[author: Ridgway Hall]

At ACOEL’s meeting in Williamsburg last month Dan Esty challenged us to undertake a multi-year project to transform the legal framework for environmental protection. He argued persuasively that our country has outgrown its tolerance for command and control regulation, and that advances in emissions modeling and risk assessment plus the ready availability of abundant and low cost data now make possible a shift to a market-driven system. This would allow a price to be put on pollution, or “harm”, and eliminate externalities: that is, everyone must either eliminate or pay for his or her pollution.

Dan Esty, a former Connecticut environment and EPA official, says he's optimistic about the potential for a major overhaul of EPA's structure and mission once President Donald Trump leaves office, arguing that broad reform is necessary to adapt the agency to 21st century challenges and can be achieved with bipartisan backing.

"My optimism is based on the fact that I think Democrats are coming to understand that key to progress on a number of their agendas that they care about like air and water pollution requires winning Republican votes to get the job done," he says in an interview with Environment Next.

Alix Kashdan, Research Assistant; Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy; February 13, 2019

Center Director Dan Esty spoke at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center about corporate sustainability in Latin America.

The event was held in conjunction with the Center’s recently released book, “The Labyrinth of Sustainability.” The book explores the growth of corporate sustainability in Latin America, offering actionable insights to business leaders, policymakers, NGOs, academics and journalists through 12 case studies that examine the challenges and opportunities facing companies across the region as they integrate sustainability into their strategy and operations.

Center Director Profesor Dan Esty addresses the Yale Sustainability Leadership Forum

By LIZ BOURGUET, YCELP Research Assistant; OCTOBER 23, 2018

Two weeks ago at the Yale Sustainability Leadership Forum, leaders in the environmental field gathered to share ideas, perspectives, and solutions on a range of disciplines related to sustainability. This year’s forum, hosted in partnership with the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and the Yale Office of International Affairs, focused on “mega trends distinguishing sustainability from its 20th century precursors”. Yale professors, researchers, and fellows, like James Cameron, Anthony Leiserowitz, Bradford Gentry and Julie Zimmerman, presented and engaged in discussions with industry practitioners, scholars, and thought leaders who had gathered in New Haven to explore what sustainability looks like in the 21st century.