Past Projects

Western Forests: Climate Change Synthesis Project

YCELP is partnering with the Council of Western State Foresters to research climate-smart forestry policies across the American West and Pacific Island nations. Lisa Dale is heading the research and with a team of graduate students, the Center will produce a climate policy synthesis report and a series of case studies of climate change adaptation and mitigation across the West and the Pacific. 


Yale Climate Change Dialogue

The Yale Climate Change Dialogue worked to construct and advance a 21st Century bottom-up policy framework that broadens engagement in the climate change action agenda – and delivers greater success in terms of on-the-ground results.


Western Environmental Issues Reading Group

As part of YCELP’s commitment to addressing environmental issues in the American West, Lisa Dale led a reading group dedicated to exploring current policy issues within the region. While theoretical perspectives were considered on some topics, the group was largely grounded in policy application.


Exploring Trade and the Environment

In 2011, the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy released a first-of-its-kind empirical study on the relationships between trade and the environment. Our study shows that decision-making needs to move beyond the broad definitions of “trade openness” and “environmental performance” and instead recognize the importance of a more refined interplay between international trade flows, liberalization policies, good governance, and disaggregated environmental factors such as environmental health, ecosystem degradation, and climate change.