A new chapter, co-authored by Julia Dehm and Zoe Nay, “Mainstreaming Climate Change in Global Legal Education” has been published in the Handbook on Global Legal Education edited by Swethaa Ballakrishnen and Bryant Garth
This chapter examines the necessity, but also some of the challenges associated with, mainstreaming climate change in global legal education. It begins by explaining what it means to be a ‘climate conscious lawyer’ and shows how the practice of climate conscious lawyering requires ‘climate conscious legal education’. It then considers what it might practically look like, in practice, to mainstream climate change considerations in global legal education. It proposes three main approaches: supplementing climate change considerations through informal discussion, case law, and readings; embedding climate change considerations as part of the law curriculum, whether on a unit-by-unit basis or more systemically; and centring climate change considerations by formally incorporating climate change considerations as a learning outcome at the course level. This chapter also underscores the need to consider climate anxiety when teaching or learning about climate change. Finally, the chapter proposes a research and reform agenda for further mainstreaming climate change in global legal education.