LAW 808F | Policy Practicum: Climate Risk Disclosures

Clients: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; California Governor’s Office of Programs and Research

Working with the Governor’s office of the State of California and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, this policy lab will help design climate-related disclosure and reporting processes at the state and federal level. On the state level, students will assist the recently launched California Climate-related Risk Disclosure Advisory Group. Co-chaired by Kate Gordon and Alicia Seiger, the Advisory Group is charged with developing disclosure recommendations to Governor Gavin Newsom for the state’s procurement and underwriting / loan issuance activities in collaboration with a Steering Committee of State Agencies. Working in parallel, another workstream will be to support the Senior Policy Advisor for Climate and ESG at the US SEC in determining best practices for climate-related financial disclosures at the Federal level.

Students will (1) research best-in class disclosure and reporting processes, data sources and scenarios; (2) draft positioning papers on key questions; and (3) present their work to clients. The lab seeks students from the law and business schools and graduate students with a background in climate regulatory frameworks. The lab meets Wednesday afternoons, 4 – 6 pm PT. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Performance, Class Participation, Written Assignments. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available on the SLS website.

Thomas C. Heller |  Alicia Seiger
Units: 2 | Grading: Law Honors/Pass/Restrd Cr/Fail

LAW 8070 | Policy Practicum: Assessing the Impact of China’s Global Infrastructure Spending on Climate Change

Client: Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance

China is investing in massive foreign-infrastructure construction, notably in emerging economies. Whether that infrastructure is high-carbon or low-carbon will largely determine the future of climate change. Many universities and institutions are studying the carbon impacts of China’s foreign-infrastructure investment. That research tends to compare China’s aggregate fossil-fuel-versus-renewable investments, assessing whether those investments meet a clean-energy ideal. New research at Stanford’s Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance is undertaking this analysis differently. It seeks to map the players and financial flows of global infrastructure investment in a way that compares the carbon intensity of Chinese-financed infrastructure projects in important emerging economies with the carbon intensity of energy infrastructure in those countries that has been financed by multilateral, bilateral, and other non-Chinese entities. This method is designed to reflect the way global infrastructure funding works, politically and economically, in actual practice — and thus to elucidate particularly realistic ways to meaningfully decarbonize Chinese infrastructure financing.

In this policy lab, which is the second phase of the spring 2020 lab, students will advance research toward two sorts of deliverables: a data-analysis and data-visualization tool to map players, financing structures, and carbon emissions from Chinese-financed infrastructure projects in key host countries; and a written account of how Chinese-financed infrastructure is playing out in those countries. The research will involve close interaction with key officials at key infrastructure-financing institutions in China and around the world. Graduate students from across Stanford are invited to apply. Data-analysis skills, energy-finance understanding, and proficiency in Mandarin are useful skills for this work, but they are not required. The lab seeks graduate students from the disciplines of law, business, engineering and environmental science, and East Asian Studies. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Performance, Class Participation, Written Assignments, Final Paper. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available on the SLS website (Click Courses at the bottom of the homepage and then click Consent of Instructor Forms). See Consent Application Form for instructions and submission deadline. Cross-listed with International Policy (INTLPOL 371).

Jeffrey Ball
Units: 2 | Grading: Law Honors/Pass/Restrd Cr/Fail

LAW 807B | Policy Practicum: What we can do to Mitigate Climate Warming

We will take as a given the well-established scientific evidence establishing the causal connection between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global warming, and the likelihood that current trajectories of fossil fuel use are leading to catastrophic climate change. Beginning with this premise, we ask how individuals and nonprofit organizations and institutions can use their power and authority to mitigate climate change, whether acting on their own or influencing decisions by governments and businesses.

We will start by mapping the major sources of GHG emissions and the direct and external costs and benefits of reducing emissions now and in the future. We then examine strategies for reducing them, including voluntary action and influencing government policies, business practices and investment decisions. Among other things, we shall inquire into the role of positive investments in renewable resources and new technologies, and whether refusing to invest in certain enterprises can reduce GHG emissions. We will also look at the influence that residents, employees, consumers, regulators, and other stakeholders may exert, whether acting individually or as part of social movements. The two instructors have considerable knowledge about climate and investment policies, and plan to draw on expertise in ethics, social movements, finance, and other related areas.

The mandate of the Stanford Law and Policy Lab is to conduct impartial, evidence-informed policy analysis. Rather than deliver a set of specific recommendations, this practicum seeks to identify and assess the pros and cons of plausible strategies. In addition to a written report, we plan to convene a forum, open to members of the Stanford community, to discuss our findings.

Although the Policy Lab practicums are designed mainly for law students, they are open to students throughout the University. Admission is by petition.

Given the scope of work, this practicum may continue into the winter quarter, but students need only commit themselves for the Autumn.

Elements use in grading: Attendance, Performance, Class Participation, Written Assignments, Final Paper.

Consent Application: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form. See Consent Application Form for instructions and submission deadline.

Paul Brest |  Alicia Seiger
Units: 3 | Grading: Law Honors/Pass/Restrd Cr/Fail