The Global Energy & Environmental Law Podcast

Myanna Dellinger interviews Guðný Nielsen who explains how her organization, SoGreen, uses carbon offsets for the education of girls in Africa and how that, in turn, helps reduce climate change. SoGreen is an Icelandic Climate Tech startup based out of her hometown Reykjavik, Iceland. SoGreen focuses on scaling up climate solutions that are founded in social impact and community development in low-income countries.

Professor Myanna Dellinger interviews law professor and Brazilian attorney Dr. Carolina Arlota of the University of Oklahoma College of Law, who compares climate change action in Brazil to that in the United States. Among other things, she promotes the view that litigation may help advance the agenda even if positive outcomes are not achieved at the judicial scale because of, among other things, the “poltical question doctrine.” Professor Arlota also discusses the Brazilian Constitution, which promotes environmental protection. This interview is based on Dr. Arlota’s article "The Amazon Is Burning—Is Paris, Too? A Comparative Analysis Between The United States And Brazil Based On The Paris Agreement On Climate Change" published in the Georgetown Journal of International Law, Vol. 52, 2020. The findings demonstrate that, given the silence of the U.S. Constitution on environmental matters and the decades-long congressional inertia on climate issues, an effective way to update the U.S. constitutional text will be through judicial review. As the comparative analysis unveiled in this article shows, standing is a major barrier to judicial review on climate change claims. Accordingly, this article includes a recommendation for the flexibilization of the traditional standing requirements for the United States to achieve effective environmental protection and related mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Hear law professors Sean Kammer (PhD) and Myanna Dellinger (PhD candidate) discuss why the corporate and conservative attempts at keeping the Keystone XL Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline will inevitably fail and why, then, it would be more expedient from an environmental and business point of view to face reality sooner rather than later. This holds true despite the fact that any president does have the power to issue an Executive Order regarding the project. Under the Paris Agreement, we must, among other things, reach net zero emissions by 2050 to help the world – and ourselves – limit catastrophic climate change. UN and other experts have made it clear that we must take sufficient action within the next decade. For that reason, it also makes not sense to create and continue vast oil distribution networks.

Attorney and activist Maya van Rossum, author of The Green Amendment: Securing Our Right to a Healthy Environment discusses a pioneering new legal strategy to fight growing pollution problems, including drinking water contamination, air pollution, deforestation and climate change, by adopting constitutional green amendments that guarantee a safe and healthy environment. Van Rossum is also the leader of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, an organization that has successfully stalled fracking and pipeline development in the Northeast. The DRN initiated For the Generations, a project that provides a guide to creating an environmental rights amendment in every US state. This veteran environmentalist used the constitution in Pennsylvania to take on and beat big fossil fuel industries, and how these amendments could change the legal landscape to crises such as Flint, Keystone, ad beyond. Van Rossum believes that environmental rights are a fundamental human right, just like free speech and the right to private property.

In this epispode, Professor Myanna Dellinger interviews David R. Montgomery, a MacArthur Fellow and professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington. He is author of The Hidden Half of Nature and Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations, as well as other award-winning popular science books. He lives in Seattle with his wife, author and biologist Anne Biklé, and Loki, their guide-dog dropout. What if there was a relatively simple, cost-effective way to help feed the world, reduce pollution, pull carbon from the atmosphere, protect biodiversity, and make farmers money to boot? Through fieldwork spanning three decades and six continents, renowned geologist David R. Montgomery discovers that the answer is right beneath our feet. GROWING A REVOLUTION: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life [W. W. Norton & Company; May 9, 2017] is a spellbinding journey to uncover the blueprint for a regenerative agriculture that builds soil health and leaves both farmers and the environment better off. It is a book that Kirkus Reviews states is, “An optimistic look at how regenerate farming can revive the world’s soil, increasing food production, boosting cost effectiveness, and slowing climate change.” In his quest to reveal the solutions beneath our feet, Montgomery introduces us to innovative farmers who practice regenerative agriculture. Montgomery shows that restoring fertility to the land is not an either-or choice between modern technology and time-tested traditions. Ending with a call for action beyond the fields, Growing a Revolution is an inspiring addition to the bookshelf of anyone seriously concerned with the future of food and farming, our relationship with nature, and the fate of civilization and the planet.

In this podcast, Professor Myanna Dellinger interviews Dr. Armin Haas on how smart energy grids could solve some of the issues surrounding sustainable energy. Armin Haas is a senior researcher in the Systemic Risk project of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam (IASS), and leads the IASS activities within the EU Horizon 2020 projects Dolfins and Green-Win. Moreover, he leads the research line Integrated Risk Governance of the Global Climate Forum (GCF). At IASS his main research foci concern the economic, ecological and social sustainability of the financial system, and innovative contributions to the management and governance of systemic risks. At GCF, his research focuses on innovative approaches for the management of large-scale complex uncertainties. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. Before joining IASS, he worked as senior scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and headed the research group Bayesian Risk Management. Together with colleagues from PIK and IIASA, he conceived the SuperSmart Grid.

In this podcast, Myanna Dellinger interviews Craig Morris on his experience and views regarding how the German energy sector transitioned from fossil fuels to modern energy sources through grass-roots movements. The lessons learned have been adopted by other countries and maybe there is hope of using this model for an energy transition in more stubborn countries such as the United States. Craig Morris (@PPchef) is currently a Senior Fellow at the IASS. Coauthored with Arne Jungjohann, his book Energy Democracy is the first history of Germany’s energy transition, the Energiewende. He has served as technical editor of IRENA’s REmap and of Greenpeace’s Energy (R)evolution. In 2008, he cofounded Berlin’s PV Magazine; in 2010, Renewables International. In 2012, he became lead author of EnergyTransition.de. In 2014, he won the International Association of Energy Economists’ prize for energy journalism.

