As the global community grapples with the escalating impacts of climate change, the legal system has become a critical battleground for accountability and policy change. This course delves into the rapidly evolving domain of climate change law and litigation, examining the intersection of law, environmental science, and global governance. Participants will explore the legal and policy mechanisms and strategies employed to address climate change, the role of litigation in shaping environmental policy, and the influence of legal decisions on the behavior of governments and corporations.
The seminar has two thematic segments. First, it provides a general background on international climate change law, including the UNFCCC, Montreal Protocol, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement, as well as domestic efforts to implement those mechanisms in order to mitigate climate impacts. Second, it looks at the emergence of climate change litigation domestically and in other jurisdictions. Specifically, this seminar will cover cases related to criminal law power, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, and private law that have attempted to take governments and other institutional actors to account for their climate-related impacts.
Method of Evaluation: Evaluation will be divided between: class participation (10%); group presentation (20%); research paper (70%) (a 7,000-7,500 word research paper that can fulfill students' Upper Year Research and Writing Requirement).