Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School

The Sabin Center develops legal techniques to fight climate change, trains students and lawyers in their use, and provides up-to-date resources on key topics in climate change law and regulation. The Center works with the scientists at Columbia University’s Earth Institute and with governmental, non-governmental and academic organizations. With regard to climate change adaptation, the Sabin Center “looks for ways that existing laws and regulations can be used to prompt short- and longer-term adaptation efforts at all levels of government and by private actors as well. Where existing authorities push in the wrong direction or fall short of what is needed, the Sabin Center argues for legislative and regulatory changes.”

The Sabin Center also offers Legal Resources for Climate Change Adaptation on their website. This database includes information about specific legal provisions that could be interpreted as requiring consideration of climate-related risks, articles discussing the nature of legal obligations to adapt, and resources to facilitate adaptation planning efforts undertaken by government and private actors.

These resources are organized into the following categories:

Federal Statutory and Regulatory Violations
Pollution Control Statutes
Occupational Safety and Health Act
Americans with Disabilities Act
Rules Governing Federal Agency Projects and Activities
United States Army Corps of Engineers
Environmental Impact Assessment
Natural Resource Planning
Common Law Doctrines
Tort Law
Takings
Public Trust
Local Land Use and Planning
Building Codes
Federal Flood Mapping, Flood Insurance, and Disaster Assistance

This database is intended as a complement to the Handbook: Legal Tools for Climate Adaptation Advocacy. So far, the Handbook covers the topics of: Clean Water Act Permitting and Funding Programs, Flood Insurance, NEPA, the Electricity Grid and Its Regulators, and Securities Law, which is reviewed in this Clearinghouse.

Related Resources: