Place-Based Energy Transitions: Who Decides and Who Benefits in a Clean Energy Future

What does a truly just energy transition look like — and who gets to define it? In this episode of People, Places, Planet, host Sebastian Duque Rios sits down with Nadia Ahmad (Barry University School of Law) and Danielle Stokes (University of Richmond School of Law), collaborators on the Just Energy Transitions and Place (JET Place) project, a multi-institutional research initiative examining how place, land use law, and community governance shape who bears the burdens and who captures the benefits of America's shift to clean energy. Drawing on fieldwork across Florida, Louisiana, Kansas, and Pennsylvania, they make the case that decarbonization without redistribution isn't a just transition at all.From federalism and zoning conflicts to power purchase agreements, IRA rollbacks, and the structural barriers facing marginalized communities, this conversation surfaces the deeply human stakes behind every permitting decision and planning process — and explores what it looks like when communities successfully reclaim agency in the energy future being built around them.The conversation also zeroes in on Florida as a potentially cautionary case: a state with extraordinary solar potential but a regulatory environment defined by vertically integrated utilities, restricted third-party PPAs, and legislation that threatens to ban net zero targets at every level of government.What "Just Energy Transition" Really Means: Decarbonization and Distribution (4:50)Navigating the Regulatory Landscape: Federal, State, and Local Authority (8:10)Just Energy Transitions and Place (21:39)Why Place-Centered Energy Planning Is Essential to Energy Justice (27:12)Florida: A Placed-based Case Study of Energy Governance Challenges (41:38)Concluding Thoughts: Policy Instability, IRA Rollbacks, and Reasons for Hope (50:07) ★ Support this podcast ★

What does equity look like in ocean governance? In this episode of People, Places, Planet, host Sebastian Duque Rios speaks with Yoshitaka Ota of Ocean Nexus and Randall Abate, ELI Visiting Scholar, about the emerging concept of ocean equity—and why centering social justice is essential to the future of marine conservation and ocean law. From marine protected areas and small-scale fisheries to deep sea mining, marine geoengineering, and the rights of nature movement, the conversation explores how traditional environmental governance frameworks have often failed to address systemic marginalization in coastal and Indigenous communities. Drawing on anti-subordination theory, environmental justice, and human rights law, the guests explain how ocean equity moves beyond consultation toward meaningful power-sharing—including rethinking free, prior, and informed consent, stewardship-based resource management, and the intersection of human rights and marine conservation. For environmental lawyers, policymakers, and ocean governance professionals, this episode offers a forward-looking framework for aligning conservation, climate action, and justice.What is ocean equity? (04:08)From EJ to anti-subordination (09:37)Consent, power, and meaningful participation (16:05)Stewardship and MPAs (21:56)Rights of nature and the human right to a healthy environment (29:54)Emerging governance challenges and the future of ocean law (33:37) ★ Support this podcast ★

Is environmental law entering a new era—one defined not just by regulation and litigation, but also by implementation, incentives, and private-public partnerships?In this episode of People, Places, Planet, host Sebastian Duque Rios is joined by Roger Martella (Chief Corporate Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer at GE Vernova), Mike Vandenbergh (Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University), and Linda Breggin (Senior Attorney at the Environmental Law Institute) to examine how climate and environmental governance is evolving amid political gridlock and regulatory uncertainty.Building on Martella’s 2024 law review article, the panel traces three eras of environmental law and explores the growing role of private environmental governance—driven by corporate investment, supply chains, investor pressure, and accountability to employees and customers. They discuss the risks and realities of greenwashing, what this shift means for environmental professionals, and how large-scale capital deployment is shaping the energy transition and climate action today. Join us for a forward-looking conversation for environmental professionals navigating the future of environmental law and policy.A new era of environmental law? (05:04)From government-led action to private environmental governance (11:24)What this means for environmental practitioners and students (17:43)Private action in energy and the global climate strategy (21:06)Motivating private sector leadership (33:06)Supply chains as governance tools (36:26) ★ Support this podcast ★

