Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Directions Website

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law SCCCL is a resource for legal institutions in the public, private, and NGO sectors engaged in climate change work.

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. It works closely with the scientists at Columbia University's Earth Institute and with governmental, nongovernmental and academic organizations. The core mission of the SCCCL is to develop and promulgate legal techniques to address climate change, and to train the next generation of lawyers who will be leaders in the field. The SCCCL is both a partner to and resource for public interest legal institutions engaged in climate change work. Further, the center addresses a critical need for the systematic development of legal techniques to fight climate change outside of the realm of judicial litigation, and the compilation and dissemination of information for lawyers in the public, private and NGO sectors. Learn more about environmental law at Columbia Law here:
http://www.law.columbia.edu/null/download?&exclusive=filemgr.download&file_id=623037

📬 The Sabin Center’s October newsletter is out!Here’s a look at what’s new from the Center:🌎 Climate Week NYC 2026We’re ...
10/07/2026

📬 The Sabin Center’s October newsletter is out!

Here’s a look at what’s new from the Center:

🌎 Climate Week NYC 2026
We’re looking back at a busy Climate Week, when the Sabin Center hosted conversations on some of the most pressing legal and policy challenges facing the climate community—including carbon dioxide removal, climate litigation, and the legal landscape for renewable energy development. The newsletter also features a 📹️ recording of our discussion on “The Future of Climate Litigation Worldwide and Best Practices for Brazil.”

⚖️ Engaging in climate law and policy
📜 The Sabin Center recently filed a brief with the New Jersey Supreme Court in support of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s cumulative impact and environmental justice regulations.
💬 We also submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture urging the agency to maintain protections against road construction and large-scale commercial timber harvesting in national forests.

👋 Staff news
We’re welcoming Karina Sarandrea, our new Climate Litigation Database Manager, and Brooke Mercaldi, our Equitable Cities Climate Law Fellow. Learn more about their backgrounds and the work they’ll be doing at the Center: https://blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechange/2026/10/07/staff-news-karina-sarandrea-and-brooke-mercaldi-join-the-sabin-center/

📚 Featured publication
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examines the potential of marine carbon dioxide removal and the governance challenges involved in moving this emerging field forward. Sabin Center Deputy Director Romany Webb served on the committee that produced the report: https://nap.nationalacademies.org/pubs/29342/

✍️ Legal Analysis of the Suncor Energy Inc v. Country Commissioners of Boulder County case
Margaret Barry and Michael Burger both provided analysis of the upcoming Supreme Court case, which addresses climate litigation against fossil fuel companies.

👉 Read the October newsletter (link in bio)

🌎 The Future of Climate Litigation Worldwide and Best Practices for BrazilWhat’s next for climate litigation around the ...
09/14/2026

🌎 The Future of Climate Litigation Worldwide and Best Practices for Brazil
What’s next for climate litigation around the world—and what can Brazil’s experience teach us?

Join the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and our co-hosts for a timely discussion bringing together a group of judges from Brazil will discuss the emerging climate litigation in that country and the lessons for such litigation around the world.

📅 September 23, 2026
🕡 6:30–9:00 PM ET
📍 William and June Warren Hall, Columbia Law School

The event is co-hosted by the University of São Paulo (USP), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS), Fórum Ambiental do Poder Judiciário (FONAMB), Instituto O Direito Por Um Planeta Mais Verde (IDPV), and IDP.

🔗 Register to attend (scan the QR code): https://climate.law.columbia.edu/events/future-climate-lit-worldwide-and-best-practices-brazil

⭕🗓️ We have an exciting event lineup! Below are some featured events:1️⃣ Mind the Gap: How States Can Advance Carbon D...
09/05/2026

⭕🗓️ We have an exciting event lineup! Below are some featured events:

1️⃣ Mind the Gap: How States Can Advance Carbon Dioxide Removal, on September 21, 2026. This discussion led by Romany Webb, Wil Burns, Isabel Wood, Ashwin Murthy, Liz Whiteman, will explore the legal and policy tools states can use to advance carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Register: https://climate.law.columbia.edu/events/mind-gap-how-states-can-advance-carbon-dioxide-removal

2️⃣ The Future of Climate Litigation Worldwide and Best Practices for Brazil, on September 23, 2026. Our faculty director Michael Gerrard will deliver the keynote speech. Panelists will discuss the lessons learned from Brazil in climate litigation. Register: https://climate.law.columbia.edu/events/future-climate-lit-worldwide-and-best-practices-brazil

3️⃣ The Evolving Landscape of Climate Litigation: U.S. and Global Perspectives, on September 23, 2026. This event, co-hosted by the Vance Center for International Justice and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School, brings together leading voices in climate litigation for a conversation on where the field stands and where it’s headed. Speakers include our very own Michael Burger and Maria Antonia Tigre. Register: https://climate.law.columbia.edu/events/evolving-landscape-clim-lit-us-and-global-perspectives

4️⃣ Powering Through: Tools and Resources to Combat Myths and Local Opposition to Renewable Energy Siting, on September 24, 2026. Join us for a discussion of the challenges facing utility-scale renewable energy siting in the United States. The event will mark the launch of two new Sabin Center reports. Speakers include Romany Webb, Michael Burger, Andrew Kieffer of the Sabin Center as well as other key experts. Register: https://climate.law.columbia.edu/events/combating-myths-and-local-opposition-renewable-energy-siting

🌱 888 restrictions. 567 contested projects. 38 false claims examined.New research from the Sabin Center’s Renewable Ener...
09/03/2026

🌱 888 restrictions. 567 contested projects. 38 false claims examined.

New research from the Sabin Center’s Renewable Energy Legal Defense Initiative (RELDI) documents the growing challenges facing renewable energy development in the United States.

1️⃣The 6th edition of Opposition to Renewable Energy Facilities in the United States identifies:
📍 888 state and local restrictions across 48 states
⚡ 567 renewable energy projects that have faced significant local opposition
🚫 Approximately 40% of contested projects have been canceled
The report also finds that wind energy is the most frequently targeted technology, with 416 restrictions directed solely at wind development.

2️⃣Since local opposition is often grounded in mis- and dis-information, the Sabin Center has also released another report, Rebutting 38 False Claims About Solar, Wind, Electric Vehicles, and Battery Storage, updating the Sabin Center’s 2024 analysis with five new claims to the 33 addressed previously.

🔗 Read about both reports in the latest blog post (link in linktree under "Climate Law Blog")

Address

435 W 116th Street
New York, NY
10027

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Sabin Center for Climate Change Law posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Sponsored

Share