To date more than 22 law firms and nearly a dozen individual attorneys (including retired judges, retired lawyers, law professors and in house counsel) have participated in drafting model legislation for this website. Given the number of recommendations and the breadth of the Project, however, firms and individual attorneys are still needed to provide pro bono legal services to turn the recommendations from the book, Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States, into model legal documents (laws, regulations, ordinances, lease provisions) that will be made available on this website.
Here is a link to an article describing How Lawyers Can Help Save The Planet generally.
Firms and individual attorneys can participate as drafters in two ways: by taking responsibility for (i) a chapter and all recommendations within that chapter; or (ii) one or more recommendations selected from a chapter. In selecting either a chapter or individual recommendation(s) from a chapter, consult with Rick Horsch (contact details below). Here is more detail on the two approaches:
Select a chapter:
Select a chapter for which to take responsibility, proceed to prioritize recommendations within that chapter, and then draft the model legal documents according to their priority. The following chapters are currently available:
6. (Financing at the Grid Edge) (Five recommendations claimed. All others available)
7. (Materials Consumption and Solid Waste)
9. (Lighting Appliances and Other Equipment)
10. (New Buildings) (Most recommendations still available)
11. (Existing Buildings) (Most recommendations still available)
12. (Industrial Sector)
13. (Transforming Transportation Demand) (One recommendation claimed. All others available)
14. (Light Duty Vehicles) (Recommendations relating to internal combustion engines still available. Recommendations re alternative fuel vehicles already claimed.)
15. (Heavy Duty Vehicles and Freight) (One recommendation claimed. All other recommendations available)
17. (Shipping) (Four recommendations claimed. All others available)
24.. (Phasing Out Fossil Fuels for Electric Generation) (Appendix A claimed. Main chapter and Appendix B remain available)
25. (Bioenergy Feedstocks)
26. (Production and Delivery of Low-Carbon Gaseous Fuels)
27. (Production and Delivery of Biofuels)
32. (Black Carbon)
34. (Fluorinated Gases)
Select a recommendation:
Select one or a few recommendation(s) from a chapter, and draft a model legal document for each recommendation selected. Here is a link to all recommendations from Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States, organized by chapter [add link to list of recs by chapter]. To determine which recommendations remain available, contact Rick Horsch.
For further information on how to participate as a drafter please contact Richard Horsch at rh2582@columbia.edu or richard.horsch@lpdd.org