Download or read book The Constitutionality of Federal Climate Change Legislation written by Alastair R. Lucas and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The constitutionality of federal climate change legislation written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In spite of the legislative stalemate, the federal government, in April 2007, replaced its 2005 climate change plan with a new policy entitled "Turning the Corner: An Action Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollution."23 The Turning the Corner Plan is based on the notice of intent and was touted as the cornerstone of the government's efforts to address climate change and air pollution. [...] The details of the plan were outlined in the Regulatory Framework for Air Emissions.24 The reason for the policy change became clear when the government announced that while it was not formally withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol, its commitment to meet the emission targets under the Protocol were over.25 The government stated its intention to rely on a domestic plan - the Turning the Corner Plan [...] The original version of the Clean Air Bill defined "air pollutant" and "greenhouse gas."40 It removed both air pollutants and GHGs from Part 5 of CEPA and moved them into a new Part 5.1: "Clean Air." The purpose of Part 5.1 was "to promote the reduction of air pollution and to promote air quality in order to protect the environment and the health of all Canadians, especially that of the more vulne [...] Similar to the original bill, the amended bill recognized that air pollution and GHG emissions are of national and international concern.43 This was softened by an explicit statement that the federal government recognizes that air pollution and GHGs are "matters within the jurisdiction of both the Government of Canada and the governments of the provinces." In the amended Clean Air Bill, air pollut [...] The amended bill would not apply within the jurisdiction of another government that has enacted legal provisions that are "equivalent to the reductions required by the national carbon budget" and provisions equivalent to those in CEPA for the investigation of alleged offences.46 The amended bill also strengthened the requirements for air pollution under Part 5.2.
Download or read book Climate Change and Existing Law written by Robert Meltz and published by Createspace Independent Pub. This book was released on 2012-08-02 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report surveys existing law for legal issues that have arisen, or may arise in the future, on account of climate change and government responses thereto. At the threshold of many climate-change-related lawsuits are two barriers—whether the plaintiff has standing to sue and whether the claim being made presents a political question. Both barriers have forced courts to apply amorphous standards in a new and complex context. Efforts to mitigate climate change—that is, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—have spawned a host of legal issues. The Supreme Court resolved a big one in 2007—the Clean Air Act (CAA), it said, does authorize EPA to regulate GHG emissions. Quite recently, a host of issues raised by EPA's efforts to carry out that authority were resolved in the agency's favor by the D.C. Circuit. Another issue is whether EPA's “endangerment finding” for GHG emissions from new motor vehicles will compel EPA to move against GHG emissions under other CAA authorities. Still other mitigation issues are (1) the role of the Endangered Species Act in addressing climate change; (2) how climate change must be considered under the National Environmental Policy Act; (3) liability and other questions raised by carbon capture and sequestration; (4) constitutional constraints on land use regulation and state actions against climate change; and (5) whether the public trust doctrine applies to the atmosphere. Liability for harms allegedly caused by climate change has raised another crop of legal issues. The Supreme Court decision that the CAA bars federal judges from imposing their own limits on GHG emissions from power plants has led observers to ask: Can plaintiffs alleging climate change harms still seek monetary damages, and are state law claims still allowed? The one ruling so far says no to both. Questions of insurance policy coverage are also likely to be litigated. Finally, the applicability of international law principles to climate change has yet to be resolved. Water shortages thought to be induced by climate change likely will lead to litigation over the nature of water rights. Shortages have already prompted several lawsuits over whether cutbacks in water delivered from federal projects effect Fifth Amendment takings or breaches of contract. Sea level rise and extreme precipitation linked to climate change raise questions as to (1) the effect of sea level rise on the beachfront owner's property line; (2) whether public beach access easements migrate with the landward movement of beaches; (3) design and operation of federal levees; and (4) government failure to take preventive measures against climate change harms. Other adaptation responses to climate change raising legal issues, often property rights related, are beach armoring (seawalls, bulkheads, etc.), beach renourishment, and “retreat” measures. Retreat measures seek to move existing development away from areas likely to be affected by floods and sea level rise, and to discourage new development there. Natural disasters to which climate change contributes may prompt questions as to whether response actions taken in an emergency are subject to relaxed requirements and, similarly, as to the rebuilding of structures destroyed by such disasters just as they were before. Finally, immigration and refugee law appear not to cover persons forced to relocate because of climate change impacts such as drought or sea level rise.
