Mining is mission-critical to addressing the climate crisis. And so is confronting the legal and environmental issues surrounding mineral extraction.
Jurisdictions across the globe are racing to transform their energy sources to meet decarbonization goals and transition away from fossil fuels. This energy transition depends on a robust and reliable supply of critical minerals, which must be mined, processed, and distributed in ways that often create environmental and health risks, and in the process can reshape global political dynamics.
The Emmett Institute’s 2024 symposium will explore the wide range of pressing issues raised by this ever-expanding need for critical minerals. Our moderators and panelists from around the world will confront the policy drivers of this energy transition; governance questions related to supply chains; the rise of resource nationalism with its implications for the U.S. and the global order; and the risks to communities created by critical minerals mining and ways to reduce those risks.
Join us on Friday, March 8 at the UCLA School of Law for an all-day exploration of these topics through a keynote address and three panel discussions. Please RSVP here at this link and stay tuned for more details about the symposium.
Date: Friday, March 8, 2024
Location: UCLA School of Law
This is an in-person event.
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED.
Lunch will be provided to those who RSVP by 02/19
The Emmett Institute is proud to host a talk about oceans and geoengineering by Wil Burns, Co-Director, Institute for Carbon Removal Law & Policy, American University & Visiting Professor, Environmental Policy & Culture, Northwestern University.
Ocean-based climate geoengineering options seek to reduce incoming solar radiation or remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Burns has studied the risks and benefits of these options, as well as matters of governance, stakeholder engagement, ethics, and politics.
Climate Justice and Climate Litigation in the US and the EU: Comparative Perspectives
Courts in the US and EU are being asked to adjudicate cases related to climate change. Some of the challenges to address a cross-border issue like global warming are the same on both sides of the pond. But differences between judicial systems mean that US and European courts also face their own unique challenges. Hear a lively discussion of the comparative legal systems as it relates to climate law between Alberto De Franceschi, professor of law at the University of Ferrara in Italy, and UCLA Law professors William Boyd and Cara Horowitz.
DATE: Thursday, February 1, 2024
TIME: 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Room 1314
Lunch will be provided to those who RSVP and attend in person.
https://forms.gle/apRJacZBVUVXUNw68
The California Air Resources Board’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) seeks to incentivize the production and sale of alternative, lower-emissions transportation fuels to displace conventional fossil fuels. But there are some well-documented questions about the program’s incentives for industrial dairy operations. This report analyzes several commonly raised issues regarding California’s dairy digester policy. The report comes as the California Legislature declined to move on SB 709, a bill introduced last year to reform the role of dairy biogas in the LCFS.
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J.D Environmental Law
The Emmett Institute’s 2024 symposium explored the race for critical minerals and the energy transition. Countries are in a race for lithium, copper, cobalt, nickel, and other critical minerals needed to move away from fossil fuels. Elected officials, policymakers, and courts are at this moment struggling to strike the right balance between that energy transition and the importance of biodiversity, Indigenous rights, environmental justice, and equity.