About
Climate Defense Project
Climate Lawyers for the Climate Movement
The climate movement needs climate lawyers. Climate Defense Project fills a gap in the legal landscape by supporting front-line activists, pursuing climate impact litigation, and connecting attorneys with communities and campaigns. CDP’s three co-founders are recent Harvard Law School graduates. As law students, they brought the first fossil fuel divestment lawsuit, Harvard Climate Justice Coalition v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. Since graduating, they have continued to work toward a stable climate for present and future generations.
Meet the Team
Meet the Board
Wayne Hsiung
Board Member
Ryan Loney
Board Member
Marla Marcum
Board Member
Dayanita Babu Ramesh
Board Member
CDP′s Kelsey Skaggs and Alice Cherry at the Standing Rock encampment
What We Do
Without swift and dramatic action, climate change will wreak havoc on political and natural systems by the end of this century. Its worst effects are felt by those least responsible for it: poor and marginalized communities.
One in six Americans report that they would be willing to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience to combat climate change, but many of them lack access to reliable legal support.
The movement to respond to climate change needs a movement-based model of climate lawyering. CDP provides innovative legal arguments and comprehensive legal support for climate activists.
CDP is supported by grants from the Harvard Law School Public Service Venture Fund and the Wallace Global Fund. Contact us at info@climatedefenseproject.org to learn more.
The Climate Necessity Defense, in Pictures (courtesy of Graphic Advocacy Project)
Here is CDP’s Form 1023 application for tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) organization and the organization’s IRS exemption letter.