Nov. 4, 2021

You can't solve 21st Century environmental problems with 20th Century laws and policies. We face a climate crisis and a host of intertwined environmental problems. Science and technology have rapidly advanced. Environmental justice has come to the fore. It's time to update environmental policy.

That’s the message of Dan Esty, today’s guest on the Mother Earth Podcast. In this conversation, Dan provides a blueprint for updating our environmental laws and policies. He argues that while 20th Century environmental laws and policies served 20th century purposes, “it’s time to refresh the game plan.” 

Dan is a professor at the Yale Schools of Law, Environment, and Management and is director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy. He's the author or editor of twelve books, including 40 Big Ideas for a Sustainable Future and the award winning Green to Gold, named a top "green business" book of the past decade. Dan is also the former commissioner of Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and served as a high-ranking US EPA official who helped negotiate the 1992 climate treaty in Rio de Janeiro.

In our discussion, Dan proclaims that we all have the right to a healthy environment and that “a sustainability imperative is a foundational principle for life on the planet Earth in the 21st century.” He calls for an end to externalities and wants businesses to pay for the right to pollute in order to align businesses' need for profit with society's need for a healthy and safe environment. Doing so will also allow for new and better ways for companies to reduce pollution while providing value to both shareholders and a broad set of societal stakeholders.

Learn more about Dan's take on modernizing environmental policy and incentivizing businesses to operate sustainably in this week’s episode of the Mother Earth Podcast.

Connect with Daniel C. Esty: LinkedIn | Website

Books: A Better Planet: Forty Big Ideas for a Sustainable Future | Values at Work: Sustainable Investing and ESG Reporting | Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage | The Labyrinth of Sustainability: Green Business Lessons from Latin American Corporate Leaders (Strategies for Sustainable Development Series,Anthem Environment and Sustainability Initiative (AESI)) | The Green to Gold Business Playbook: How to Implement Sustainability Practices for Bottom-Line Results in Every Business Function | more of his books are listed here

Daniel C. Esty’s Popular Media Publications: Many of Daniel C Esty’s writings can be found here: Yale School for Environmental Law and Policy or listed below

• Environmental Law: Red Lights to Green Lights: From 20th Century Environmental Regulation to 21st Century Sustainability

• The Economist: How to rethink environmental policies from “no” to “go”

• Huffington Post: Shifting Gears on Climate Change

• Huffington Post: Climate Change Plan B

EPA: History of Reducing Air Pollution from Transportation in the United States

UN News: The race to zero emissions, and why the world depends on it

Congress.gov: H.R.2454 - American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009

U.S. Energy Information Administration: West Virginia

HPO Center: Stakeholders Orientation

Medium: What is Greenwashing? How to Spot It and Stop it

The Wall Street Journal: Ford Recalls 8.7 Million Cars To Fix Faulty Ignition Switch

American Museum of Tort Law: Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Company, 1981 (in regard to the Ford Pinto)

The Atlantic: Bhopal: The World's Worst Industrial Disaster, 30 Years Later

BBC: Volkswagen: The scandal explained (Clean Diesel scandal) 

Madras Courier: How a Pigsty Dispute Led to Environmental Law

Congress.gov: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change