Episodes

Climate change is fundamentally about people. In California, environmental justice activists have galvanized around human impacts of climate action—such as air pollution, poverty alleviation, and green jobs—to build a policy response that focuses on local communities and public health. Dr. Michael Méndez, assistant professor of environmental planning and policy at the University of California, Irvine, joins Charles Harper (YSE ’22) to discuss his book, Climate Change from the Streets: How Confli...

U.S. financial regulators lag behind other countries in requiring corporations to disclose their financial risks from climate change. Hana Vizcarra, staff attorney at Harvard Law School’s Environmental & Energy Law Program, joins Charles Harper (YSE ’22) to discuss the financial sector, climate risk disclosure, and how courts and President Biden’s SEC can improve climate reporting. Hana contributed a chapter to the recently released book, Values at Work: Sustainable Investing and ESG Reporting, ...

Aisha Saad, a Fellow of the Program on Corporate Governance at Harvard Law School, joins Jhena Vigrass (YSE ’22) to discuss the current challenges of corporate sustainability reporting and investing in ESG funds. Aisha contributed to the recently released book, Values at Work: Sustainable Investing and ESG Reporting, which explores how companies and investors can respond to pressing environmental and social issues.

Sue Biniaz, a lecturer at Yale Law School and former lead climate lawyer for the U.S. State Department, joins Jhena Vigrass (YSE ’22) and Charles Harper (YSE ’22) to discuss what might lie in store for the Paris Agreement and international climate cooperation after the U.S. election in November.

Tatiana Schlossberg, an award-winning journalist and author of Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know You Have, joins Jhena Vigrass (YSE ’22) and Charles Harper (YSE ’22) to talk about individual consumption and action on climate change.

Amanda Maxwell, Director of the Latin America Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council, recently spoke with Alix Kashdan (FES ’20). Amanda discussed sustainable capital for Latin America, climate change challenges in the region, and challenges and opportunities in North American trade.

Kelly Levin, senior associate with World Resources Institute’s global climate program, spoke with Alix Kashdan (FES ’20) and Liz Bourguet (FES ’20) during the Yale Carbon Removal Symposium about carbon removal, global climate policy, and her work at World Resources Institute.

Barry Hill, a visiting scholar at the Environmental Law Institute and an adjunct professor of law at Vermont Law School – as well as the former Director of the Office of Environmental Justice at the EPA – joins Alix Kashdan (FES ‘20) and Liz Bourguet (FES ‘20) to talk about the constitutional right to a healthy environment.

Thomas Lovejoy, university professor in the Environmental Science and Policy department at George Mason University and dedicated conservation biologist, joins Alix Kashdan (FES ’20) and Liz Bourguet (FES ’20) to talk about the importance of biodiversity in the face of climate change.

Katie Dykes, the Commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, joins Alix Kashdan (FES ’20) and Liz Bourguet (FES ’20) during the Yale Environmental Dialogue to talk about her new role as Commissioner, including her energy goals for the state and what she is most excited to work on.

William K Reilly, former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, joins Liz Bourguet (FES ’20) and Alix Kashdan (FES ’20) to speak about the federal government and why he’s hopeful about climate change.

Paul Rink, a joint degree student at Yale Law School and Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and former summer law clerk at Our Children’s Trust, joins Liz Bourguet (FES ’20) and Alix Kashdan (FES ’20) to speak about Juliana v United States, the landmark youth climate lawsuit organized by Our Children’s Trust.

Bridget Burns, Director of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization, and Emilia Reyes, Coordinator of Gender Policies and Budgets at Equidad de Género, speak about the intersection of gender and climate change, their roles in international climate change negotiations, and what they expect at this year’s U.N. Conference of Parties in Katowice, Poland. They were interviewed by Laura Brush (FES ’19) and Liz Bourguet (FES ’20).

James Cameron, former climate change negotiator and advisor to the Presidencies of two UN climate conferences, spoke with Alix Kashdan (FES ‘20) and Liz Bourguet (FES ‘20) about his history working on climate negotiations and what he anticipates for the future of climate policy.

Laurent Fabius, President of the French Constitutional Council, visited Yale in September 2018. Alix Kashdan (FES ‘20) spoke with President Fabius about several issues facing global environmental law today, including his vision to strengthen the legal links between national climate pledges and climate action.

Diane Strauss, Program Director of the Yale Initiative on Sustainable Finance, joins Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy Research Assistant Laura Brush to discuss the Initiative’s work to further research on collaborative approaches to innovation in sustainable finance. Diane describes the challenges companies face related to sustainability demands of investors, environment, social, and governance (ESG) considerations for businesses, and the concept of materiality.

The 2018 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranks 180 countries on 24 performance indicators across ten issue categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality. These metrics provide a gauge at a national scale of how close countries are to established environmental policy goals. The EPI thus offers a scorecard that highlights leaders and laggards in environmental performance, gives insight on best practices, and provides guidance for countries that aspire to be leaders in susta...

YCELP Communications Research Assistant Lucy Kessler sits down with Rod Richardson, President of the Grace Richardson Fund, to discuss Clean Energy Tax Cuts and other market-driven solutions to pressing public policy challenges.

Professor Daniel C. Esty sits down with YCELP Research Assistant Lucy Kessler to discuss his new law review article and his argument for a 21st century approach to environmental law that builds on the successes of the 20th century command-and-control approach but integrates advances in data and information and incorporates lessons learned from the private sector.

Attorney Arden Shenker joins Yale Law School student Conor Dwyer Reynolds in the studio to discuss the power of private lawsuits in public environmental policy, with a specific focus on the 1963 case Renken v. Harvey Aluminum.

James Cameron, Executive Fellow with the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy and partner at Systemiq, joins Lucy Kessler, a student at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, for a conversation about clean energy finance, the private sector's role in addressing climate change, and why he is optimistic about the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Former EPA deputy administrator and guest lecturer in the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Bob Sussman joins Emma Crow-Willard to discuss the Clean Power Plan. The Clean Power Plan is the first federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generating power plants. The plan will help the United States meet its Paris COP21 goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28% by 2025. Bob Sussman explains the potential positive effects the Clean Power Plan could h...

Whether locating wire snares in Africa or dyer's woad in the western United States, dogs are helping conservationists monitor wildlife and eradicate invasive species. In this podcast, Megan Parker, executive director and co-founder of Working Dogs for Conservation, visits with invasion biologist and Yale postdoc Sara Kuebbing about the organization, the dogs, and the dog/handler team's key projects.

Former New Jersey Governor and US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman joins Stephanie Ratte, a student at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, for a conversation about the role of nuclear energy after the 2015 Paris Agreement.