Download or read book The Green Amendment written by Maya K. Van Rossum and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2017 INDIE BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD FINALIST "A rallying cry . . . Everyone who is concerned about the welfare of all species, including human beings. Please read this important book." --Richard Louv, chairman emeritus of the Children & Nature Network and author of LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS and THE NATURE PRINCIPLE The Constitutional Change We Need to Protect Our Priceless Natural Resources For decades, activists have relied on federal and state legislation to fight for a cleaner environment. And for decades, they've been fighting a losing battle. The sad truth is, our laws are designed to accommodate pollution rather than prevent it. It's no wonder people feel powerless when it comes to preserving the quality of their water, air, public parks, and special natural spaces. But there is a solution, argues veteran environmentalist Maya K. van Rossum: bypass the laws and turn to the ultimate authority--our state and federal constitutions. In 2013, van Rossum and her team won a watershed legal victory that not only protected Pennsylvania communities from ruthless frackers but affirmed the constitutional right of people in the state to a clean and healthy environment. Following this victory, van Rossum inaugurated the Green Amendment movement, dedicated to empowering every American community to mobilize for constitutional change. Now, with The Green Amendment, van Rossum lays out an inspiring new agenda for environmental advocacy, one that will finally empower people, level the playing field, and provide real hope for communities everywhere. Readers will discover how legislative environmentalism has failed communities across America, the transformational difference environmental constitutionalism can make, the economic imperative of environmental constitutionalism, and how to take action in their communities. We all have the right to pure water, clean air, and a healthy environment. It's time to claim that right--for our own sake and that of future generations.
Download or read book Implementing Environmental Constitutionalism written by Erin Daly and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-05-31 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Constitutions can play a central role in responding to environmental challenges, such as pollution, biodiversity loss, lack of drinking water, and climate change. The vast majority of people on earth live under constitutional systems that protect the environment or recognize environmental rights. Such environmental constitutionalism, however, falls short without effective implementation by policymakers, advocates and jurists. Implementing Environmental Constitutionalism: Current Global Challenges explains and explores this 'implementation gap'. This collection is both broad and deep. While some of the essays analyze crosscutting themes, such as climate change and the need for rule of law that affect the implementation of environmental constitutionalism throughout the world, others delve deeply into geographically contextual experiences for lessons about how constitutional environmental law might be more effectively implemented. This volume informs global conversations about whether and how environmental constitutionalism can be made more effective to protect the natural environment.
Download or read book Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States written by Michael Gerrard and published by . This book was released on 2019-03-18 with total page 1056 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States provides a "legal playbook" for deep decarbonization in the United States, identifying well over 1,000 legal options for enabling the United States to address one of the greatest problems facing this country and the rest of humanity. The book is based on two reports by the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP) that explain technical and policy pathways for reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% from 1990 levels by 2050. This 80x50 target and similarly aggressive carbon abatement goals are often referred to as deep decarbonization, distinguished because it requires systemic changes to the energy economy. Legal Pathways explains the DDPP reports and then addresses in detail 35 different topics in as many chapters. These 35 chapters cover energy efficiency, conservation, and fuel switching; electricity decarbonization; fuel decarbonization; carbon capture and negative emissions; non-carbon dioxide climate pollutants; and a variety of cross-cutting issues. The legal options involve federal, state, and local law, as well as private governance. Authors were asked to include all options, even if they do not now seem politically realistic or likely, giving Legal Pathways not just immediate value, but also value over time. While both the scale and complexity of deep decarbonization are enormous, this book has a simple message: deep decarbonization is achievable in the United States using laws that exist or could be enacted. These legal tools can be used with significant economic, social, environmental, and national security benefits. Book Reviews "A growing chorus of Americans understand that climate change is the biggest public health, economic, and national security challenge our families have ever faced and they rightly ask, ''What can anyone do?'' Well, this book makes that answer very clear: we can do a lot as individuals, businesses, communities, cities, states, and the federal government to fight climate change. The legal pathways are many and the barriers are not insurmountable. In short, the time is now to dig deep and decarbonize." --Gina McCarthy, Former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator "Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States sets forth over 1,000 solutions for federal, state, local, and private actors to tackle climate change. This book also makes the math for Congress clear: with hundreds of policy options and 12 years to stop the worst impacts of climate change, now is the time to find a path forward." --Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senator, Rhode Island "This superb work comes at a critical time in the history of our planet. As we increasingly face the threat and reality of climate change and its inevitable impact on our most vulnerable populations, this book provides the best and most current thinking