THE VIABILITY OF INTERSTATE COLLABORATION IN THE ABSENCE OF FEDERAL CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION

摘要

The United States Federal Government has declined to enact a nationwide regulatory scheme to abate greenhouse gas emissions: Congress has repeatedly failed to pass comprehensive legislation and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has only recently-and reluctantly-begun to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. In the absence of the guidance that might otherwise be afforded by a centralized regulatory scheme, some states are now taking action to collaborate on abatement efforts through regionally defined interstate initiatives. While much scholarship analyzes these state-led initiatives with the expectation that federal legislation will soon exist, this analysis departs from that tradition. As it is increasingly unlikely that federal action will occur in the foreseeable future, it is now necessary to consider the long-term viability of these state-led initiatives in the absence of comprehensive federal legislation. This Note focuses upon two of the most pressing challenges which face the regional initiatives: first, the inherently limited breadth of their jurisdiction; second, the likelihood of survival in the face of potential constitutional challenges.