The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

The Sabin Center develops legal techniques to combat the climate crisis. Since 2019, the Cities Climate Law Initiative, a project of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School, has played a vital role in helping local governments better understand the legal frameworks applicable to local climate policy, with an eye towards developing greenhouse gas reducing laws and policies.  

The Cities Climate Law Initiative develops legal knowledge and provides direct assistance and consultation to local government legal and sustainability offices. The Initiative also develops resources and materials, including model ordinances, that can be readily updated and adapted to changing conditions and different legal settings, and it has ongoing, collaborative relationships with city- and environment-focused NGOs around the country. 

Additionally, the Sabin Center collaborates with the Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization project, which has engaged pro bono lawyers across the United States to conduct nonpartisan analysis and draft more than 75 model climate change and clean energy laws, and has identified more than 2,000 model and actual laws, and other legal resources.