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This lesson is the third in the climate change series. It is designed to introduce students to the concept of climate change adaptation -- that is, the processes whereby humans respond to the ecological changes that climate change is causing.

Climate change is the major emerging environmental law problem of the 21st century. However, understanding the legal issues surrounding climate change, both internationally and domestically, will be easier if you have a basic comprehension of what climate change is.

This lesson looks at the international framework for addressing climate change mitigation, as established in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its protocols.

As of the beginning of 2010, Congress had not enacted comprehensive federal legislation to address climate change. Nevertheless, a number of plaintiffs--mostly non-governmental organizations, or NGOs--have been using litigation to attempt to educate the public and prompt effective responses.

This is the last of five CALI lessons on climate change. It explores the ways in which litigants and agencies have tried to use existing federal environmental statutes -- the Clean Air Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Water Act -- to address climate change.