Abstract
Picture yourself as the owner of a small business located in the downtown area of a large city; your business consists of a shop and an adjoining parking lot. A new regulation has just been passed which requires any owner of property within the city limits to paint all roofs and parking areas with a new reflective coating, in order to reduce the heat which is absorbed by such structures. The idea of closing your business down for this time, along with other connected issues, scares you, and you begin to wonder if your local government truly has your best interest in mind. You and a few of your friends, who are local shopkeepers in the area, have discussed these matters, as they have similar concerns, and plan to challenge this regulation, citing certain constitutional violations. Such regulations and laws are soon to come, as climate change consequences grow ever larger and closer. While regulations to battle these environmental changes will attempt to mitigate and/or adapt our lifestyles to these variations, other regulations will look to implement geo- engineered sciences. What will the Court’s Takings Clause jurisprudence allow, or disallow, when such laws, regarding geo-engineered implementation, come to pass?
This paper looks to discuss this question. Section I introduces this topic and lays out the foundation for the following information. Section II of this paper discusses climate change, and the ideas which have developed, under which regulations will be derived from. Section III discusses the Court’s Takings Clause jurisprudence, focusing on regulatory takings, in their various forms. Section IV then posits the connections and discussions of the above ideation’s interplay with one another, discussing a hypothetical regulation, and then what governances can do to prevent and defend against such claims. Finally, Section V concludes the aforementioned arguments. While this topic is broad, and the discussion not exhaustive, it gives insight into the best course of action in designing regulations and land use plans to protect from a more terrifying future, while still incorporating the protection of private land rights which the Constitution holds dear.
Recommended Citation
Noah Chase,
REGULATORY TAKINGS IN CLIMATE CHANGE: GEO- ENGINEERING ONE’S WAY AROUND THE FIFTH AMENDMENT,
35 Fordham Envtl. L. Rev.
(2024).
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/elr/vol35/iss2/3
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