Climate change creates mitigation and adaptation needs across the country, especially in California, which faces flooding, erosion, fire, and extreme weather. To armor against the rising tide of climate change and its accompanying flood of litigation, California should create a specialized environmental court to adjudicate state climate issues. A new court is necessary for overcoming the reluctance of generalist courts to adjudicate climate-related issues on the merits. This court would have jurisdiction over environmental issues and be carefully designed to handle complex climate issues. Importantly, a California environmental court would be better equipped to hear the technical science and engineering principles that frequently arise in climate adaptation suits.
A California Environmental Court to Adjudicate Climate Change
