President Joe Biden has named two American University Washington College of Law alumni to fill top environmental policy positions in his new administration. With nominations coming shortly before the January 20 inauguration, Biden named Elizabeth Klein ’06 Deputy Secretary of the Interior and Melanie Nakagawa ’05 Senior Director for Climate and Energy for the White House National Security Council (NSC).

The Program on Environmental and Energy Law includes a curriculum of more than 25 animal, energy, and environmental law-related courses, 4 student-run organizations, and more than 25 high profile adjunct professors.

On Friday, Feb. 7, environmental scholars gathered for a symposium on Air Quality and Environmental Justice at American University Washington College of Law. Hosted by the Sustainable Development Law and Policy Brief, attendees were encouraged to think through an age-old question: what should we do about climate change?

As America's youth strike across the country for legislative action to combat climate change, American University Washington College of Law's Program on Environmental and Energy Law (PEEL) hosted a teach-in event in solidarity with this national effort on Friday, Sept. 20.

On April 23-24, 2019, American University Washington College of Law's Program on Environmental and Energy Law and the School of Public Affairs' Center for Environmental Policy hosted EPA and the Future of Environmental Protection.

The symposium discusses the regulation of plastics at the federal, local, and international level; how trash and marine debris are related and impact oceans and lands; and how legal solutions can mitigate the effects of plastic pollution on the environment. It also discusses solutions as well as initiatives taken by private and non-profit sectors to influence legislation and replace single-use plastic with reusable and biodegradable alternatives.

The latest Hot Air Show brings a distinguished panel of experts to share views on what 2019 is bringing us in the land of energy and climate.

In collaboration between Environmental Justice Institute, ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, and the Program on Environmental and Energy Law at American University Washington College of Law, the event featured discussion led by the co-authors of the 1987 UCC Report Charles Lee and Vernice Miller-Travis, as well as leading professors Ezra Rosser and William Snape. They explored the progress made, and the current and future challenges facing environmental justice communities.