Climate Change and the Voiceless

On September 18th, 2019, Randall S. Abate, J.D., Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy, Monmouth University, gave a lecture titled 'Climate Change and the Voiceless: How law can protect the interests of the voiceless-future generations, wildlife, and natural resources- more effectively from the impacts of global climate change.'

Future generations, wildlife, and natural resources – collectively referred to as “the voiceless” in this seminar – are the most vulnerable and least equipped populations to protect themselves from the impacts of global climate change. While domestic and international law protections are beginning to recognize rights and responsibilities that apply to the voiceless community, these legal developments have yet to be pursued in a collective manner and have not been considered together in the context of climate change and climate justice. In Climate Change and the Voiceless, Randall S. Abate identifies the common vulnerabilities of the voiceless in the Anthropocene era and demonstrates how the law, by incorporating principles of sustainable development, can evolve to protect their interests more effectively through a stewardship-focused and rights-based system derived from the mandate inherent in the concept of sustainable development. This seminar should be attended by anyone interested in how the law can be employed to mitigate the effects of climate change on those who stand to lose the most.

This seminar is drawn from Professor Abate’s forthcoming book by the same title, which will be published by Cambridge University Press in October 2019.