About EELP
Our Mission
The Environmental & Energy Law Program (EELP) is a research program at Harvard Law School. We support federal and state laws, regulations, and policies that will protect public health and the environment, advance the clean energy transition, and mitigate the effects of climate change.
Our work is anchored in four convictions:
An effective, ambitious, and stable legal framework is necessary to advance environmental and public health protections.
Obsolete or poorly designed laws and regulations can impede progress and must be updated.
At a time when environmental law in the United States is under unprecedented stress, we have a role defending foundational environmental protections and the ability of agencies to solve complex environmental challenges based on their authority and expertise.
We are a law-school based program committed to the rule of law.
To accomplish these objectives, we focus on:
Legal Analysis. Produce in-depth legal analysis for use by policymakers and public and private stakeholders.
Convening. Bring together state, federal, non-profit, and private stakeholders to advance environmental protection and support a stable, effective legal system. Our convenings also foster dialogue between researchers and practitioners.
Strategy. Develop longer-term projects on legal and regulatory reform to promote new approaches to environmental and climate challenges.
Advice. Advise federal and state policymakers and legislators on design options to help ensure their policies are legally defensible.
Educate & Inform. Track and analyze policy developments, legal actions, and court decisions and serve as an expert resource for media and to inform the public.
Litigation and Rulemaking Support. Help to support ongoing litigation and regulation.
Moot and Stress Test. Moot environmental cases to help litigants test and strengthen their arguments and “stress test” regulatory proposals to ensure they are informed by high quality and relevant technical analyses, public health data, and legal analysis.
Training Students. Train Harvard Law School students to be successful lawyers who make meaningful contributions to environmental law and policy.