Center for Biological Diversity Declares Legal War on Global Warming
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Feb 14, 2009, 7:37:08 PM2/14/09
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Center for Biological Diversity Declares Legal War on Global Warming
SAN FRANCISCO, California, February 13, 2009 (ENS) - To fight climate
change, the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity Thursday opened
a new law institute in San Francisco and announced the dedication of
an initial $17 million to the project.
The Climate Law Institute will use existing laws and work to establish
new state and federal laws that will eliminate energy generation by
the burning of fossil fuels - particularly coal and oil shale.
Burning these materials emits greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
that have already raised the planetary temperature, threatening the
widespread extinction of species, sea level rise and ocean acidity,
food and water scarcity, heatwaves, wildfires and floods.
"Global warming is the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced. It
is the defining issue of our time," said Kieran Suckling, executive
director of the Center.
"To meet the challenge, the Center for Biological Diversity has
created the Climate Law Institute to extend the reach of current
environmental and human health laws to encompass global warming, pass
new climate legislation, and reinvent America's approach to protecting
endangered species and public lands," he said.
"The planet can not afford a single new coal-fired power plant," said
Suckling. "It can't even afford existing coal plants. Working with
partners in government and the environmental movement, the Center for
Biological Diversity will ensure America moves beyond coal energy as
rapidly as possible. Our lives depend on it."
Since the early 1990s the Center has used existing laws and advocated
for new laws and policies to protect rare and imperiled species, first
in the Southwest, and later across the country. With the creation of
the Climate Law Institute, the group is reorganizing to integrate
global warming into all of its activities.
Kassie Siegel testifies on behalf of polar bears before the House
Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. January
2008 (Photo courtesy HSCEI)
The institute will be directed by attorney Kassie Siegel, the current
director of the Center's Climate, Air, and Energy program. That
program will be replaced by the new institute, which will expand and
direct climate change work across all of the Center's programs to
protect biodiversity, oceans, public lands and urban wildlands.
Siegel authored the scientific petition and argued the legal case that
won Endangered Species Act protection for the polar bear due to global
warming in 2008.
Siegel was named California Lawyer of the Year for successfully
arguing a 2007 case that overturned inadequate federal fuel-economy
standards for failing to consider their contribution to global
warming. She shared this award with the Climate Law Institute advisory
board member Deborah Sivas, who serves as director of the Stanford
Environmental Law Clinic.
In 2006, Siegel brought a successful case under the Global Change
Research Act, forcing the Bush administration to release suppressed
studies documenting the ecological, economic, and human health impacts
of global warming.
The primary goals of the Climate Law Institute are to:
Establish legal precedents requiring existing environmental laws such
as the Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental
Protection Act, Clean Water Act, and the California Environmental
Quality Act to be fully implemented to regulate greenhouse gas
emissions, land management, and wildlife management
Establish new state and federal environmental laws and policies to
rein in global warming
Ensure all new laws and policies are judged against the scientific
standard of whether they will lead to a reduction in atmospheric
carbon dioxide from the current level of 385 parts per million to
below 350 ppm
Prevent the construction of new coal-fired power plants and coal mines
while quickly phasing out existing coal-fired power plants
Prevent the creation of an oil-shale or tar sands energy sector
Reverse the deadly process of ocean acidification
Prevent the loss of Arctic ice cover and likely runaway global warming
that would ensue
"Climate change is a crisis we don't need and can't afford. It's time
to kick the fossil fuel addiction once and for all," said Climate Law
Institute advisory board member Patrick Parenteau, professor of law at
the Vermont Law School. "Environmental protection in the U.S. has
always revolved around the creation and interpretation of law. The
Climate Law Institute is an exciting and necessary effort to fast-
track the development of climate change case law."
Initial funding of $6.3 million for the Climate Law Institute has been
provided by the California Community Foundation, The Sandler
Foundation, The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, and others.
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2009. All rights reserved.
SAN FRANCISCO, California, February 13, 2009 (ENS) - To fight climate
change, the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity Thursday opened
a new law institute in San Francisco and announced the dedication of
an initial $17 million to the project.
The Climate Law Institute will use existing laws and work to establish
new state and federal laws that will eliminate energy generation by
the burning of fossil fuels - particularly coal and oil shale.
Burning these materials emits greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
that have already raised the planetary temperature, threatening the
widespread extinction of species, sea level rise and ocean acidity,
food and water scarcity, heatwaves, wildfires and floods.
"Global warming is the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced. It
is the defining issue of our time," said Kieran Suckling, executive
director of the Center.
"To meet the challenge, the Center for Biological Diversity has
created the Climate Law Institute to extend the reach of current
environmental and human health laws to encompass global warming, pass
new climate legislation, and reinvent America's approach to protecting
endangered species and public lands," he said.
"The planet can not afford a single new coal-fired power plant," said
Suckling. "It can't even afford existing coal plants. Working with
partners in government and the environmental movement, the Center for
Biological Diversity will ensure America moves beyond coal energy as
rapidly as possible. Our lives depend on it."
Since the early 1990s the Center has used existing laws and advocated
for new laws and policies to protect rare and imperiled species, first
in the Southwest, and later across the country. With the creation of
the Climate Law Institute, the group is reorganizing to integrate
global warming into all of its activities.
Kassie Siegel testifies on behalf of polar bears before the House
Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. January
2008 (Photo courtesy HSCEI)
The institute will be directed by attorney Kassie Siegel, the current
director of the Center's Climate, Air, and Energy program. That
program will be replaced by the new institute, which will expand and
direct climate change work across all of the Center's programs to
protect biodiversity, oceans, public lands and urban wildlands.
Siegel authored the scientific petition and argued the legal case that
won Endangered Species Act protection for the polar bear due to global
warming in 2008.
Siegel was named California Lawyer of the Year for successfully
arguing a 2007 case that overturned inadequate federal fuel-economy
standards for failing to consider their contribution to global
warming. She shared this award with the Climate Law Institute advisory
board member Deborah Sivas, who serves as director of the Stanford
Environmental Law Clinic.
In 2006, Siegel brought a successful case under the Global Change
Research Act, forcing the Bush administration to release suppressed
studies documenting the ecological, economic, and human health impacts
of global warming.
The primary goals of the Climate Law Institute are to:
Establish legal precedents requiring existing environmental laws such
as the Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental
Protection Act, Clean Water Act, and the California Environmental
Quality Act to be fully implemented to regulate greenhouse gas
emissions, land management, and wildlife management
Establish new state and federal environmental laws and policies to
rein in global warming
Ensure all new laws and policies are judged against the scientific
standard of whether they will lead to a reduction in atmospheric
carbon dioxide from the current level of 385 parts per million to
below 350 ppm
Prevent the construction of new coal-fired power plants and coal mines
while quickly phasing out existing coal-fired power plants
Prevent the creation of an oil-shale or tar sands energy sector
Reverse the deadly process of ocean acidification
Prevent the loss of Arctic ice cover and likely runaway global warming
that would ensue
"Climate change is a crisis we don't need and can't afford. It's time
to kick the fossil fuel addiction once and for all," said Climate Law
Institute advisory board member Patrick Parenteau, professor of law at
the Vermont Law School. "Environmental protection in the U.S. has
always revolved around the creation and interpretation of law. The
Climate Law Institute is an exciting and necessary effort to fast-
track the development of climate change case law."
Initial funding of $6.3 million for the Climate Law Institute has been
provided by the California Community Foundation, The Sandler
Foundation, The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, and others.
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2009. All rights reserved.
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