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272.3 sec. 001 - Climate Change and the Law (Spring 2026)
Instructor: Robert Donald Infelise (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only | profile)
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Units: 3
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
TuTh 11:20 AM - 12:35 PM
Location: Law 113
From January 13, 2026
To April 23, 2026
Course End: April 23, 2026
Class Number: 33485
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 8
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 30
As of: 02/19 12:45 AM
No matter which party has been in power in Washington, the federal government’s commitment to minimizing the root causes of climate change and preparing for its impacts has been lukewarm at best. The current administration is committed to halting any existing inertia in dealing with these issues. That commitment includes withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Agreement and announcing the administration’s intent to dismantle the Federal Emergency Management Agency, thus leaving state and government to provide disaster relief on their own, and agencies responsible for conducting science.
But that does not mean that the U.S. has completely abandoned efforts to combat climate change and plan for sea level rise. Potentially powerful tools remain in the U.S. Code, many state and local governments and agencies continue to do important work and prior court decisions protecting the environment still garner some respect.
A single semester does not provide enough time to even touch upon the range of issues raised by global warming. So, this course will instead largely focus on pivotal developments in three clusters−mitigation, adaptation, and environmental justice:
Mitigation: EPA’s evolving regulatory authority since Massachusetts v. EPA, including the potential for the Paris Agreement to expand EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions; and the efficacy of California’s cap-and-trade program.
Adaptation: Water scarcity and rights; the effect of sea level rise on property rights, including “rolling” beach easements, beach renourishment, managed retreat and removal requirements.
Environmental Justice: Food insecurity; natural disasters; and the distributional inequalities in cap-and-trade regimes.
Bob Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the nation’s premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil, groundwater and surface water contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s San Francisco office and later served as its managing partner.
Mr. Infelise writes and lectures on soil, groundwater and surface pollution, as well as climate change-related issues. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled “American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70,” American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (Vol. 2, Spring). In addition to this course, Mr. Infelise teaches Environmental Law and Policy; Pathways to Carbon Neutrality; Introduction to the Law of Hazardous Waste and Remedies. He is the former chair of the Advisory Committee, as well as former acting executive director, of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. In 2002-2003, Mr. Infelise was the acting head of Berkeley Law’s environmental law program. In 2014, he was given an honorific title, and is now a Christopher Edley, Jr. Lecturer. Mr. Infelise proudly serves as the faculty advisor to the Ecology Law Quarterly.
Exam Notes: (TH) Take-home Final Exam
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Exam Length: 6 hours
Course Category: Environmental and Energy Law
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Social Justice and Public Interest
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