Director, Model Laws for Deep Decarbonization Project

Position | Director, Model Laws for Deep Decarbonization Project

This remote position is housed jointly within Environmental Advocates NY (EANY) and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University. The role combines legal drafting and policy analysis, organizing and outreach, and website management to advance deep decarbonization policies nationwide while supporting state-level climate action in New York.

Location | Remote

Schedule | Full-time

Travel | 10-20% time to Albany or New York City

About Environmental Advocates NY: Environmental Advocates NY (EANY), founded in 1969, is a leading voice in the fight for the environment in New York State. EANY’s mission is to protect our air, land, water, and health by advocating for policy solutions that create a sustainable and equitable future. Learn more about our work at

About the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law: The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School, founded in 2009, is a leading academic and policy hub dedicated to developing innovative legal techniques to address climate change and advancing global efforts toward climate mitigation and adaptation. Through rigorous research, analysis, and advocacy, the center explores critical legal issues related to energy policy, environmental justice, and resilience.

Core Competencies and Responsibilities

1. Bill Drafting and Policy Analysis (60%)

• Model Law Development:
  • Draft or co-draft select model state-level laws that can be tailored for introduction into state legislatures
  • Provide input on proposed bills and work products, handling draft reviews and administration.
  • Collaborate with partner legislative drafters to identify and prioritize impactful models.
• State and National Policy Analysis:
  • Conduct policy gap analyses to inform legislative priorities in key states
  • Review New York State legislation and compare it to legal pathway to deep decarbonization (LPDD) models and national best practices, integrating tools like RMI’s energy policy simulator to assess quantitative impacts.
  • Act as a legal advisor to EANY’s policy team, engaging across a variety of policy areas.
• Regulatory Engagement:
  • Consult with agencies and state legislative members and their staffs to identify the best regulatory approaches.

1. Organizing and Outreach (20%)

• Public Engagement:
  • Organize and promote webinars, featuring legal drafters, peer reviewers, and technical experts, to showcase LPDD model laws.
  • Partner with organizations of state legislators and others for cross-promotional opportunities.
• Legislative Collaboration:
  • Perform outreach to priority state legislative caucuses and committees to advance climate action initiatives.
• Fundraising Support:
  • Assist in securing funding for LPDD to sustain and grow its impact.

1. Website Management (20%)

• Oversee the LPDD website, ensuring resources—including model ordinances, contracts, and laws—are accessible and up-to-date.
• Work with teams to compile, categorize, and disseminate a variety of legal materials effectively.
• Help supervise students and volunteers to enhance web resources and related tasks

Required Skills and Qualifications

• JD or equivalent experience in climate, environmental, energy, or land use law and policy.
• Demonstrated expertise in legislative drafting and policy analysis.
• Strong organizational and communication skills, with experience in outreach and public engagement.
• A collaborative and proactive approach to driving climate solutions.

Bonus Skills and Qualifications

• Familiarity with website management and online research tools; ability to edit website content. NOTE: Applicants who do not yet have website skills and experience will be considered; training and other resources can be provided.

About the Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization project

In 2014, as part of an international effort led by several NGOs, a technical report entitled Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States was published. It set forth the technical means by which the United States could transition away from fossil fuels through “deep decarbonization” – achieving economy-wide greenhouse gas emission reductions of 80% from1990 levels by 2050, and ultimately to net zero emissions by 2100. The three pillars of this approach are aggressive programs of energy efficiency; decarbonization of the electricity supply, chiefly through renewables; and electrification of fossil fuel uses, led by vehicles and space heating and cooling. While these three pillars provide a direction for U.S. decarbonization, a major missing piece was a description and analysis of the legal changes needed to make that happen. Thus in early 2016 Professors Michael Gerrard and John Dernbach launched the Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization (LPDD) project. Its purpose is to identify how federal, state and local laws need to change in order for the U.S. to be on the deep decarbonization pathways. They assembled a team of 54 legal scholars and practitioners to examine each of the measures contained in the 2014 technical report (plus several other measures that were not included in the report) and analyze the underlying legal issues. The result is Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States, published by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) in March 2019. The book includes more than 1,000 recommendations for Congress, federal agencies, state legislatures, state agencies, local governments, and corporations and other private actors.

After the publication of the book, Gerrard and Dernbach assembled a team to find pro bono lawyers to draft model laws to implement the book’s recommendations; launched a website that posts not only the model laws drafted by the project, but also many model and actual laws and other resources from other sources; and held numerous webinars, seminars and other events to introduce the model laws to potential users. The website, lpdd.org, currently has more than 2,500 resources. The LPDD team has been working with law firms, independent lawyers, and law school clinics on a pro bono basis to develop the model laws, regulations and transactional forms.