Introducing Defending the Planet

As we confront global climate change, questions about equity and fairness take on new levels of complexity. Environmental justice addresses the needs for all people to have clean air, clean water, and a sustainable future. Columbia Law Professor Olatunde Johnson and environmental and community lawyer Ruth Santiago ’83 J.D., ’10 LL.M. join host Michael B. Gerrard to discuss policies and legal strategies to create a healthier and safer world for all people.

Is a country still a country if it’s underwater? Migration of people as a result of climate change is happening already on every continent. University Professor Michael W. Doyle and Ama Francis, non-resident fellow at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, delve into climate migration with host Michael B. Gerrard and discuss how existing human rights law and international cooperation can protect people fleeing the destructive forces of climate change.

Litigation may be the most effective tool for curbing carbon emissions when legislative and political solutions fall short. Michael Burger of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and Peter Lehner of Earthjustice join host Michael B. Gerrard to discuss the power of courts around the world in combating climate change.

The United States is back in the Paris climate agreement, but international emissions targets will have to become tougher to stop catastrophic global warming. Michael B. Gerrard, Columbia Law School Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice, discusses multilateral cooperation on climate change with U.S. diplomat Sue Biniaz and European Climate Foundation CEO Laurence Tubiana, both architects of the Paris pact.

In the absence of federal legislative action, states have taken the lead in fighting climate change. Will that continue now that the Biden administration is all-in on climate action? Former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock ’94 and Professor Jessica Bulman-Pozen join host Michael B. Gerrard to discuss what states can—and cannot—achieve in preventing climate change.

President Biden has ambitious goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions and make the U.S. once again a leader against climate change—but with a recalcitrant Congress, is that realistic? Jedediah S. Purdy, William S. Beinecke Professor of Law, and Catherine McCabe ’77, former commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, explore whether President Biden can overcome partisan divide and implement lasting environmental policies.

Can lawyers save the planet? Environmental journalist Andrew C. Revkin and environmental and climate justice advocate Shannon R. Marcoux ’21 join host Professor Michael B. Gerrard to discuss the role of lawyers and combating climate change, why young lawyers should focus on climate law and policy, and more.