This issue features recent program events—including the annual Shapiro Environmental Law Symposium—and celebrates faculty and student achievements alongside program news. 

On February 19 and 20, 2026, GW Law’s Environmental and Energy Law Program hosted its annual J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Environmental Law Symposium. This year’s program, “Adapting to Paradigm Shifts in Environmental and Energy Law in the United States,” brought together leading scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to examine how the field is responding to rapid ecological, technological, economic, and legal transformations. Discussions focused in particular on the evolving roles of markets, justice, and governance in shaping the future of environmental protection.

Professor Caroline Cecot opened the conference by highlighting a striking paradox: climate science and economic analysis are stronger and clearer than ever, yet political divisions have only grown. Instead of fostering agreement, robust evidence has sometimes fueled skepticism. Cecot cited recent EPA decisions as examples of policy drifting away from scientific guidance, making long-term environmental progress more difficult.  Over the day-and-a-half symposium, panels explored this pivotal moment from multiple perspectives.

The first day of the symposium consisted of four panel discussions. The first panel, “New Approaches to Climate Accountability,” highlighted international progress on climate action despite U.S. withdrawal from multilateral efforts. The panel also explored state-level strategies, from disclosure and litigation to proactive policies, and examined how criminal law—through tools like fraud, antitrust, and reckless endangerment—could help hold corporations accountable and turn them into part of the solution. At noon, Professor Charles Lee, a pioneer in the environmental justice movement, began his keynote with a heartfelt call for resilience, positivity, and hope, emphasizing practical paths forward despite growing political resistance and deepening polarization. The second panel, “New Approaches to Environmental and Climate Justice,” explored practical ways to advance environmental justice by treating environmental information as essential infrastructure and leveraging existing legal tools.The discussion also noted growing state-level cooperation through coalitions and interstate compacts to set and enforce environmental standards. Ultimately, the panel encouraged focusing on manageable goals to make steady progress rather than becoming overwhelmed by the scope of the challenges. The third panel, “New Approaches to Adaption and Resilience,” focused on innovative strategies for adaptation and resilience, examining how land use, infrastructure, and disaster response must be reimagined to meet escalating risks like sea-level rise and water scarcity. Day one concluded with the closing remarks of Professor Robert Glicksman.

Panel on "New Approaches to Environmental and Climate Justice" (pictured from left to right): Mr. Karim Marshall, Consumer Federation of America; Prof. Sara Colangelo, Georgetown University Law Center; Prof. Danielle Stokes, University of Richmond School of Law; Prof. Emily Hammond, The George Washington University Law School.

The second day of the symposium opened with welcoming remarks from Dean Dayna Matthew, who shared her insights on the future of environmental law and justice, followed by the presentation of three panels. The first panel, "Paradigm Shifts in U.S. Energy Law," focused on the transformation of the energy sector, exploring the rise of renewable energy and energy storage, as well as the challenges of modernizing the electric grid. The second panel, "Market Mechanisms for Climate and Resource Sustainability," explored market mechanisms for climate and resource sustainability. It discussed water markets, payments for ecosystem services, and corporate sustainability approaches, and examined whether market mechanisms can still offer cost-effective, common-ground solutions in this critical moment of environmental urgency. The third panel, “Paradigm Shift in U.S. Environmental Law,” focused on the big-picture issue of whether our foundational environmental statutes and doctrines are equipped to navigate this era of rapid ecological, technological, and social change. Day two ended with closing reflections of Professor Sara C. Bronin. 

Panel on 'Paradigm Shifts in U.S. Energy Law' (pictured, from left to right): Prof. Sara Bronin, The George Washington University Law School; Mr. Matthew Brotmann, Equinor US; Dr. Carolyn Kissane, New York University; Prof. Alexandra Klass, University of Michigan Law School.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and George Washington University Law School have launched a new partnership to offer a Summer School on the international legal frameworks governing the safe, secure, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Scheduled for June 16–25, 2026, the two-week virtual program will bring together leading global experts to train graduate law students from IAEA member countries in nuclear law at a time of renewed global interest in nuclear power. The curriculum will cover foundational international legal instruments as well as emerging issues such as small modular reactors, fusion energy, space and maritime applications, and nuclear project financing. Building on GW Law’s historic leadership in nuclear law education since 1954, participants who complete the program will receive a joint certificate from the IAEA and GW Law, with applications opening in the new year.

For details regarding eligibility requirements and the application procedure for the Summer Program, please visit this page, where you will also find the application form.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi signed the partnership agreement on 9 December 2025 in Vienna, Austria. (Photo: D. Magnaye/IAEA)

The Grodsky Prize for Environmental Law Scholarship has been awarded to David Boord, JD ’26, for his paper, “Charting a Course for a Maritime Cap-and-Trade Emissions System in the U.S.”

