Energy, Environment & Land Use Program

Climate change is widely regarded as one of the most difficult problems facing modern society. Developing legal, economic, and social responses requires interdisciplinary research that is theoretically sophisticated and policy-relevant.

The Climate Change Research Network at Vanderbilt includes a team of faculty and graduate students who are conducting theoretical and applied research on one of the most important and most widely overlooked sources of greenhouse gases: individual and household behavior. The research also explores how insights from law and the social and behavioral sciences can reduce corporate carbon emissions. The Climate Change Research Network is affiliated with the Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment.

The Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment (VIEE) facilitates innovative research, education, and outreach to explore and solve modern environmental and energy problems. The Institute promotes interdisciplinary work among law, business, the natural and social sciences, the humanities, and engineering.

The Owen Graduate School of Management has been ranked as one of the leading business school programs in environmental management as reported by the World Resources Institute. The Owen School, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Department of Religious Studies, and other Vanderbilt University schools and departments also offer graduate-level courses on environmental topics.

The Vanderbilt Center for Environmental Management Studies (VCEMS) is a center for interdisciplinary environmental research and teaching focusing on environmental management and stewardship. VCEMS is a Vanderbilt University initiative of the Law School, the School of Engineering, the Graduate School, and the Owen Graduate School of Management. VCEMS organizes annual symposia on topics such as risk communication and corporate environmental reporting. VCEMS graduates work in a variety of disciplines in academic institutions, non-profit organizations, corporations, and government. Professor Vandenbergh serves as the Law School's faculty participant in VCEMS.