Governance, Environmental Law & Decision-making

Issues of law, policy and governance are a key focus of national and international environmental research at UArizona. Faculty work on diverse topics, such as the intersections of Native American studies and environmental policy.

Our research
Sam Wetherell standing in front of a blooming tree

Sam Wetherell Puts the "Eco" in Economics

Kara Asher sitting on a rock with no arms

"No Future Without Change:" Kara Asher On Climate Action

Screenshot of napaccess.org front page.

Inspired by Data Science, Team Aims to Fulfill the Promise of NEPA Environmental Goals

During the 1960s, a series of environmental catastrophes and revelatory books transformed the American environmental consciousness, setting the stage for the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1969. More than fifty years later, a group of researchers at the University of Arizona is helping to bring NEPA’s original vision into the 21st century through advanced data science practices, galvanizing a new generation of environmental leaders.

Chomsky and Pollin: COP26 Pledges Will Fail Unless Pushed by Mass Organizing

Robert Pollin and Noam Chomsky share their insights about the upcoming global climate summit and what must ultimately be done to save humanity and the planet from a global climate catastrophe.

Giselle Lugo in front of large rock formation

Giselle Lugo Combines Her Interests to Explore Environment at Arizona

Jaden raising her hands in front of a large rock formation

Jaden Iniguez Shows Us You Don't Have to Have Everything Figured Out to Know What You're Passionate About

Refugee camps can wreak enormous environmental damages – should source countries be liable for them?

While it may seem that much of the world has been locked down during the past pandemic year, more than 80 million people are currently on the move – unwillingly.

What Biden's climate justice pledge on leaking oil wells means

A little-discussed section in President Biden’s groundbreaking executive order on climate aims high. For the first time in federal policy, it pairs the urgent issues of leaking greenhouse gases with the creation of new jobs for energy workers and people who live in heavily-polluted neighborhoods.

Threats to Wildlife Persist Even as US Halts Border Wall Construction

On the day President Joe Biden took office, he put a pause on border wall construction, a centerpiece of former President Donald Trump’s immigration policy.