Author ORCID Identifier

0000-0001-9690-0326

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

Keywords

Climate change, Legal duty, Climate adaptation, Takings, Retreat, Relocation, Government duties

Abstract

In the face of climate-driven disasters, government officials and individuals alike must decide whether to invest in climate-exposed areas or retreat. This Article analyzes emerging legal and policy issues associated with both climate retreat (when the government relocates people and infrastructure away from climate-exposed areas) and abandonment (when individuals leave climate-exposed areas, following natural disasters or otherwise). I argue that government-driven climate retreat must consider four overlapping legal duties, raising novel questions in an era of climate destabilization. First, does the government have an affirmative duty to rescue its citizens, and is this duty transformed by the government’s role in shaping climate policy? Second, is the duty to repair infrastructure a mandatory ministerial duty requiring governmental action or more of a discretionary function? Third, is there an affirmative duty to upgrade infrastructure in the face of known climate risk? Finally, is there a legal duty for quasi-public utilities to continue service at all costs, even to climate-exposed communities that have been identified for relocation or retreat?

In contrast, the law of climate abandonment addresses the legal duties that an individual owes to society when abandoning homes in the face of climate disaster. Determining cleanup responsibility following abandonment is complicated by changing property lines that shift in response to climate impacts. This Article offers recommendations and a normative pathway to help navigate the complex legal thicket associated with the law of climate retreat and abandonment. Legal doctrines governing both retreat and abandonment must evolve to meet the climate moment. Policymakers should favor managed retreat over ad hoc, reactive abandonment by individuals.

First Page

1065

Publication Title

Iowa Law Review

Download

Share

COinS