In this interview, recorded August 10th, 2016, Professor Myanna Dellinger interviews Wil Burns on Loss and Damage under the Paris Agreement. Wil Burns is the Co-Executive Director of the Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment in the School of International Service at American University. He formerly directed the Energy Policy & Climate program at Johns Hopkins University, and is the immediate past President of the Association of Environmental Studies & Sciences. Wil holds a Ph.D. in International Environmental Law from the University of Wales-Cardiff School of Law. See also: http://www.dcgeoconsortium.org http://www.teachingclimatelaw.org

This interview was recorded on June 9th, 2016. Professor Myanna Dellinger interviews Professor of Law Gregory C. Keating of the University of Southern California Gould School of Law about the issues surrounding the Volkswagen Diesel emission scandal. Professor Keating joined the USC Law faculty in 1991. He teaches torts, legal ethics, and seminars in legal and political philosophy. He takes an interest in the remedies aspect of the VW “dieselgate” scandal.Professor Keating graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Amherst College, and earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the department of Politics at Princeton University, where he specialized in legal and political philosophy. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. After graduating from Harvard, he practiced law in Massachusetts for five years before joining the USC Law faculty. He has also been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School. Update: After completing the two interviews on the VW “dieselgate” scandal, VW announced plans to launch 30 all-electric models to reposition itself as a leader in "green" transport. Matthias Mueller, chief executive of VW, said huge investments would be needed as the firm moves beyond the "dieselgate" scandal. Mr. Mueller hopes that by 2025, all-electric cars would account for about 20-25% of the German carmaker's annual sales. This episode was recorded on the campus of Occidental College in Los Angeles.

To avoid the worst effects of climate change, it has become clear that fossil fuels must be left in the ground. Nuclear power has resurfaced on the scene as a potentially viable energy source after the phase-out of fossil fuels. In this three part-series, you will be able to hear from experts in the field discuss both the pros and cons of nuclear energy and related future energy issues. This is part three of the series. In this part, Professor Myanna Dellinger interviews Gabrielle Hecht. Gabrielle Hecht is professor of history at the University of Michigan. She is the author of two award-winning books: The Radiance of France: Nuclear Power and National Identity after World War II, first published by MIT Press in 1998 and reissued in 2009, and Being Nuclear: Africans and the Global Uranium Trade, which appeared in 2012. Photo by Fernand Pio

To avoid the worst effects of climate change, it has become clear that fossil fuels must be left in the ground. Nuclear power has resurfaced on the scene as a potentially viable energy source after the phase-out of fossil fuels. In this three part-series, you will be able to hear from experts in the field discuss both the pros and cons of nuclear energy and related future energy issues. In part one, Professor Myanna Dellinger interviews Mycle Schneider, an independent international analyst and consultant on energy and nuclear policy based in Paris, France. Mr. Schneider is the convening lead author and publisher of the annual World Nuclear Industry Status Report. Energy visionary Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute has called this report “a vital public service”. Mycle initiated the Seoul International Energy Advisory Council, appointed by the Mayor of Seoul, and serves as its coordinator. This experience led to the founding of the International Energy Advisory Council,incorporated in the US which Mycle represents as spokesperson. Mycle has advised the Belgian, French and German governments as well as international and academic institutions, NGOs, think tanks and media. Photo: ©Serge Ollivier

Looking beyond COP21: How will asset owners respond to an international climate agreement and the global energy transition to low-carbon?Given the sluggishness of regulatory action against climate change in most nations and at the international scale, many companies continue to derive significant income from activities that endanger the climate. In turn, many professional investment companies such as pension funds, mutual funds, in the US and Europe, and sovereign wealth funds invest in such “high carbon” assets, placing pension savers’ and other stakeholders’ assets at great risk. The level of risk-taking represented by high-carbon assets leaves investment fiduciaries open to legal liability. That is the argument advanced by the Asset Owners Disclosure Project (AODP), considered in this episode.AODP is an independent not-for-profit global organization whose objective is to protect retirement savings and other long-term investments from the investment risks posed by climate change by improving disclosure and industry best practice.This podcast features the CEO of AODP who explains how climate change represents significant risks to portfolio value for the world’s largest investors. Two guest lawyers speak to the rise of fiduciary trust and securities law as new drivers of action on climate change risk by institutional investors around the world. The experts are interviewed by Myanna Dellinger, Associate Professor of Law with the University of South Dakota School of Law.Julian Poulter is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the AODP.Sarah Barker is a Special Counsel in the Corporate Group in Minter Ellison's Melbourne office, and has published extensively on trustee fiduciary duty and climate risk. Ms. Barker provides advice to AODP on climate risk and fiduciary duty in the Australian context.Jay Youngdahl is a partner in the Houston-based law firm, Youngdahl & Citti, P.C. He is currently a Visiting Scholar at the College of Business at San Francisco State University and has been a Senior Fellow with the Hauser Institute’s Initiative for Responsible Investment at Harvard University. Mr. Youngdahl provides advice to AODP on fiduciary law and climate change risk in the United States.

On March 1, 2015, a group of experts in international law, human rights law, environmental law, and other law adopted the Oslo Principles on Global Obligations to Reduce Climate Change. These experts came from national and international courts, universities and organizations located around the world. In part one of two podcasts on the Oslo Principles, Professor Myanna Dellinger interviews Michael Gerrard, Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice and Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School in New York. Professor Gerrard is a world-renowned expert on environmental law and in particular climate change law. Part two will consist of an interview with Philip Sutherland, a professor at the Stellenbosch University Faculty of Law in South Africa who also contributed to the formulation of the Oslo Principles.