on viable options for the future to address and ameliorate a vexing, worldwide challenge of extraordinary magnitude. Michael Gerrard and John Dernbach are two of the most distinguished academicians in the country on these issues, and they have assembled leading scholars and practitioners to provide a possible path forward. With 35 chapters and over 1,000 legal options, the book is like a menu of offerings for public consumption, showing that real actions can be taken, now and in the future, to achieve deep decarbonization. I recommend the book highly." --John C. Cruden, Past Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice "This book proves that we already know what to do about climate change, if only we had the will to do it. The path to decarbonization depends as much on removing legal impediments and changing outdated incentive systems as it does on imposing new regulations. There are ideas here for every sector of the economy, for every level of government, and for business and nongovernmental organizations, too, all of which should be on the table for any serious country facing the most serious of challenges. By giving us a sense of the possible, Gerrard and Dernbach and their fine authors seem to be saying two things: (1) do something; and (2) it''s possible. What a timely message, and what a great collection." --Jody Freeman, Archibald Cox Professor of Law and Founding Director of the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program
Download or read book The Law and Policy of Environmental Federalism written by Kalyani Robbins and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2015-12-18 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How should we strike a balance between the benefits of centralized and local governance, and how important is context to selecting the right policy tools? This uniquely broad overview of the field illuminates our understanding of environmental federalism and informs our policy-making future. Professor Kalyani Robbins has brought together an impressive team of leading environmental federalism scholars to provide a collection of chapters, each focused on a different regime. This review of many varied approaches, including substantial theoretical material, culminates in a comparative analysis of environmental federalism and consideration of what each system might learn from the others. The Law and Policy of Environmental Federalism includes clear descriptive portions that make it a valuable teaching resource, as well as original theory and a depth of policy analysis that will benefit scholars of federalism or environmental and natural resources law. The value of its analysis for real-world decision-making will make it a compelling read for practitioners in environmental law or fields concerned with federalism issues, including those in government or NGOs, as well as lobbyists.
Download or read book Judicial Responses to Climate Change in the Global South written by Shuma Talukdar and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-12-13 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores how judiciaries in different parts of the world are responding to climate change and how climate change intersects with the law. It offers feminist approaches to the judicial responses to climate change in the Global South, providing both jurisdictional and thematic reviews. Climate change is one of the most pressing global issues facing humankind, and is currently reshaping geopolitics, governance, law, and international relations around the world. The book’s originality lies in its endeavour to highlight judicial perspectives on climate change from prominent female researchers who have been working on this subject professionally and/or academically, bringing both regional and international views to the subject. The main objective is to give a new meaning to the study of climate change by bringing together the most recent aspects, including climate litigation, eco-constitutionalism and the environmental rule of law, climate and environmental justice, climate geopolitics and climate governance. The book will be of interest to students, academics, and scholars of climate law and environmental law around the world.
Download or read book The Constitutional Question to Save the Planet written by Franklin L. Kury and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than 50 years ago, Franklin Kury drafted and championed an Environmental Rights Amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution, which was enacted on Earth Day 1970 and ratified by Pennsylvania's voters a year later. In the half century since then, climate change has become the overriding threat to the environment of the planet. In this book, Franklin Kury expands upon the story of Article I, Section 27, to demonstrate how its principles can be the basis for addressing climate change in the rest of the world. The story concludes with a call for the federal government's leadership to seek a national environmental rights amendment to the U.S. Constitution and a treaty to expand its reach to the international community.
Download or read book Climate Change Justice written by Eric A. Posner and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2010-02-22 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A provocative contribution to the climate justice debate Climate change and justice are so closely associated that many people take it for granted that a global climate treaty should—indeed, must—directly address both issues together. But, in fact, this would be a serious mistake, one that, by dooming effective international limits on greenhouse gases, would actually make the world's poor and developing nations far worse off. This is the provocative and original argument of Climate Change Justice. Eric Posner and David Weisbach strongly favor both a climate change agreement and efforts to improve economic justice. But they make a powerful case that the best—and possibly only—way to get an effective climate treaty is to exclude measures designed to redistribute wealth or address historical wrongs against underdeveloped countries. In clear language, Climate Change Justice proposes four basic principles for designing the only kind of climate treaty that will work—a forward-looking agreement that requires every country to make greenhouse-gas reductions but still makes every country better off in its own view. This kind of treaty has the best chance of actually controlling climate change and improving the welfare of people around the world.
