Global Environmental Constitutionalism

Abstract

On the evening of September 26, 2012, the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy hosted a panel discussion on Global Environmental Constitutionalism. My introductory remarks discussed the sense of wariness regarding global environmental governance and constitutionalism from those within the field of environmental sociology. Three panelists more fully explored the global response to climate change from legal, sociological, scientific, and political perspectives. Douglas Kysar, Deputy Dean and Joseph M. Field ’55 Professor of Law at Yale Law School, focused on unequal distribution of political power among nation-states and challenged our current assumptions regarding political decision-making models. David Wirth, Professor of Law and Director of International Programs at Boston College Law School, surveyed new technologies for addressing global climate change and made recommendations for structural adaptations in international governance. Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Harvard Kennedy School, challenged us to look outside the limitations of standard legal tools and embrace the expertise of other disciplines—such as science—to create a more robust dialogue on global environmental constitutionalism.