Private Law Theory

ABSTRACT
Parties have increasingly turned to courts both to seek redress for current climate-related harms and to compel states and private actors to reduce their future GHG emissions. As a result, courts around the world have been faced with the task of defining the proper role of the judiciary in fighting climate change. In the United States, however, many courts have had difficulty defining the judiciary’s proper role in providing redress for climate-related harms, especially in relation to comprehensive federal regulation of air pollution under the Clean Air Act (CAA). Considering the uncertainty surrounding the preemptive effect of the CAA on climate change actions under state law, this article investigates the proper role of private tort law in relation to public regulation in the search for climate justice and GHG mitigation. It argues not only that state tort law claims survive under the CAA but also suggests that providing a cooperative system of private law alongside public regulation is the most effective way for the judicial system to address the harms caused by climate change.

Matthew Salavitch, The Role of Private Liability in the Fight Against Climate Change, 42 Pace Environmental Law Review 295 (2025).