University of Houston Law Center Professor Gina Warren
March 14, 2023 — University of Houston Law Center Professor Gina Warren has been selected as the Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) Distinguished Energy Law Scholar. Warren will share her expertise in energy and environmental law, providing insight into her research on high-impact environmental justice matters.
“I'm honored to be in this space,” Warren stated. “It’s a privilege to be amongst a group of scholars who are talking about a sustainable energy future. It’s an honor to be selected.”
Nominated by colleagues, Warren will give a public lecture at VLGS and is invited to participate in informal gatherings with faculty and students. Scholars are chosen from varied subject areas such as environment, climate, energy and food.
A top-ranked environmental law program in the United States, VLGS specializes in environmental summer sessions, and Warren will join VLGS scholars to discuss multidisciplinary educational approaches. “These types of events allow for important interdisciplinary work and provide opportunities for diverse thoughts, communications and ideas,” Warren said. “It will be fun to sit at the table and have a conversation.”
“Biden’s infrastructure bill added fuel to the fire,” Warren said. “He set aside a lot of money to go into energy infrastructure, and through his Justice40 Initiative, 40% of all the benefits will go to underserved, underprivileged communities. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out how the benefits will filter through the system.”
Warren is currently on a research sabbatical from the Elizabeth Rockwell fellowship, and she will leave for Vermont at the end of July to present her research, returning on Aug. 1.
"The Biden Administration has made Environmental justice is a hot-button issue,” Warren said. “The energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables and more energy efficient technologies provides an opportunity to more fairly distribute the benefits to, and alleviate some of the burdens within, environmental justice communities.”
For her research project, Warren is studying environmental justice and sustainable, affordable housing as well as environmental justice issues that impact the indoor cultivation of marijuana. Her scholarship has been recognized in the top 20 law journals, books and peer-reviewed journals.
Warren is the A.L. O’Quinn Chair in Environmental Studies, serves as Co-Director of the Law Center’s Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Center and has garnered the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Fellowship, which was established for the research of projects on ethics and leadership.
