Jody Freeman
Professor Freeman is the Archibald Cox Professor at Harvard Law School and a leading expert on administrative law and environmental law. She is the founding director of Harvard Law School’s Environmental & Energy Law Program and established the Law School’s Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic. Professor Freeman served as Counselor for Energy and Climate Change in the Obama White House in 2009-2010 and worked with the Biden transition team on its climate action plan. A new edition of her landmark book, Global Climate Change and U.S. Law (edited with Mike Gerrard and Mike Burger) was published in January 2023. She serves on the climate advisory board of Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, to help implement and refine the fund’s climate action plan to drive positive change. She formerly served on the board of the Electric Power Research Institute and as an independent director of ConocoPhillips. She is part of three university-wide climate research clusters sponsored by Harvard’s new Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability to accelerate climate solutions, focused on corporate net-zero commitments, methane reduction, and strengthening communities for the energy transition. She teaches courses in administrative law, climate and energy law, legislation and regulation, and environmental law.
Jody’s Faculty Profile
Jody’s Media Appearances
Selected Publications and Appearances
Global Climate Change and US Law, Third Edition, edited with Michael B. Gerrard and Michael Burger. January 2023
Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability Climate Research Clusters:
- Corporate Net-Zero Targets Project, Principal Investigator
- Strengthening Communities for the Clean Energy Transition, Co-investigator
- Reducing Global Methane Emissions, Collaborator
Norges Bank Investment Management announces Climate Advisory Board
Legal Talk Network’s Lawyer2Lawyer podcast: Sackett v. EPA, Water, & Wetlands. October 2023
CleanLaw podcast: The Loper Bright Case and Fate of the Chevron Doctrine with Andy Mergen. August 2023
Watch a panel discussion at Harvard’s Salata Institute, moderated by Jody, in which faculty experts in the field of climate and sustainability discussed how Harvard is mobilizing to inform and guide society’s response to climate change. October 2022
Jody wrote an op-ed for the New York Times about the landmark Inflation Reduction Act and its implications for climate change. August 2022.
Jody wrote an op-ed for the Boston Globe about the Supreme Court’s decision on West Virginia v EPA. June 2022.
Click here to see Professor Freeman lead a conversation about global climate policy for the Council on Foreign Relations.
Jody wrote a guest essay for The New York Times about the Supreme Court’s ability to undermine the EPA’s authority to limit carbon emissions.
Jody appeared on a panel alongside other Harvard faculty to discuss Tackling the Climate Crisis featuring James Stock, Harvard’s Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability
Listen to Jody’s conversation with Canadian energy experts providing an overview of U.S. energy and climate policy in 2021 and what it means for Canadian policy. December 2021.
Jody appeared on Fortune’s Reinvent podcast to discuss GM’s announcement to go all electric by 2035. November 2021.
Jody joined Steve Curwood on Living on Earth to talk about new EPA rules about methane emissions. November 2021.
Listen to Jody’s appearance on the Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program podcast. April 2021
Jody wrote an op-ed for the New York Times about GM’s decision to stop producing gas-powered vehicles by 2035 and become carbon neutral by 2040. February 2021
Watch Jody on Open to Debate, where she defends EPA’s Clean Power Plan as a reasonable, cost-effective method of controlling greenhouse gas emissions in the US. September, 2016