As artificial intelligence drives unprecedented growth in electricity demand, data centers are rapidly becoming some of the largest—and most consequential—loads on the U.S. power grid. Utilities that haven’t seen meaningful load growth in decades now face mounting interconnection backlogs, rising costs, and growing concerns about reliability, emissions, and equity.In this episode of People, Places, Planet, host Sebastian Duque Rios is joined by Dalia Patino-Echeverri of Duke University and Aroon Vijaykar of Emerald AI to explore whether load flexibility offers a way forward. They examine how data centers and AI stress today’s grid, how modest and carefully designed curtailment could unlock significant new capacity without overbuilding infrastructure, and what emerging technologies and policies—from flexible interconnection to software-driven demand response—could mean for electricity affordability, grid reliability, and the future of AI development in the United States.The Driving Forces Behind a New Wave of Electricity Demand (2:12)What's Constraining the Grid? (6:18)Rethinking Grid Limits through Load Flexibility (17:20)Inside a Flexible Data Center (40:13)What This Means for Policy, Costs, and Emissions (54:13)Learn more by reading about Emerald AI's pilot in Phoenix and Duke's report on load growth and flexibility, Rethinking Load Growth: Assessing the Potential for Integration of Large Flexible Loads in US Power Systems. ★ Support this podcast ★

From the food we eat to the parks, farms, and neighborhoods around us, pesticide policy quietly shapes everyday life in the United States.In this installment of our Explained series on the nation’s foundational environmental laws, we turn to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, better known as FIFRA. Host Sebastian Duque Rios is joined by Dr. Jennifer Sass of the Natural Resources Defense Council and Keith Matthews of Matthews Law LLC to unpack how pesticides are regulated in the United States, why FIFRA was created, and how it has evolved from a consumer protection statute into a central health and environmental safeguard.Together, they walk through how EPA evaluates pesticide risks and benefits, what “unreasonable adverse effects” really means in practice, and how FIFRA interacts with food safety law and state authority. The conversation also explores the role of labels and enforcement, the promise and limits of safer alternatives like biopesticides, and the pressures facing pesticide regulation today—from staffing shortages to faster approval timelines. Whether you work in environmental law or are just trying to understand how pesticides are regulated, this episode offers a clear understanding of how FIFRA affects what ends up on our food, in our environment, and in our bodies. ★ Support this podcast ★

As 2025 comes to a close, People, Places, Planet takes stock of a year of profound change in environmental law—and looks ahead to the legal and policy questions that will shape 2026. Host Sebastian Duque Rios draws on insights from ELI convenings with leading scholars, practitioners, scientists, and policymakers to unpack how courts, agencies, and governments are redefining environmental authority and accountability.The episode covers key U.S. Supreme Court decisions and previews cases to watch in the upcoming term, explores sweeping changes to NEPA and administrative law, and examines the growing treatment of climate change as a legal rights issue in both U.S. and international courts. It also looks at how these high-level legal debates are playing out on the ground—from data centers and AI infrastructure to clean water, cooperative federalism, and the shifting balance of state and federal power. Supreme Court environmental law review and preview (1:47) NEPA after Seven County and CEQ rescission (14:57)Climate change and rights in the courts (26:17)The future of the endangerment finding (32:36)On the ground: data centers, cooperative federalism, and WOTUS (36:42)See ELI's resources for more information:Annual Supreme Court Review & Preview (2025)The Future of NEPA Review: Unpacking the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition DecisionHeld v. Montana: A 2025 UpdateUnpacking the ICJ's Recent Opinion on Climate ChangeScientific Support for the Endangerment FindingNational Environmental Impacts of Data Center ProliferationData Centers and Water UsageCelebrating Collaboration: ECOS and the Future of State-Level Environmental Policy ★ Support this podcast ★

