Combatting Climate Change in the Courts

Global climate change is among the most pressing issues of our time, and the battle to forestall it is being waged in the courts more and more frequently under legal theories old and new. On Wednesday, Feb. 10, the American Constitution Society hosted a discussion on combatting climate change in the courts at which experts considered whether the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act can be applied to the fossil-fuel industry, as it was to Big Tobacco. They also addressed pending court challenges to the President’s Clean Power Plan and his rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, as well as the viability of public nuisance claims.

Featured Remarks:

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

Panelists:

Lisa Heinzerling, Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, Moderator
Richard E. Ayres, Founding Partner, Ayres Law Group, LLP; Co-Founder, Natural Resources Defense Council
Sharon Eubanks, Partner, Bordas & Bordas, PLLC; lead counsel for the United States in United States v. Phillip Morris, et al.
Roger R. Martella, Jr., Partner, Sidley Austin, LLP; former General Counsel, Environmental Protection Agency
Matthew F. Pawa, President, Pawa Law Group, P.C.