The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Private Law

At a time when climate conditions are worsening but the U.S. government is moving backwards on climate action and the energy transition, the tools of private law take on increasing importance. This pathbreaking book explores both the theory and the practice of how familiar areas of law — contracts, torts, property, trusts, intellectual property —can be applied in innovative ways. It also delves into the climate relevance of essential aspects of corporate and commercial law such as finance, insurance, competition, securities, bankruptcy, labor, and arbitration. Anyone looking for new legal tools to fight climate change will greatly benefit from this volume. * Michael B. Gerrard, Professor and Faculty Director, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School *
This is a must read for anyone interested in climate change and private law. I applaud the editors and authors for an agenda-setting collection that is impressive in terms of breadth, diversity, and depth. * Liz Fisher Professor of Environmental Law, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford *
Climate change is a 'hot situation' and the law regulating it is 'hot law'. Both are polycentric, interdisciplinary, complex, uncertain and ever-changing. Capturing this hot situation and hot law is challenging. The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Private Law rises to the challenge. Solving the climate change crisis demands thinking 'outside the box'. Deploying lateral thinking, the book explores how private law can be used in different and novel ways to solve the climate change crisis. It is a work of original and valuable scholarship, which adds to the literature in this field. * The Honourable Justice Brian J Preston, Chief Judge Land and Environment Court of New South Wales *
The Handbook does not just deliver a comprehensive overview of the myriad ways in which private law and climate change intersect. It is also a wellspring of original, innovative and even radical ideas that will set the research agenda of private law and sustainability for years to come. This is a must-read for anyone with an interest in climate change governance and in the future of private law. * Veerle Heyvaert Professor of Law, The London School of Economics and Political Science *
Climate change is the major planetary challenge of the 21st century. Public law alone will not be sufficient to overcome this complex challenge. In fact, private law must play a supporting role. The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Private Law addresses precisely this role of private law. It offers an extremely insightful and comprehensive overview of how private law deals with the challenges of climate change, covering a wide range of topics - from contract and tort law to company and insurance law. The last section on new topics is particularly innovative, as it highlights new perspectives and directions in this rapidly developing field. * Prof. Dr. Marc-Philippe Weller Director of the Institute for Comparative Law, Conflict of Laws and International Business Law, Heidelberg University *