Harvard Law Environmental & Energy Law Program’s Post

There is still time to register for the Kreisman Symposium on Housing and Climate Change on May 2nd! The goal of this year’s event is to better understand the connections between the affordable housing crisis and the climate crisis: what are the overlapping causes, effects, and policy responses that are essential to addressing these existential dilemmas? What are we missing by not drawing distinct linkages as we try to address both emergencies? Helping us explore these critical questions, this year's keynote speakers include Dana Bourland, author of "Gray to Green Communities: A Call to Action on the Housing and Climate Crises" and senior vice president of environment and strategic initiatives at the JPB Foundation; Dr. Daniel Kammen, Professor of Energy at University of California, Berkeley; and Chris Wheat, Managing Director for Policy and Government Affairs at the Sustainable Cities Fund. Learn about all our panelists and RSVP to join us for this important event. https://buff.ly/4butwqE #sustainability #housing #climatecrisis #kreismaninitiative #mansuetoinstitute #uchicago

Dr Julia Dehm, Senior Lecturer in the La Trobe Law School, recently assisted the United Nations Special Rapporteur in the preparation of a report on the climate crisis and the right to adequate housing. “It’s well known that climate crisis is severely threatening the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing around the world. However, there has been limited guidance on how to achieve a just transition towards rights-compliant, climate-resilient, and carbon-neutral housing. This report seeks to address this,” Dr Dehm says.    “All stages of housing construction, management and demolition have environmental impacts, consuming resources and producing greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, in 2020 the use and construction of buildings accounted for at least 37 per cent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions." The report, which was presented to the Human Rights Council earlier this year, made several recommendations.     “These included ensuring that all climate mitigation and adaptation projects comply with the right to adequate housing, the adoption of energy efficiency standards, and the need for states to invest in the development of new carbon-neutral, climate-resilient social housing that is affordable for all.”    Dr Dehm says the report was well received by governments.    “We hope that the recommendations of the report will inform state policy making.” #LaTrobeLawSchool #ClimateChange 

NSW GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES DRAMATIC PLANNING RE-STRUCTURE On Friday 18 August 2023, New South Wales Premier, Chris Minns, unveiled a drastic new portfolio re-structure aimed at tackling energy challenges, climate change, environmental preservation and housing concerns. From 1 January 2024, the Department of Planning and Environment will undergo a strategic division into two new specialised Departments: the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. Joining the new Departments will be the Office of Energy and Climate Change, currently housed within the Treasury. As part of an ongoing Public Sector Review, any additional governmental structural adjustments will transpire following the unveiling of the 2023-24 Budget and Appropriations Bill, slated for September 19. It is anticipated that these changes will be captured in the 2024-25 Budget. NSW Premier, Chris Minns, noted, ““Our government will always keep people at the heart of our decisions, and it’s clear that we need to align our agencies with the most important issues facing our communities. “That’s precisely what this change is designed to achieve.” “The new Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water pulls together the collective environmental expertise of government into one place – creating a team ready to tackle one of our biggest challenges in energy security. “The changes announced today will also provide a renewed focus and deep expertise to address the housing crisis.” While the NSW Government has expressed its commitment to prioritising its citizens’ welfare and tackling housing supply, a level of scepticism about the ability of the newly established Departments to meaningfully impact housing supply will no doubt remain until practical steps are taken and implemented to materialise these ambitions. With the housing crisis being deeply rooted and multifaceted, the restructured Department’s ability to expedite significant change remains uncertain. The Department of Planning, Housing, and Infrastructure appears to be a logical step and there is certainly hope that this reconfiguration will lead to concrete results in alleviating the housing crisis that has plagued NSW for more than a decade. Vincent Young will keep you informed. If you would like to know more about this issue, contact Thomas Zilm, property partner, on 02 9261 5900. #NSWgovernment #planning #change #energy #environment #climate #housing

Concluding Part I of Sustaining the Commons by Anderies and Janssen which is all about Elinor Ostrom’s life time of case studies and the Institutional Analysis and Development framework. We looked at defining Commons and how to study them. Tragedies of the commons are not inevitable and humans are not all selfish rationalists. Institutions are arenas where participants interact repetitively- households to sports to offices to shared resources. Actions, action arenas, participants and their positions, rules/norms and action situations are part of the analysis with biophysical boundary conditions. Action outcomes depend on costs, benefits, cultural attributes and of course on social dilemmas. We learn about Prisoner’s dilemma, coordination games and the battle of sexes to  conclude that sustaining the commons can be accomplished with institutional management of the types of goods - public, private, club and common-pool resources. #sustainability #sustainingthecommons #tragedyofthecommons #netzero #climatechange #climateaction #climatesolutions #adaptation #mitigation https://lnkd.in/dqzKqyZy

