This abstract, which is adapted from Alexander Gouzoules, Going Concerns and Environmental Concerns: Mitigating Climate Change Through Bankruptcy Reform, 62 B.C. L. Rev. 2169 (2022), examines how legislative reforms to the Bankruptcy Code could mitigate the effects of climate change, speed the adoption of renewable energy, and contribute to the United States’ compliance with the Paris Agreement of 2015.

The Joseph Biden Administration has signaled an interest in ensuring that regulations appropriately benefit vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. Prior presidential administrations have focused on ensuring that regulations are efficient, maximizing the net benefits to society, without considering who benefits or who loses from these policies. Supporters of the current process are concerned that pursuing equity will come at significant cost to efficiency and ultimately leave everyone worse off. This framework—efficiency versus equity—is misguided and counterproductive in many cases.