Download or read book The Rule of Five written by Richard J. Lazarus and published by Belknap Press. This book was released on 2020 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A renowned Supreme Court advocate tells the inside story of Massachusetts v. EPA, the landmark case that made it possible for the EPA to regulate greenhouse gasses--from the Bush administration's fierce opposition, to the internecine conflicts among the petitioners, to the razor-thin 5-4 victory.
Download or read book AEP s Tipping Point written by Tristan L. Duncan and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Constitutional Limits to Creative Common-Lawmaking. This article challenges the thesis of Yale Law Professor Douglas Kysar and Benjamin Ewing in 'Prods and Pleas': Limited Government in An Era of Unlimited Harm, who urge courts to entertain climate change tort claims as a means to “prod and plea” Congress to enact comprehensive Greenhouse Gas emissions standards. In response to this attack on limited government, Ms. Duncan and Mr. Massey explore the constitutional constraints on the judicial role in the context of climate change, an inherently international and systemic issue, which entails cost-benefit and distributional decisions that only the political branches can make. Functional Reasoning to Reject Climate-Change Common Law Claims. A striking feature of the Supreme Court's AEP decision is Justice Ginsburg's functional reasoning regarding the limits on the judicial role. The opinion rejects “parallel tort tracks” and instead endorses judicial review of administrative rule-making petitions as the constitutionally more appropriate “prod and plea.” Implied Preemption Presumption for Global Problems Like Climate-Change. Although the Supreme Court 's AEP decision expressly reserved ruling on whether state common-law climate change claims are preempted by federal law, the opinion outlines the basis for a presumption in favor of preemption when an issue necessarily requires a uniform, national approach. Judicial Activism vs Restraint in Climate-Change Policy-Making. Ms. Duncan and Mr. Massey express concern that the “political theater” approach advocated by Kysar/Ewing would trigger charges of “judicial activism” and violate the limits of Article III. The Kysar/Ewing proposal is particularly alarming in light of proposals in state legislatures to circumscribe judicial independence. The proposal imperils the legitimacy of judicial decision-making and risks eroding popular support for the courts at a time when the Judiciary can ill afford such attacks.
Download or read book National Climate Program written by United States. National Climate Program Office and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Constitutional Climate Change in the Courts written by James R. May and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We have entered an interesting constitutional era, one in which a rising sea level will help to buoy a rising tide of climate litigation, the leading edge of which lies constitutional jurisprudence as applied to the political question doctrine, preemption, dormant commerce and compact clauses and standing. In 2007 most of it involves either state action (e.g., to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles or require climate friendly energy production), or state causes of action (e.g., public or private nuisance). In 2007, the trend was toward dismissing climate-tort cases as presenting political questions. Notably, in Mass. v. EPA, the court declined to enter political question arguments, finding that federal law gave the EPA the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Preemption defenses were less successful, although common law causes of action for climate change are likely to survive preemption challenges. Standing remains a considerable obstacle to climate litigation, although states have been granted a softer standard under the premise of “special solicitude.”
Download or read book Climate Change Litigation Global Perspectives written by Ivano Alogna and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-04-26 with total page 567 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This ground-breaking volume provides analyses from experts around the globe on the part played by national and international law, through legislation and the courts, in advancing efforts to tackle climate change, and what needs to be done in the future. Published under the auspices of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL), the volume builds on an event convened at BIICL, which brought together academics, legal practitioners and NGO representatives. The volume offers not only the insights from that event, but also additional materials, sollicited to offer the reader a more complete picture of how climate change litigation is evolving in a global perspective, highlighting both opportunities, and constraints.