The Autumn statement paves the way for a spotlight on the support required for local government >>> Read our full response here: https://lnkd.in/e9DbWHhd There are three areas key to councils’ operation that were outlined in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement which our experts have digested and set out  for your information and action. The three key areas include: 🌍  Climate change 🏠  Housing 🏙  Devolution, regeneration and Investment Zones We can help across all of these areas. Please get in touch to find out how we can help you create stronger communities and services >>> https://lnkd.in/e9DbWHhd Local Partnerships LLP aims to make a positive impact at the local level, accelerating delivery and optimising outcomes. We are here to help, as your #publicsector partner and part of the Local Government Association family. Don't hesitate to get in contact with any questions about our services https://lnkd.in/eEwsK5PV #climateemergency  #climatechange #housing #Devolution #autumnstatement #autumnstatement2023 #regeneration #investmentZones Jo Wall Martin Forbes Martin Walker Adele Gritten #localgovernment #ChancellorsAutumnStatement

Climate Finance- Tax & Debt! Tomorrow I join Centre for Environmental Justice at the University of Zambia Ridgeway Campus for the Environmental Sustainability Symposium. My area of interest is the nexus between Climate financing, tax and public Debt. who shapes the Global architecture? #debtrecovery #climatejustice

Hey KC- Let's have some real talk... 🤔 There is $369 billion dollars in federal investment ready to transition our economy to net-zero. A large portion of that funding is aimed at the built environment. This, along with the multi-billion dollar private investments it will catalyze, will transform the US real estate market dramatically. It also will have an unprecedented impact on affordable and climate-resilient housing. BUT are we ready KC? ❔ Do our local municipalities have the staffing needed to bring this funding to doorsteps of the communities it serves? ❔ Are we thinking regionally vs. just one municipality at a time? ❔ Are we including community-led organizations in our conversations and building their capacity to work alongside public officials? ❔ Are we recognizing the co-benefits that high performance buildings offer to both urban and rural communities and bringing our diverse metro together on this issue? ❔ Will we lose out to regions that might be better organized and can effectively embed environmental justice into their process? This article brings up many of these important questions. In partnership with the Mid-America Regional Council and Climate Action KC, BE-Ex KC is intensely working with local leadership to raise these questions and build coalitions to answer them. Want to be part of the movement? Click on link (https://lnkd.in/gPE5B-Bb) and we will be in touch.

The Europen Commission adopted recommendations for citizen and civil society participation in public policy. It calls for “Innovative forms of citizen participation, such as online and in-person co-creation and deliberative processes, can create spaces through which policymakers can get in direct contact with citizens’ needs, expectations and ideas. This can contribute to support and renew public governance, for example in devising measures to tackle climate change tailored to specific territories, or in making decisions on infrastructure investments.”

This week is #NationalReconciliationWeek and we want to take a moment to pay respect to the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and reflect on the ongoing journey towards reconciliation in Australia. This year's theme of 'Now More Than Ever' reminds us that, no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will – and must – continue. We also want to take this opportunity to reflect on the concept of intersectional environmentalism, which recognises that the fight for environmental justice cannot be separated from the fight for social justice. Indigenous communities have been disproportionately affected by environmental degradation, and their voices must be at the forefront of environmental decision-making. Here are some ways we can all contribute: ➡ Learn about the rich Indigenous knowledge systems for land management and environmental protection. ➡ Seek out and amplify the work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are caring for Country. ➡ Advocate for policies that recognise Indigenous rights and knowledge in environmental decision-making. By embracing reconciliation and fostering a more inclusive approach to the climate crisis, we can work towards a more just and safe future for all. #JustTransitionNow #Reconciliation #NowMoreThanEver #NRW24

Pleased to have acquired my certification in National Urban Policy from UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme)! Equipped with vital coordination skills for fostering equitable urban development, this milestone propels my journey as a criminologist towards leveraging policies and principles such as Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) to create safer urban environments. #UrbanPolicy #CPTED #UNHabitat