of low-carbon synthetic fuels and to provide tax credits for carbon-dioxide utilization from direct air capture (DAC) projects. While this federal action has made substantial progress, it has not adequately kept pace with developments in carbon capture and sequestration and DAC technologies that produce low-carbon synthetic fuels. This Article aims to provide guidance on how the federal regulatory framework can draw level to the technological advancements, and proposes changes in two areas.

The Clean Air Act’s (CAA’s) prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) permitting program provides an opportunity for President Joseph Biden’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make a rapid improvement on the implementation of existing greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation. EPA’s Tailoring Rule, in 2010, made the PSD permitting program applicable to GHGs for stationary sources of air pollution. But as shown in this Comment, since 2010, PSD permits, mostly issued by state environmental agencies, have required little actual control of GHGs, specifically carbon dioxide (CO2).

With every passing day, the dangers of climate change are becoming more and more obvious. One of the myriad solutions proposed to combat this crisis is the addition of warning and informational labels to gas pumps, airline tickets, energy bills, and even food and drinks, detailing the effects our purchases have on the climate and quantifying the amount each purchase has in terms of emissions. Yet, any required labels would need to meet the First Amendment standard for government-compelled disclosures in commercial speech, set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in Zauderer v.

Outdoor recreation is regarded as emphasizing sustainability through environmentally conscious branding, promoting healthy activities, and reinforcing appreciation for the natural world. Yet, the outdoor recreation sector has often failed to be representative of a variety of communities, especially non-white participants. On February 11, 2021, the Environmental Law Institute hosted a panel of experts that explored opportunities for improving diversity and inclusion in the outdoors and access to national parks, public lands, and outdoor recreation.

In 2015, the United Nations Member States, including the United States, unanimously approved 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. The SDGs are nonbinding; each nation is to implement them based on its own priorities and circumstances. This Article argues that the SDGs are a critical normative framework the United States should use to improve human quality of life, freedom, and opportunity by integrating economic and social development with environmental protection.

In its Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the timing of judicial review in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as well as landowners’ status as potentially responsible parties for property within the boundaries of a Superfund site. The Court, however, left preemption issues raised by the parties for another day. This Article analyzes the opinion in light of the site’s long history, and offers insights on how it might affect the federal cleanup program going forward.

Many believe blockchain technologies (BCTs) will soon permeate our lives. In particular, they can be utilized to help tackle global climate change. This Article provides a baseline description of BCTs, and ways they can be utilized to reduce GHG emissions in electricity and energy generation; agriculture, forestry, and other land use; industry; and transport.