Old Roads to a New Destination
| Author | Nicholas M. Bianco/Franz T. Litz |
| Position | Leads the World Resources Institute's state and regional climate change efforts/Leads WRI's efforts to engage federal agencies on climate change regulatory matters, and is also active in WRI's work at the state and regional levels in North America |
| Pages | 28-33 |
Page 28 ❧ THE ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM Copyright © 2011, Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, D.C. www.eli.org.
Reprinted by permission from The Environmental Forum®, May/June 2011
Old Roads to a New Destination
Can the United States meet the challenge of climate change using existing
federal laws and action by the states under their authorities? It can come
close if Congress doesn’t prevent agencies from taking action
ments have been advanced that, if enacted, would
delay or stop EPA and other agencies from driving
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. At the time
this article was finalized for publication, no significant
anti-regulatory measure had made it to the president’s
desk. Should such a measure be passed, the admin-
istration has signaled that President Obama would
veto the bill. To overcome that veto, anti-regulatory
legislators would need to muster a two-thirds vote in
both the Senate and House of Representatives — a
feat that appears unlikely. Congressional pressure on
the administration can nevertheless have a dampen-
ing effect on its policy decisions even if Congress fails
to strip federal agencies of their authority to regulate
greenhouse gases. Political pressure could result in less
ambitious regulations and fewer reductions.
As we watch the administration, hope for meaning-
ful reductions also comes from the states. In the past,
states have demonstrated capacity to effect change
when the federal government has not acted. While
the outlook has shifted with last fall’s elections, recent
actions by EPA, which require state participation un-
der the federal Clean Air Act, will provide impetus for
states to resume some work in this space.
Federal agencies currently possess regulatory au-
thority over a wide range of greenhouse gas emitters
in the United States. e most significant of these au-
thorities are contained in the Clean Air Act. In 2007,
the Supreme Court decided that greenhouse gases fit
within the expansive definition of a pollutant under
the act. at decision made a range of regulatory tools
to reduce emissions available to EPA. e CAA does
Given the dim prospects for climate change
legislation in the 112th Congress, all eyes
have turned to federal agencies and the
states as the primary drivers of climate
and energy policy in the United States. In
a July 2010 report for the World Resources Institute
titled “Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the
United States Using Existing Federal Authorities and
State Action,” we examined the emissions reduction
potential of federal authorities on the books and an-
nounced state actions to determine whether the Unit-
ed States could reduce its emissions of heat-trapping
gases that cause global warming, even as Congress re-
fuses to tackle the problem. We concluded that federal
agencies and states could indeed put the United States
far along on a path to meet its international commit-
ment to reduce emissions by 17 percent from 2005
levels by 2020 if the Obama administration pursues a
go-getter approach.
Since issuance of the report, we have been tracking
actions by federal agencies to reduce global warming
pollution. While it is too early to know whether the
administration’s actions will be enough to substan-
tially reduce U.S. emissions of heat-trapping gases, it
has made significant steps in the right direction. Ad-
ditional steps can and should be taken, using a variety
of laws and regulations under the aegis of several agen-
cies. is article identifies additional steps to drive sig-
nificant short-term abatement.
As the administration takes action to reduce green-
house gas emissions, some in Congress have mounted
efforts to stop them. A number of bills and amend-
Nicholas M. Bianco le ads the World Resourc-
es Institute’s state and re gional climate change
efforts . Contact: nbianco@wri.org. Franz T. Litz
leads WRI’s efforts to engage federal agencies on
climate change regulatory matters, and is also ac-
tive in WRI’s work at the state and regional levels
in North America. Contact: franz@wri.org.
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