This article discusses U.S. and EU examples of untapped capacity in existing laws for fostering resilience in social-ecological systems.
J.B. Ruhl and OthersOctober 1, 2019
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides technical assistance to states to develop State Hazard Mitigation Plans (SHMPs) which serve as “blueprints” for state efforts to prepare for natural and man-made hazards. This report analyzes SHMPs issued since 2014 and assesses their compliance with the 2016 FEMA Climate Guidance. The…
Dena Adler and Emma GoslinerSeptember 16, 2019
These comments to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and Public Utilities Regulatory Authority discuss their proposed distributed energy resource value categories, encouraging the agencies to include electricity system resilience and community resilience in their list of value categories.
Justin GundlachAugust 21, 2019
This essay explains the Supreme Court decision requiring agency to determine if an area is a species' "habitat" before it can be designated as critical habitat under the ESA and provides suggestions for how to define habitat, which is not done by statute or regulation.
J.B. RuhlAugust 17, 2019
This textbook includes a new section detailing the impact of climate change and the emerging legal and administrative issues that are arising in response to it.
John Nagle, J.B. Ruhl and Kalyani RobbinsJuly 24, 2019
This comment assesses the current state of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the threats to it from climate change . In addition, it explores several strategies to change the NFIP for a changing climate.
Dena Adler, Michael Burger, Rob Moore and Joel ScataApril 1, 2019
Local fees or timing limits may help to address the energy impact of new development.
Jim Rossi and Christopher SerkinMarch 1, 2019
This paper discusses the substantial improvement/damage (SI/SD) standard in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) which requires property owners making significant improvements or repairs to structures in areas most vulnerable to flooding to take certain measures to mitigate their risk. It also surveys more rigorous SI/SD standards adopted by NFIP…
Dena Adler and Joel ScataJanuary 22, 2019
A new wave of “failure to adapt” lawsuits has sought to clarify how a changing climate may change what reasonable preparations governments and private actors must take, including increasing the resilience of their infrastructure. These suits span constitutional, tort, and statutory law more broadly, but unprepared owners of energy infrastructure…
Dena AdlerDecember 19, 2018
This report aims to assist policymakers in understanding grid resilience and evaluating potential interventions aimed at improving grid resilience. It develops a definition of resilience grounded in academic literature; describes a methodology for calculating the costs and benefits of potential grid resilience improvements; identifies legal authorities that states and federal…
Burcin Unel and Avi ZevinAugust 1, 2018