If you're interested in purchasing Adapting to High Level Warming: Law, Governance, and Equity, please visit ELI's website for more information.

What happens when climate projections exceed our current legal frameworks and planning models? In this episode of People Places Planet, host Dara Albrecht explores the provocative premise behind Adapting to High Level Warming, the fifth volume in the Environmental Law Collaborative’s book series published by ELI Press. Joined by editors Katy Kuh and Shannon Roesler, as well as chapter authors Sarah Fox and Kevin Lynch, the conversation delves into how legal scholars are grappling with the likelihood of 3–4°C warming scenarios.

Fox introduces the concept of “climate-changed communities” and the pressures local governments face as they adapt to new environmental realities. Lynch discusses the double-edged nature of preemption law, which can either enable or obstruct needed climate action at the local level. With commentary from editors Katy Kuh and Shannon Roesler, the conversation highlights how law and governance must be reimagined and stretched to meet the needs of a radically changed climate. With insights ranging from historic preservation to energy policy, this episode underscores why preparing for worst-case scenarios is no longer alarmist—but necessary.

Featured chapters:

• Climate-Changed Communities (07:53) by Sarah Fox.
• Preemption: Opportunities and Obstacles for Climate Adaptation (31:39) by Kevin J. Lynch.

Wetlands play a critical role in protecting communities from climate change, but restoring and sustaining them in a shifting climate is no easy task. In this episode of People, Places, Planet, host Dara Albrecht examines the impact of climate change on wetland sites through the lens of compensatory mitigation, a process through which developers offset permitted impacts to wetlands and streams by funding or conducting ecological restoration elsewhere, and how, if at all, mitigation practitioners are responding to ensure climate resiliency in their projects.

Guests Dr. Meghan Halabisky, Dave Groves, and Karen Johnson bring different perspectives to the table: Halabisky offers a scientific overview of how climate change is impacting wetlands, while Groves and Johnson discuss the regulatory and practical constraints and opportunities that practitioners are facing. The conversation covers site planning, ecological monitoring, and the tension between policy requirements and the realities of climate adaptation. Rather than prescribing easy solutions, the episode explores the complexities of ensuring long term sustainability at mitigation sites experiencing climate change.

In this special ELPAR edition of People, Places, Planet, host Dara Albrecht is joined by guest co-hosts Linda Breggin and Mara Pusic to explore one of this year’s top Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review (ELPAR) articles: “A Contractual Relationship with Environmental Justice,” authored by Professor Seema Kakade. Joined by guests Maia Hutt of the Southern Environmental Law Center and Shanika Amarakoon of Eastern Research Group, this episode dives into the potential of corporate-community agreements as a tool for environmental justice.

Professor Kakade lays out a bold proposal for environmental nonprofits to establish transactional legal practice groups focused on supporting communities in negotiating legally binding agreements with polluting industries. Together, the group discusses the promise and pitfalls of such agreements, from trust-building and legal enforceability to tailoring support for under-resourced communities and ensuring long-term accountability. They also reflect on the challenges of shifting environmental justice strategies in the face of evolving federal priorities.

Whether you’re a policymaker, practitioner, or student of environmental law, this conversation offers innovative, on-the-ground approaches to equity and environmental protection. To view the other top articles selected this year, visit the ELPAR page on ELI's website.