7/23/2024

In Spring 2024, Delaware Law School teamed with Haub School of Law to host the conference, Climate Constitutionalism: Issues and Answers, held on the Pace University campus in Manhattan, NY.

Delaware Law students from the Climate Rights Seminar, taught by Distinguished Professor James R. May, in conjunction with the Global Environmental Rights Institute, played a huge role in the meeting’s success. They helped shape the program, made presentations, and coordinated roundtable discussions. Most notably, they published peer-reviewed essays on various subjects in GreenLaw, the blog of the Pace Environmental Law Review, including:

"Environmental & Constitutional Law Professors for Climate Rights in Montana in which Jack Garvey (L’25) and Austin Anderson (L’25) discuss the issues they examined in an amicus brief filed for 60 law professors in Held v. Montana, the world’s first climate trial.

"Constitutional Pathways: A Legal Blueprint for Climate Justice,” in which Kelly Bachich Sheehan (L’24) and Kevin Kidayat (L’24) consider the potential of leveraging the silent spaces within the U.S. Constitution to advocate for redressing climate disruption.

"The Challenges of a Winning Climate Case,” where Jacob Ford Ridgeway (L’25) and Jisoo Kim (Visitor, ’24), address how the Constitution accommodates a right to a stable climate.

“Democratic Mobilization for Climate Justice in the Disinformation Age,” in which Alan James Hitchner (L’24) and Dohee Kim (Visitor, ’24), examine the 1st Amendment implications of misinformation about climate disruption.

“Charting A Path To Climate Rights,” where Rachel Neave (L’24) & Drew Mulcahy (L’24) shine light on the complex intersectionality between constitutional frameworks, legal strategies, and social movements in the fight for climate rights.

Exclamation Points – Climate Constitutionalism Conference, Climate Rights Seminar, and the End of Law School (!!!),” in which Sarah Kane reports on the breadth and depth of the works of 18 students enrolled in the Climate Rights Seminar at Delaware Law School during the Spring 2024.

Sarah Kane, a student in Professor May’s Climate Rights Seminar, spoke of her experience at the conference.

“Professor May’s Climate seminar encouraged me to think optimistically and emphatically outside the box while learning from text and engaging with climate rights scholars,” she said. “The energized room of students and scholars at the Climate Constitutionalism Conference, filled with hopeful, yet cautious, optimism and problem-solvers, made me eager to really begin my legal career.”

The dedication and innovative thinking demonstrated by Delaware Law School students at the Climate Constitutionalism Conference underscores their readiness to tackle global environmental challenges and contribute meaningfully to the evolving field of climate law.