Many chemicals and hazardous substances are kept in places that can withstand ordinary rain, but not severe storms or floods. If these events occur and the chemicals are released, people and the environment may be endangered. This Article discusses the hazards posed to chemical and waste disposal facilities by extreme weather events that would be worsened as a result of climate change, and how U.S. laws do (or do not) deal with these hazards; and considers how the law would need to change to cope with what would happen to these facilities in a potentially 4°C world. It is adapted from a new book by the Environmental Law Collaborative (Katrina Kuh & Shannon Roesler eds., ELI Press forthcoming 2023).

It is beyond reasonable dispute that climate change is already taking a toll on nations around the world. In supranational legal and economic discussions, it is also well known that many nations that already suffer great injury from rising temperatures are typically not the ones who caused the problem. The culprits, historically, are developed nations. Unless it is the case that developed nations simply do not care about the problems we have caused for less financially able nations—an argument that, hopefully, no one is willing to make or accept—somebody has to pay for the climate change damage bestowed by rich countries on emerging economies. Recently, a multilateral agreement known as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)/Group of Twenty (G20) Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) was adopted that allows for nations suffering financial injury to levy a tax on products and services consumed in their territories, but sold by companies headquartered in other jurisdictions, as is often the case in today’s globalized and often online market. This Comment argues that similarly, nations could adopt a multilateral agreement imposing a tax on oil and gas companies earning “excessive profits.”

Young people are leading the fight against climate change in the United States and around the world. Thirty-two percent of Gen Zers—more than any other generation—have taken concrete actions to address climate change in the last year. Local governments and officials can work with young leaders in their communities to advance climate action by providing resources and enacting change through ordinances, policies, programs, and infrastructure development. On November 15, 2022, the Environmental Law Institute and the Local Government Environmental Assistance Network hosted a panel of youth climate leaders who shared insights about how to engage youth in climate action and their climate action priorities. This Dialogue presents a transcript of that discussion, which has been edited for style, clarity, and space considerations.