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| Harvard Environmental Law Program | |
|---|---|
| Name | Harvard Environmental Law Program |
| Formation | 1978 |
| Type | Academic program |
| Headquarters | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Location | Harvard Law School |
| Leader title | Director |
Harvard Environmental Law Program is a program based at Harvard Law School focused on environmental and natural resources law, policy, and advocacy. It engages students, faculty, and practitioners through clinics, seminars, research projects, and litigation strategies related to climate change, biodiversity, energy, and regulatory design. The program interfaces with academic institutions, government agencies, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations to influence public policy and legal education.
The program emerged in the late 20th century amid rising attention to environmental protection after events like the First Earth Day and enactment of statutes such as the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. Faculty and students associated with the program collaborated with entities including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Justice (United States), and advocacy groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club to develop litigation strategies and regulatory analyses. Over decades, the program's work has intersected with major legal developments such as litigation invoking the Administrative Procedure Act, constitutional claims before the Supreme Court of the United States, and international law efforts tied to instruments like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Collaborations with organizations such as the World Bank, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the Green Climate Fund reflect its global reach.
The program's mission emphasizes training practitioners and scholars to address environmental challenges through law, connecting classroom instruction at Harvard Law School with practice in forums including the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the International Court of Justice, and regulatory proceedings before the Securities and Exchange Commission. Activities span clinical representation, policy memos for agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, amicus briefs filed in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, and collaborations with NGOs such as Earthjustice and the Environmental Defense Fund. The program advances work on energy transitions involving stakeholders like ExxonMobil critics, renewable developers linked to Tesla, Inc. debates, and utility regulators at bodies resembling state public utility commissions; it also examines treaties like the Paris Agreement and corporate disclosure frameworks influenced by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
Academic offerings include seminars that connect to faculty research from scholars affiliated with Harvard Kennedy School, the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and centers such as the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Clinical work places students in supervised representation with partners including Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection-style regulators, municipal governments, and community groups resembling 350.org campaigns. Students engage in litigation strategies before federal tribunals like the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and administrative petitions under statutes including the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The program also coordinates externships with institutions such as the United Nations Environment Programme, international tribunals, and public interest law firms like WilmerHale or Ropes & Gray when representing conservation coalitions.
Research agendas address climate litigation trends, biodiversity governance, environmental justice, and corporate accountability, producing working papers and policy briefs circulated to bodies such as the World Health Organization and committees of the United States Congress. Publications draw on comparative studies involving legal systems like the European Court of Justice jurisprudence, decisions from the International Criminal Court on environmental harms, and precedent from cases such as Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency. The program's scholarship often appears alongside research from institutions like the Brookings Institution, the Resources for the Future, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and informs rulemaking at agencies modeled on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Faculty and students have participated in amicus briefs, regulatory comments, and strategic litigation with partners including Earthjustice, Center for Biological Diversity, and public interest litigators arguing before the Supreme Court of the United States and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Engagements have involved statutory interpretation of laws like the Toxic Substances Control Act and litigation strategies invoking the Commerce Clause or constitutional claims under the Fifth Amendment. The program has advised international delegations at conferences under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and assisted municipalities akin to City of New York in suits concerning disclosure and fiduciary duty tied to climate risk.
Partnerships include collaborations with university centers such as the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, non-profits like the World Resources Institute, and international organizations including the United Nations Development Programme. The program works with government entities analogous to the Massachusetts Attorney General offices, regional bodies like the European Commission, and networks such as the Global Pact for the Environment advocates. It also partners with conservation institutions like the Nature Conservancy and research initiatives tied to the Smithsonian Institution and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
Alumni and faculty linked through the program have gone on to leadership roles at institutions such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice, and international organizations including the World Bank and the United Nations. Faculty affiliations have included scholars who served on advisory panels for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and legal experts who argued cases before the Supreme Court of the United States and international tribunals. Graduates have held positions at law firms like Covington & Burling, NGOs such as Natural Resources Defense Council, and academic posts at schools including Yale Law School and Columbia Law School.