Download or read book Constitutional Challenges and Regulatory Opportunities for State Climate Policy Innovation written by Felix Mormann and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Article explores constitutional limits and regulatory openings for innovative state policies to mitigate climate change by promoting climate-friendly, renewable energy. In the absence of a comprehensive federal policy approach to climate change and clean energy, more and more states are stepping in to fill the policy void. Already, nearly thirty states have adopted renewable portfolio standards that create markets for solar, wind, and other clean electricity. To help populate these markets, a few pioneering states have recently started using feed-in tariffs that offer eligible generators above-market rates for their clean, renewable power. But renewable portfolio standards, feed-in tariffs, and other state climate policies have increasingly come under attack for alleged violations of the Constitution. How much latitude do states have when they experiment with innovative climate and clean energy policies? And which policy best protects states from the risk of lengthy and costly litigation over its constitutionality? To answer these crucial questions, this Article takes stock of recent litigation challenging the constitutionality of state renewable portfolio standards and feed-in tariffs. Qualitative analysis reveals markedly different constitutional risk profiles for both policies with portfolio standards more prone to Commerce Clause challenges and feed-in tariffs more likely to face Supremacy Clause challenges. These vulnerabilities have prompted widespread scholarly skepticism over both policies' constitutional viability when implemented at the state level, often accompanied by calls for sweeping legislative or judicial reform. Pushing back against the prevailing scholarly skepticism, this Article draws on recent precedent to make the case for joint implementation of both policies as a way to reduce, rather than exacerbate, a state's overall exposure to the risk of constitutional attacks on its climate and clean energy policy.
Download or read book Environmental Protection written by Robert L. Glicksman and published by Aspen Publishing. This book was released on 2023-01-31 with total page 1072 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purchase of this ebook edition does not entitle you to receive access to the Connected eBook with Study Center on CasebookConnect. You will need to purchase a new print book to get access to the full experience, including: lifetime access to the online ebook with highlight, annotation, and search capabilities; practice questions from your favorite study aids; an outline tool and other helpful resources. Environmental Protection: Law and Policy, respected for its intellectual breadth and depth, is an interdisciplinary overview of Environmental Law, incorporating history, theory, litigation, regulation, policy, science, economics, and ethics. It covers the history of environmental protection; policy objectives; regulatory design strategies; and constitutional federalism and related statutory interpretation issues concerning the design and implementation of the environmental laws. Coverage also includes the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, CERCLA, and other pollution control statutes; a chapter on climate change that discusses scientific, policy, program design, and statutory authority questions; and natural resource management issues (including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and limited coverage of national forest management). New to the 9th Edition: New co-author Alejandro Camacho, a leading scholar on natural resources and public land law Ch.1: New materials on the Flint, Michigan battles over lead contamination of the municipal water system Ch.2: Discussion of regulatory and judicial skirmishes resulting from policy differences among the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations Ch.3: Changes, driven by the Supreme Court, to areas such as standard of judicial review (including the Court’s endorsement of the major questions doctrine) and potential changes to entrenched law in areas such as the nondelegation doctrine Ch.4: Council on Environmental Quality’s overhaul of its 1978 NEPA regulations under the Trump administration and the Biden CEQ’s phased revision of those regulations; Food and Water Watch v. FERC; Sierra Club v. EPA Ch.5: Discussion of recent research and scholarship on biodiversity loss, the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict the scope of the Endangered Species Act, and the Biden administration’s attempts to reverse or revise these changes; recent developments on listing, critical habitat, federal agency consultation, taking prohibitions, and incidental takings Ch.6: Updated references to air pollution science Ch.7: Updates on ongoing litigation involving the “waters of the United States” definition in the Clean Water Act Ch.8: EPA’s efforts to implement 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act; League of United Latin American Citizens v. Regan Ch.9: New case law under CERCLA; discussion of the treatment in the Restatement (Third) Torts of joint and several liability Ch.10: Streamlined coverage of environmental enforcement process Ch.11: Updated coverage of climate change law, policy, and science to reflect opposed regulatory responses to climate change by the Trump and Biden administrations; West Virginia v. EPA Online environmental justice supplement Streamlined note material Benefits for instructors and students: Thorough, nuanced treatment of existing laws, regulations, and cases, regulatory design strategies, and current and developing policy objectives Interdisciplinary approach incorporating science, economics, and ethics Coverage of major federal pollution control, environmental assessment, and species protection laws Charts and graphics Exercises and problems Distinguished author team with extensive practical, scholarly, and teaching experience
