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49 Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis 11130 (2019)
Learning from Tribal Innovations: Lessons in Climate Change Adaptation

handle is hein.journals/elrna49 and id is 1186 raw text is: Learning From Tribal Innovations: Lessons in Climate Change Adaptation by Morgan Hepler and Elizabeth Ann Kronk Warner Morgan Hepler is completing a J.D. and Ph.D. in economics at the University of Kansas. Elizabeth Ann Kronk Warner is dean of the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. Summary Although a vast literature focuses on the efforts of states on climate change, they are not the only sover- eigns who are working to address its negative impacts. This Article argues that though tribal governments are not part of the federalist system, they are still capable of regulatory innovation that may prove helpful to other sovereigns, such as other tribes, states, and the federal government. It examines the steps tribes are taking on climate change adaptation and mitigation, and demonstrates that tribal climate change adapta- tion planning is truly innovative in notable ways when compared to state planning. First, the inclusion of tra- ditional ecological knowledge is unique to tribes and can prove quite beneficial. Tribes also involve their communities by surveying and involving community members in the implementation phase. Further, tribal adaptation plans promote the preservation of cultural resources. Other sovereigns would do well to learn from how tribes are providing valuable paths forward to develop effective climate adaptation measures. he United States is facing a national catastrophe. American landscapes have changed and lives are at risk. The warning signs are visible across the country.1 Once-in-a-generation weather events are becoming common occurrences, as wildfires rage in the West, powerful hurricanes ravage the Southeast, and the Northeast suffers brutal cold in the winter and heat in the summer.2 This plague is not limited to the United States, as its effects are felt across the globe.' Some, such as former President Barack Obama, view this as the single greatest threat to the future of humanity.4 And what is the federal government of the United States currently doing to address or prepare for this catastrophe? Very little. This plague facing the United States and the world is climate change, and, rather than helping to curb the green- house gas emissions that lead to climate change or prepar- ing for its negative impacts through adaptation planning, Pres. Donald Trump has expressed skepticism about the reality of climate change on numerous occasions.' As if that were not enough, the Trump Administration is walk- ing back regulations implemented by the Obama Admin- istration to both mitigate and adapt to climate change.' A lack of leadership on this issue therefore exists at the national level.7 Several sovereigns have stepped in to fill the void. States, for example, have developed their own climate change-related regulations and also partnered with other sovereigns to attempt to either mitigate or adapt to cli- Authors' Note: 7he authors would like to thank the faculty at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah for their comments on an earlier draft of this Article. 1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 7he Effects of Cli- mate Change, https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/ (last updated Oct. 9, 2019); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Climate Change Im- pacts, https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/climate-educa- tion-resources/climate-change-impacts (last updated Feb. 2019). 2. NASA, 7he Effects of Climate Change, https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/ (last updated Oct. 9, 2019); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Climate Change Impacts, https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collec- tions/climate-education-resources/climate-change-impacts (last updated Feb. 2019). 3. See generally INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE (IPCC), CLIMATE CHANGE 2014: SYNTHESIS REPORT (Core Writing Team et al. eds., IPCC 2014), https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/SYR AR5_ FINAL-full.pdf. 4. President Obama: Climate Change Greatest 7hreat to Future Generations, UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE, Jan. 21, 2015, https://unfccc.int/news/ president-obama-climate-change-greatest-threat-to-future-generations. 5. Coral Davenport & Mark Landler, Trump Administration Hardens Its At- tack on Climate Science, N.Y. TIMES, May 27, 2019, https://www.nytimes. com/2019/05/27/us/politics/trump-climate-science.html. 6. See infra notes 53-67 and accompanying text. 7. Admittedly, some federal agencies have worked on issues related to climate change adaptation, see infra notes 46-52 and accompanying text. ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 49 ELR 11130 12-2019

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