Defending the Planet: A Columbia Law Podcast

Can lawyers save the planet? Professor Michael B. Gerrard and leading experts go beyond the headlines and political ping-ponging to discuss combating the climate crisis using one of the most important and effective tools at our disposal: the law.

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Listen to the full series:

Find all episodes below, and subscribe on AppleSpotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Introducing Defending the Planet

Host Michael B. Gerrard introduces the series with environmental journalist Andrew C. Revkin and environmental and climate justice advocate Shannon R. Marcoux ’21.

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Episode 1: The Biden Reset

Professor Jedediah S. Purdy and Catherine McCabe ’77, former commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, explore whether President Biden can overcome partisan divide and implement lasting environmental policies.

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Episode 2: The Power of States

Former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock ’94 and Professor Jessica Bulman-Pozen discuss how states take action on climate change with or without federal leadership.

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Laurence Tubiana and Sue Biniaz next to colorful arcs

Episode 3: Back in the Paris Pact

Two negotiators of the Paris Agreement, Sue Biniaz ’83 and Laurence Tubiana, discuss the United States’ potential as a leader of international cooperation. 

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Episode 5: The Climate Refugee Crisis

University Professor Michael W. Doyle and Ama Francis, non-resident fellow at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, discuss how existing human rights law and international cooperation can protect people fleeing the destructive forces of climate change.

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Episode 6: Environmental Justice

Profesor Olatunde C.A. Johnson and environmental and community lawyer Ruth Santiago ’83 J.D., ’10 LL.M. discuss policies and legal strategies to create a healthier and safer world for all people.

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Professor Michael Gerrard

About the Host

Michael B. Gerrard, Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice, is the founder and faculty director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. He writes and teaches courses on environmental law, climate change law, and energy regulation. Before joining the Columbia Law School faculty in 2009 he practiced environmental law full-time in New York for 30 years. Gerrard has written or edited more than a dozen books on environmental law.

Digital illustration of earth with heat waves coming from it.

About the Series

Defending the Planet is brought to you by Columbia Law School and is produced by the Office of Communications, Marketing, and Public Affairs. Special thanks to the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Learn more about our previous podcast: Beyond “Unprecedented”: The Post Pandemic Economy.

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