Awarded annually with a $5,000 prize, the Grodsky Prize honors the best student paper in the environmental field at GW Law, recognizing work of publishable quality that makes a meaningful contribution to environmental law.

In his award-winning paper, Boord contends that existing Environmental Protection Agency regulations fall short of achieving the International Maritime Organization’s target of net-zero maritime emissions by 2050. Drawing on lessons from the EU Emissions Trading System, he proposes a legally grounded framework for a U.S. maritime cap-and-trade system designed to regulate greenhouse gases and other harmful air pollutants.

The Environmental and Energy Law Program congratulates Boord on this achievement, recognizing his paper as a timely and thoughtful contribution to environmental law. His work advances the dialogue on maritime emissions regulation and underscores the role of innovative legal frameworks in addressing climate change challenges. More information is available at The GW Point Source.

David Boord, J.D. ’26, Recipient of the Grodsky Prize for Environmental Law Scholarship.

Published in Fall 2025, The GW Journal of Energy & Environmental Law’s Volume 17, Number 1 showcases leading scholarship on critical environmental issues, with articles by Martha Thibaut on carbon capture and storage and Karen “Kara” Consalo on legal and policy pathways to advance nature-based coastal protection.

Notes are authored by:
Alexander Dumm — National security screening and green-energy financing
Peter Fasoli — Constitutional travel rights and climate-related displacement
Tori Kendle — Federal food date labeling as a tool to reduce food waste.

The Journal continues to welcome submissions for Volume 18. Please visit the Journal's website, gwjeel.com, for submission guidelines and access to prior volumes. To learn more, click here.

 

Kristoffer Svendsen 

Assistant Dean for Energy Law

 

Kristoffer Svendsen serves as Assistant Dean for Energy Law, where his work focuses on the legal and regulatory frameworks governing energy markets, infrastructure development, and international energy trade. His scholarship examines how administrative and trade law tools are used to manage regulatory uncertainty and facilitate energy project development, with particular attention to U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. Through a careful analysis of regulatory practice and policy design, his work contributes to ongoing debates on energy security, market stability, and the evolving role of government in energy transition and infrastructure governance. His recent work includes the following:

 

Journal Articles

 

Rohan Nimmagadda and Kristoffer Svendsen, An Old Tool for a New Problem: The Trump Administration’s Use of Conditional Non-FTA Authorisations (2025) International Energy Law Review (issue 6) pp. 183-188.

 

To learn more about Assistant Dean Svendsen’s recent panels and media appearances, visit the GW Point Source Faculty Page.

 Robert L. Glicksman  

J. B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law

 

Professor Robert L. Glicksman is a nationally recognized leader in environmental and administrative law whose scholarship and public engagement play a central role in shaping contemporary debates on environmental protection, regulatory governance, and public health. His work deepens understanding of how law structures enforcement, accountability, and decision-making in environmental law. He is widely sought after as a speaker and commentator on emerging legal and policy challenges. Selected recent publications include the following:

 

Books

 

A Research Agenda for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (Edward Elgar Pub.) (L. Paddock, C. Holly, R. Glicksman & M. Ungar eds., 2026) [BOOK]

 

Book Chapters

 

Robert L Glicksman and Nicholas S Bryner, The Structure of Environmental Enforcement, in A Research Agenda for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (Edward Elgar Pub. 2026) [WWW]

 

Robert L Glicksman and David E Adelman, Citizen Suits, in A Research Agenda for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (Edward Elgar Pub. 2026) [WWW]

 

Journal Articles

 

Robert L Glicksman, Adverse Health Effects of Energy-Related Provisions in the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” 393 New England J. of Medicine 1764 (Nov. 6, 2025), DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp2510102. [WWW]

 

Robert L Glicksman, Substance, Procedure, Reasoned Decision-Making, and the President, The Regulatory Review (Jan. 27, 2026) [WWW]  

 

To learn more about Professor Glicksman’s recent panels and media appearances, visit the GW Point Source Faculty Page.

 

Sara C. Bronin

Freda H. Alverson Professor of Law

 

Professor Sara C. Bronin is a leading expert on zoning, housing policy, and equitable urban development. She is the author of Key to the City and founder of the New York Zoning Atlas. Her research and insights have been featured in Bloomberg, Financial Times, and Salt Lake Tribune, and she has delivered keynotes and lectures for the Virginia Governor’s Housing Conference, Washington College, and the Partnership for Southern Equity. Bronin’s work focuses on making cities more livable, affordable, and just. Selected recent publications include the following:

 

Books

 

Sara C. Bronin, Ryan M. Rowberry, and Tad Heuer, Historic Preservation Law in a Nutshell, 3d ed. (West 2026)

 

Journal Articles

 

Sara C. Bronin, “Transportation Law’s Congestion Problem,” Yale L.J. Forum (2026)

 

Op-eds: 

 

Utah's Zoning Rules Are Creating a Housing Shortage. A New Analysis Shows How it Can Be Fixed, Salt Lake Tribune 01/15/2026

Governor-Elect Has a Roadmap to Address Housing Costs, Virginian-Pilot 12/18/2025

Maine's Zoning Maze Shows Us Reform Can't Wait, Portland Press Herald 12/06/2025

 

To learn more about Professor Bronin’s recent panels and media appearances, visit the GW Point Source Faculty Page.

