Center for Law, Energy & the Environment

The Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) channels the expertise of the Berkeley Law community – faculty, staff, and students – into pragmatic, creative policy solutions to critical environmental and energy challenges.

April 2020

Legal Grounds: Law and Policy Options to Facilitate a Phase-out of Fossil Fuel Production in California

April 2020

Building a Sustainable Electric Vehicle Battery Supply Chain: Frequently Asked Questions

As California and other leading jurisdictions accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, questions are arising about the long-term sustainability of the battery supply chain. CLEE and the Natural Resource Governance Institute are collaborating on a research initiative to identify governance solutions to these questions. Our new FAQ document describes the structure of the supply chain and addresses key sustainability risks. A full policy report will follow later this year.

December 2019

California Climate Risk: Insurance-Based Approaches to Mitigation and Resilience 

As the impacts of climate change develop and intensify throughout California, the insurance sector will play an increasingly important role in the state’s response. Policymakers, industry  leaders, and local communities are all beginning to face a new paradigm of risk, resilience, and financial sustainability that insurers are uniquely positioned to help manage.

In July 2019, CLEE and UCLA Law’s Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, together with the California Department of Insurance and UN Environment’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance, convened a symposium to discuss this evolving new role for the insurance sector. Our new synthesis report, co-authored by UCLA’s Sean Hecht and CLEE’s Ted Lamm, summarizes the key findings and next steps identified at the symposium, and adds new material and analysis reflecting recent developments in the field.

November 2019

Electric Vehicles and Global Urban Adoption

California and France have taken leading steps in supporting the transition to electric vehicles (EVs), but each has substantial progress ahead to reach full adoption. What can these jurisdictions learn from each other’s successes and challenges to make EVs convenient and accessible to urban residents?

To explore these questions, speakers at our June 2019 international conference at UC Berkeley on electric vehicles and global urban adoption, co-sponsored by CentraleSupélec and Florence School of Regulation (FSR) in France, described lessons learned for electric vehicle deployment in France and California.

Based on the discussion, UC Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE) released the symposium brief: Electric Vehicles and Global Urban Adoption: Policy Solutions from France and California.

AUGUST 2019

FROM BRUSSELS TO THE BAY: CLIMATE RISK AND SUSTAINABLE FINANCE IN THE EU AND CALIFORNIA

The global financial system faces structural risks from the worsening impacts of climate change and the various policy responses to it. As jurisdictions like the European Union (EU) and California seek to address these risks, they face significant questions about what actions will be necessary and how financial regulators and industry members across the globe will need to coordinate decision-making and resource-sharing.

To address these concerns, we hosted experts and leaders in sustainable finance from California and the EU in May 2019 for a conference to discuss climate-related financial risks and key regulatory developments in the US and Europe. These include the EU Sustainable Finance Action Plan and Green Taxonomy efforts that seek to drive sustainable investment through innovative regulatory incentives and US industry partnership in implementing new disclosure and accounting standards. Our conference brief highlights the key insights delivered at the conference.