October 2025 Newsletter 1
Distributed on October 9, 2025
We know it’s been a little while since you have heard from us with a Legal Pathways for Deep Decarbonization (LPDD) newsletter. We’re still here, albeit under a new name – the Model Climate Laws Initiative. And we’ve been hard at work, as there has never been a more critical time for climate policy at the state and local levels.
We are excited about re-launching our regular newsletter and ramping up the next chapter of our project! This week, we will re-introduce you to our work as the Model Climate Laws Initiative. Next week, our newsletter will highlight our priorities, new resources we have added to our database, and ways you can get involved in our efforts.
Launching the Model Climate Laws Initiative
If you haven’t heard, the Legal Pathways for Deep Decarbonization (LPDD) model laws project is now the Model Climate Laws Initiative. This represents the next phase of our ongoing efforts and builds on the incredible work of LPDD over the last several years.
As we announced in a press release over the summer, the Model Climate Laws Initiative is committed to helping advance state- and local-level climate policy nationwide. We do this by offering a variety of legal tools and services to help turn policy into law. We provide draft legislation and other legal resources – for free on our website – to lawmakers, agencies, advocates, and other stakeholders. We work to facilitate the passage and implementation of effective laws that can best withstand litigation.
Through a new partnership between the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School and Environmental Advocates NY (EANY), the Initiative is leveraging legal expertise together with political campaign experience, all with the goal of maximizing the reach, utilization, and adoption of our growing legal resources. The new name for the Initiative also reflects our broader mission to advance climate adaptation and resilience policies, in addition to continuing our climate mitigation efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Meet the New Executive Director
While the Initiative continues to benefit from countless contributions by pro bono lawyers and other expert volunteers, we now have a full-time Executive Director to help lead our efforts. Jon Binder is the new Executive Director of the Model Climate Laws Initiative and is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Sabin Center.
Jon is an experienced environmental attorney that has specialized in climate change, air pollution reduction, and clean energy for two decades. Before he joined the Model Climate Laws Initiative, he was the Deputy Commissioner for Climate Change, Air Resources, and Energy at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC). In that role, Jon led NYS DEC’s implementation of the State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, including the development of New York’s cap-and-invest program and the State’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
As Executive Director, Jon is excited about bringing his state agency and regulatory experience to the fore in the legislative drafting process. Jon’s experience makes him particularly attuned – in terms of the ultimate success of a law – to the importance of the administrative and regulatory process. Likewise, Jon is especially cognizant of the likelihood of litigation, and how legal issues must be considered in drafting legislation, rather than only after passage.
Climate Week NYC Event
As part of Climate Week in New York City, on September 24, 2025, the Model Climate Laws Initiative held an in-person event at Fordham University entitled “Helping States Turn Climate Commitments into Law.” Executive Director Jon Binder, Sabin Center founder and Faculty Director Michael Gerrard, former LPDD drafting coordinator Richard Horsch, and the Initiative’s Outreach Coordinator Joe DiMona participated in a panel discussion to discuss the Model Climate Laws Initiative.
Attendees heard an overview of the Model Climate Laws Initiative, some of the Initiative’s priorities, the importance of states in the current political context, and strategies for helping states pass more and better laws. The audience was engaged with many eager to get involved in our efforts. Feedback about the session included many attendees feeling a new sense of hope and optimism about opportunities for states and local governments to act.
A video recording of our session is available here.
Join Us for the Annual EANY Gala
This exciting next phase of our work and the launch of the Model Climate Laws Initiative would not be possible without the support of our new partner, EANY. Join EANY at its Annual Advocate Awards Gala on Wednesday, October 29th, from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM at a new venue, SECOND FLOOR (6th Ave and 29th St.) in New York City for an evening dedicated to celebration and advocacy.
This year EANY is honored to recognize Bill McKibben—award-winning author, educator, and environmentalist whose work has shaped the climate conversation for more than three decades. Bill will share his reflections on where we are now—and how we can keep building a more just, resilient future together.
The Model Climate Laws Initiative is just one example of how we can continue to work together to advance real progress on climate change. If you’d like to support this work, please consider learning more and reserving your tickets.
If you would like to sign up to receive our regular updates, please click here.
About the Model Climate Laws Initiative
The Model Climate Laws Initiative is a joint project of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School and Environmental Advocates NY.
Formerly known as the Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization Model Law Project, the Initiative works to advance state- and local-level climate policy nationwide. The project’s goal is to make it easier to turn policies – including those aimed at reducing emissions as well as efforts that increase resilience to the changing climate – into effective laws. The Initiative does this by providing draft legislation, legal analysis, implementation support, and other legal tools for lawmakers, advocates, and other stakeholders.
Through a network of pro bono attorneys and other volunteers, the Initiative publishes model laws and legal resources for free on itspublicly available database. To date, this has resulted in over 80 model laws and more than 2,500 other legal resources – and growing. These materials serve as a starting place for legislators and may be tailored to meet the legal or political needs of individual jurisdictions.
As announced in a July 2025press release, the Initiative is expanding its work through additional model legislation, increased outreach to state lawmakers, and enhanced drafting focused on creating legally robust and implementable laws.
The genesis of the project was the groundbreaking book Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States (Michael Gerrard and John C. Dernbach, eds., 2019). The book provided over 1,500 legal and policy recommendations, many of which have now been translated into legislative text through the Initiative’s efforts.