 

Caroline Cecot

Oswald Symister Colclough Dean’s Research Professor of Law

 

Professor Caroline Cecot is an expert in environmental law and policy, with a special emphasis on regulatory design and the application of cost-benefit analysis in agency decision-making. Her research integrates law and economics to address issues of institutional authority, equity, and efficiency in environmental regulation. A selection of her recent publications includes the following:

 

Articles

 

Caroline Cecot, Robert W. Hahn, and Eslem Imamoglu, How Well Do Governments Assess the Distributional Impacts of Policy?, Regulation & Governance 1-11 (2026)

 

Caroline Cecot, Benefit-Cost Analysis Under Threat, The Regulatory Review (Feb. 5, 2026)

 

Presentations

 

Panelist, Benefit-Cost Analysis and the Courts, Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis Workshop (November 2025)

 

Panelist, Developments in Federal Regulation, Deregulation, and Regulatory Analysis, Southern Economic Association Annual Meeting (November 2025)

 

Panelist, Current Issues in Benefit-Cost Analysis, Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting (December 2025

 

To learn more about Professor Cecot's recent panels and media appearances, visit the GW Point Source Faculty Page.

 

LeRoy Paddock

Distinguished Professorial Lecturer in Environmental Law

Professor LeRoy Paddock is a leading voice in environmental and energy law, recognized for his rigorous analysis of regulatory systems and their real-world impacts. His recent scholarship addresses key challenges in environmental compliance and enforcement while examining the legal and regulatory frameworks shaping sustainable energy transitions. Through an interdisciplinary, policy-oriented approach, his work bridges theory and practice and is widely respected in environmental governance and energy law. Recent publications include the following:

 

Books and Book Chapters

 

 LeRoy Paddock, C. Holley, R. Glicksman, and M. Ungar, Researching Environmental Compliance and Enforcement, in A RESEARCH AGENDA FOR ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT (LeRoy Paddock, Cameron Holley, Robert L. Glicksman & Mark Ungar eds., Northampton, Mass.: Edward Elgar 2026) [BOOK]

 

 LeRoy Paddock, Small Scale DER: Lessons Learned from the United States’ Experience, in SUSTAINABLE DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES (D. Olawuji, M. Montoya, L. De Fontenelle, J. Gonzalez, and I. Del Guayo eds., OUP 2026). [BOOK]

 

Journal Articles

 

 LeRoy Paddock, C. Diedrich, and S. Dibble, Beyond Extended Producer Responsibility, Revue Européenne De Droit De La Consummation (European Journal of Consumer Law)(R.E.D.C.)(February 2026). [WWW]

 

To learn more about Professor Paddock’s recent panels and media appearances, visit the GW Point Source Faculty Page.

 

Giovanna E. Gismondi 

Visiting Associate Professor of Law; Environmental Law Fellow

Professor Giovanna E. Gismondi is an international law scholar whose work focuses on environmental protection, climate change, and human rights. Her research examines how international and regional human rights systems are adapting to address climate-related harm, accountability, and inequality. She is an active participant in international scholarly debates, frequently serving as a panelist, commentator, and organizer at leading academic and professional forums. Recent scholarly publications include:

 

Journal Articles

 

Giovanna E Gismondi, Environmental Rights and Climate Accountability: The Evolving Jurisprudence of the Inter-American Human Rights System, 47 U. Pa. J. Int’l L. (forthcoming Spring 2026) [SSRN]

 

Presentations

 

Panelist, Whose International Law? Power, Accountability, and Inequality in a Changing World, Panel on Climate Change, organized by the University of

Pennsylvania Penn Carey Law Journal of International Law, January 30, 2025 [Panel]

 

Commentator, Environment, Natural Resources & Energy Law, Work in Progress, 2026 AALS Annual Meeting, New Orleans, 6-9 January 2026 [Session]

 

Organizer and Moderator, Indigenous Peoples’ Rights to Territorial Control in Latin America: Challenges and Policy Responses, organized by the George Washington University Environmental and Energy Law Program, Washington, D.C., November 6, 2025 [Panel]

 

Panelist, Current Developments in International Climate Change Litigation, Panel on From Ambition to Action? The Sustainable Development Goals Ten Years On, International Law Association – American Branch (ABILA), International Law Weekend 2025, New York City, October 24, 2025. [Panel]

 

To learn more about Professor Gismondi’s recent panels and media appearances, visit the GW Point Source Faculty Page.