This is a special edition episode in Spanish with our Colombian partner on ELI's Environmental Defenders Database project. If you'd like to learn more, please visit our Vibrant Environment blog for an English summary of the episode, or listen to our last episode in February on this topic, "Environmental Defenders: On the Front Lines of Conservation". Los defensores ambientales desempeñan un papel fundamental en la protección de los ecosistemas del mundo, pero cada año cientos de defensores son amenazados, detenidos, y asesinados. Esta realidad destaca la necesidad urgente de contar con mayores garantías, datos confiables y respuestas institucionales coordinadas. En este episodio, el anfitrión de People, Places, Planet, Sebastian Duque Ríos conversa con Kristine Perry (Environmental Law Institute) y Luis Felipe Guzmán Jiménez (Universidad Externado de Colombia), quienes comparten su conocimiento sobre los riesgos que enfrentan los defensores ambientales en Colombia y las iniciativas que buscan fortalecer su protección. Juntos analizan quiénes son los defensores ambientales en el contexto colombiano y las rutas que el país podría seguir para garantizar justicia a las víctimas de estos ataques. También abordan el potencial de acuerdos regionales como el Acuerdo de Escazú para avanzar en su protección. Finalmente, el episodio destaca el trabajo continuo de ELI para desarrollar una base de datos que registre investigaciones y procesos judiciales relacionados con ataques letales contra defensores ambientales. Para más información, consulte la Plataforma para Proteger a los Defensores Ambientales de ELI.  ★ Support this podcast ★

Environmental justice continues to evolve as states respond to shifting federal priorities and community needs. New Jersey has emerged as a leader, integrating equity considerations into core environmental programs, supported by its landmark 2020 EJ law and a long-standing emphasis on strong environmental protections.In this episode, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette joins Beveridge & Diamond’s Hilary Jacobs and Justin Smith to discuss how the state is operationalizing EJ, measuring progress, and adapting to the major changes in federal policy and funding with the new Administration. Commissioner LaTourette outlines how New Jersey incorporates environmental justice into decision-making, the practical work of translating EJ principles into concrete, data-driven actions, and the challenges of aligning state and federal roles. The conversation also explores support for community-based organizations, funding constraints, and how businesses can navigate evolving EJ frameworks. This episode is part of the Groundtruth series created in partnership with Beveridge & Diamond, one of the nation’s leading environmental law and litigation firms. ★ Support this podcast ★

At a time when species across the country face mounting pressures, the Endangered Species Act remains one of the most powerful—and contested—tools we have to protect them. In this installment of our Explained series, host Sebastian Duque Rios is joined by three experts whose careers span law, policy, and conservation science: Patrick Parenteau (Vermont Law & Graduate School), Jake Li (Defenders of Wildlife), and David Wilcove (Princeton University).Together, they break down how the ESA works, why it was created, and the real-world threats species face today. The conversation explores key provisions of the Act—from listing decisions and critical habitat designations to Section 7 consultations, recovery planning, and the role of private landowners. The guests also discuss how funding shortfalls, political pressures, and recent proposals could reshape endangered species protection in the years ahead.Whether you’re new to the ESA or looking for a richer understanding of its legal, scientific, and practical dimensions, this episode offers a clear and candid look at the challenges and opportunities facing one of the nation’s cornerstone conservation laws. ★ Support this podcast ★

As climate change reshapes our oceans, fish populations are shifting across borders and into new territories, creating ripple effects for food security, livelihoods, and international relations. These changes are intensifying pressure on governments and coastal communities—and, in some cases, fueling tension and conflict at sea. In this episode of People Places Planet, host Sebastian Duque Rios speaks with Johan Bergenas, Senior Vice President for Oceans at the World Wildlife Fund-US, and Sofia O’Connor, Director of the Environmental Law Institute’s Ocean Program, about the complex links between marine conservation, illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and international security. Together, they explore how climate-driven migration of fish stocks can trigger disputes between nations, how data and transparency tools like WWF’s Oceans Futures platform can help policymakers anticipate and prevent those conflicts, and how legal frameworks can promote cooperation rather than conflict on the high seas.See WWF's recent report, The Geopolitics of the Ocean, as well as their Oceans Futures platform for more information. ★ Support this podcast ★