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Richard L. Ottinger, Dean Emeritus at Elisabeth Haub School of Law

Richard L. Ottinger

Dean Emeritus
Elisabeth Haub School of Law
Environmental Law

Richard L. Ottinger

White Plains
Gerber Glass | 201C

Biography

Dean Emeritus Richard Ottinger first came to Elisabeth Haub School of Law when he retired from Congress in 1984. As a professor he taught in the environmental law program from 1984-94, and he served as Dean from 1994-99. During his term as Dean, he raised funds for the construction of a new modern classroom building, which was later dedicated as Richard Ottinger Hall in 2013. He also was responsible for bringing to Â̾ÞÈËÊÓƵthe New York State Judicial Training Institute. As Dean, he established the Law School Board of Advisors, the annual fundraising dinner, and the Practice program.

Dean Emeritus Ottinger is co-director of the Â̾ÞÈËÊÓƵGlobal Center for Environmental Legal Studies. He founded the Â̾ÞÈËÊÓƵEnergy & Climate Center, which advocates for climate change mitigation and promotion of clean energy resources. In his 16 years as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he authored a substantial body of energy and environmental laws. He was one of the earliest environmentalists in Congress in 1965. As chairman of the Energy Conservation and Power Subcommittee of the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, he was instrumental in adopting key energy and environmental legislation. Dean Emeritus Ottinger was a founding staff member of the Peace Corps, serving it during 1961-1964.

Currently, Dean Emeritus Ottinger continues to advise JD, LLM, and SJD students and involve them in national and international environmental and energy efficiency and renewable energy research and presentations. Recently, he helped guide an SJD student with her thesis and a China visiting professor with his one-year research projects. He also works with the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Academy of Environmental Law to encourage their members to advocate phasing out fossil fuels and terminating fossil fuel subsidies.

Education

  • BA, Cornell University
  • LLB, Harvard Law School

Honors & Awards

  • Founder and Chair Emeritus, Environmental and Energy Study Institute
  • Founding Board Member of Friends of the Earth
  • Editor-in-Chief, UNEP Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Laws
  • Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy, American Bar Association Section on Environment, Energy and Resources, 1974

Selected Publications

View all of Professor Ottinger’s publications on or .

Books

  • Renewable Energy Law and Development: Case Study Analyses, Edward Elgar, U.K. 2013 (with Haub Law Research Assistants)
  • UNEP Handbook for Drafting Laws on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Resources, UNEP 2007 (Adrian Bradbrook, Richard Ottinger, Lal Kurukulasuriya, Mark Radka eds.; Ottinger & Bradbrook co-authors w/contributing authors)
  • Compendium of Laws on Energy for Sustainable Development, Cambridge University Press, 2005 (Richard L. Ottinger, Adrian Bradbrook & Wang Xi eds.) (with Nicholas Robinson and Victor Tafur)
  • The Law of Energy for Sustainable Development, Cambridge University Press, 2005 (with Adrian Bradbrook, Rosemary Lyster & Wang Xi eds.)
  • Energy Law and Sustainable Development, IUCN, 2003 (with Adrian Bradbrook eds.)
  • The Law of Energy for Sustainable Development, Cambridge University Press, 2004 (Co-author, Richard Ottinger et.al eds)
  • Compendium of Sustainable Energy Laws, Cambridge University Press, 2004 (Richard Ottinger et.al eds)
  • Energy Law and Sustainable Development, IUCN, May 2003 (Co-author Richard Ottinger et. al eds.)
  • Social Costs and Sustainable Mobility, 2000 (Klaus Rennings, Olav Hohmeyer & Richard Ottinger eds.)
  • Social Costs and Sustainability: Valuation and Implementation in the Energy and Transport Sector, New York: Springer-Verlag, 1996 (with Olav Hohmeyer and Klauss Rennings, eds.)
  • Social Costs of Energy - Present Status & Future Trends: Proceedings of an International Conference, Held at Racine, Wisconsin, September 8–11, 1982, Springer-Verlag, 1992 (Edited with Olav Hohmeyer)
  • External Environmental Costs of Electric Power, 1991 (with Olav Hohmeyer)

Related News and Stories

Faculty and Staff

Dean Emeritus Richard Ottinger, of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Â̾ÞÈËÊÓƵ, and Professor Wang Xi, of Kunming University of Science and Technology in China, have published a book that compares efforts to curb air pollution in two of the world’s largest urban areas, Los Angeles and Beijing. Their book, A Tale of Two Cities: A Comparison of Air Pollution Governance in the Los Angeles Area of the USA and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Area of China, was more than 8 years in the making and the product of a joint study with Renewables 100 Policy Institute.

In the Media

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) highlighted the pioneering leadership of Â̾ÞÈËÊÓƵLaw Dean Emeritus Richard L. Ottinger in a tribute commemorating 40 years of Climate Action.