Stephen L Kass

September 12, 2019 | New York Law Journal

In his International Environmental Law column, Stephen Kass presents a 15-point program to address both climate mitigation (reduction of greenhouse gases) and climate adaptation (helping the U.S. and the world adapt to the now inevitable impacts of climate change) that the next U.S. administration should "aggressively pursue."

By Stephen L. Kass

9 minute read

December 11, 2018 | New York Law Journal

International Environmental Law columnist Stephen L. Kass writes: The nations of the world, including the United States, have gathered in Katowice, Poland for the last two weeks to urge each other to do more than pretend to address climate change. There is now near-universal recognition (Donald Trump excepted) that their rhetorical commitments at Paris three years ago will, even if honored, be insufficient to slow climate change enough to keep average global temperatures below, or even at, 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above average temperatures at the start of the industrial revolution in 1750.

By Stephen L. Kass

10 minute read

September 25, 2018 | New York Law Journal

International Environmental Law columnist Stephen L. Kass considers whether those nations most directly affected by U.S. inaction on climate change might have an enforceable legal remedy against the United States and, if so, what that remedy might be. The focus will be on claims based on international law rather than U.S. domestic law.

By Stephen L. Kass

13 minute read

April 25, 2018 | New York Law Journal

International Environmental Law columnist Stephen L. Kass writes: I believe both economic and political logic, as well as geopolitical concerns, will lead the United States to agree to an updated NAFTA with Mexico and Canada, to try to rejoin and modify the TPP (which has now gone into effect, in simplified form, without the United States) and eventually to resume its negotiations for an expanded trade agreement with the EU. If that happens, the question for environmentalists and environmental lawyers is whether the new agreements will provide an opportunity to improve and expand the kinds of environmental protection built into the new trade agreements.

By Stephen L. Kass

8 minute read

September 14, 2017 | New York Law Journal

International Environmental Law columnist Stephen L. Kass writes: The startling scenes of urban devastation in Texas following Hurricane Harvey and in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina following Hurricane Irma are a microcosm of what climate change holds for major cities throughout the world—and a wake-up call for the United States that it is time to get serious about climate adaptation both at home and abroad.

By Stephen L. Kass

21 minute read

April 26, 2017 | New York Law Journal

International Environmental Law columnist Stephen L. Kass reviews the legal and "moral" obligations of the United States under the 1992 U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement and summarizes the multiple reasons why the United States must not simply walk away from those obligations. It then proposes a two-part climate plan that the Trump administration could undertake to meet those commitments without relying on the Obama Clean Power Plan that Trump pledged to rescind and without asking for continuing Congressional appropriations to help developing countries adapt to climate change.

By Stephen L. Kass

18 minute read

September 13, 2016 | New York Law Journal

Stephen L. Kass explores the right to water internationally and in the United States, and points out that while clean and adequate water is an important “interest” and “goal” of the U.S. government, it is not an inherent “right” of individuals.

By Stephen L. Kass

18 minute read

January 28, 2016 | New York Law Journal

In his International Environmental Law column, Stephen L. Kass writes: Even if the effort to hold average global warming to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius ultimately succeeds, for the next 50 years (and likely longer) the poorest countries, and the poorest people, are likely to experience the worst effects of climate change. A recent report attempts to address both the substance of and funding for climate adaptation.

By Stephen L. Kass

10 minute read

September 18, 2015 | New York Law Journal

In his International Environmental Law column, Stephen L. Kass writes that the the Chevron saga, a 25-year battle over the environmental, legal and political issues arising over oil exploration in Ecuador, has now resurfaced in a way that sheds important light on the mandatory arbitration provisions of both existing bilateral investment treaties and, more importantly, the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership.

By Stephen L. Kass

11 minute read

September 17, 2015 | New York Law Journal

In his International Environmental Law column, Stephen L. Kass writes that the the Chevron saga, a 25-year battle over the environmental, legal and political issues arising over oil exploration in Ecuador, has now resurfaced in a way that sheds important light on the mandatory arbitration provisions of both existing bilateral investment treaties and, more importantly, the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership.

By Stephen L. Kass

11 minute read