United States

• Status under International Climate Change Law
• Litigation
• Federal Laws on Climate Change
• Local, State, and Regional Legislation and Initiatives
• U.S. Government Documents
• Factual Matters
• NGO Resources
• Secondary Sources

Status under International Climate Change Law

• UNFCCC: signature and ratification (15 Oct 1992)
• KP: signature only
  Quantified emission limitation or reduction commitment: -7
• Vienna Convention: signature and ratification (27 Aug 1986)
• Montreal Protocol: signature and ratification (21 Apr 1988)
• LRTAP: signature and ratification (30 Nov 1981) as well as signature and ratification of 1984, 1988, 1998 (heavy metals only) and 1999 Protocols (signature of 1991 and 1998 POP Protocols but no ratification)
• Energy Charter: observer
• Energy Efficiency Protocol: observer
• Espoo Convention: signature only
• UNFCCC Commitment: The United States intends to achieve an economy-wide target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 26%-28% below its 2005 level in 2025 and to make best efforts to reduce its emissions by 28%.

Litigation

A comprehensive chart of U.S. climate change case law, organized by both claim and case name, with links to decisions, briefs, and memos, is available here.

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Federal Laws on Climate Change

Climate

Although comprehensive climate change legislation has been proposed on several occasions, there is no federal law in the United States that explicitly requires public entities or private companies to mitigate their impact on global climate. Many other laws, including those listed below, have the effect of requiring or encouraging mitigation. For up to date information on new federal climate legislation please visit our Climate Legislation Tracker.

Air Protection

• Clean Air Act (1970)

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/chapter-85

Energy

• Atomic Energy Act (1954) on both the civilian and the military uses of nuclear materials.
• Energy Policy and Conservation Act (1975) to create a comprehensive approach to federal energy policy, following the 1973 oil crisis.
• The Department of Energy Organization Act (1977) to establish the Department of Energy
• Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (1978) to promote greater use of domestic renewable energy.
• Energy Policy Act (1992) to address energy efficiency, energy conservation and energy management.
• Energy Policy Act (2005) to provide tax incentives and loan guarantees for energy production of various types
• Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (19 December 2007) to introduce measures to expand the production of renewable fuels, reduce US dependence on oil, increase energy security and address climate change.
• Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 – Energy Provisions (15 October 2008) to authorize defense spending for fiscal year 2009 including several provisions aimed at energy efficiency, renewable energy and use of alternative sources of energy in the armed forces.

Forests

• National Forest Management Act (1976) to govern the administration of national forests.
• Federal Land Policy and Management Act (1976) to govern the way public lands are administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

Environmental Impact Assessment

• National Environmental Policy Act (1970) to establish a U.S. national policy promoting the enhancement of the environment.

Others

• Reorganization Plan No. 3 (executive order) (1970) to establish the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Endangered Species Act (1973) to protect critically imperiled species from extinction.
• Clean Water Act (1972) to eliminate release of high amounts of toxic substances into water.
• Coastal Zone Management Act (1972) to encourage coastal states to develop and implement coastal zone management plans (CZMPs)
• Global Change Research Act (1990) assist the nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes of global change.
• Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (19 December 2007) to introduce measures to expand the production of renewable fuels, reduce US dependence on oil, increase energy security and address climate change.
• Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 – Energy Provisions (15 October 2008) to authorize defense spending for fiscal year 2009 including several provisions aimed at energy efficiency, renewable energy and use of alternative sources of energy in the armed forces.
• Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (19 December 2007) to introduce measures to expand the production of renewable fuels, reduce US dependence on oil, increase energy security and address climate change.

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Local, State, and Regional Legislation and Initiatives

In the absence of comprehensive federal legislation on greenhouse gas emissions, local, state, and regional initiatives have emerged. In addition to climate plans and initiatives, many states have relevant laws governing energy, renewable portfolio standards, public benefit funds, net metering, green pricing, and appliance efficiency. A more comprehensive list of states climate laws is available here.

State Climate Action Plans

• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
  See also California’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, and subsequent litigation, Association of Irritated Residents v. California Air Resources Board, 206 Cal.App.4th 1487 (Cal. Ct. App. 2012)
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Florida
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Montana
• North Carolina
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• New York
• Ohio
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Virginia
• Vermont
• Washington
• Wisconsin

Regional Climate Initiatives

• Northeast Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
• Western Climate Initiative

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U.S. Government Documents

• Energy, Climate Change, and Our Environment Government Resources
• President Obama’s June 2013 Climate Action Plan
• Congressional Research Office – Climate Change and Existing Law: A Survey of Legal Issues Past, Present, and Future
• Executive Order 12866
• Executive Order 13514: Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance
• Progress Report 2011
• Executive Order: Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration
• Executive Order 13547: Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes
• Executive Order 13554: Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force
• Global Climate Change Impacts in the US, 2009 Report
• Executive Order 13423: Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management

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Factual Matters

• International Energy Agency Statistics – United States
• Environmental Protection Agency, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2011(2013)
• Pew Research Center Poll on US Opinion of Global Warming (2009)
• Wikipedia – Greenhouse Gas Emissions by the United States
• Wikipedia – Energy in the United States

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NGO Resources

• National Council for Science and the Environment – Strategies and Recommendations to Improve Decision-Making on Environment and Security Issues
• Natural Resource Defense Council – Global Warming
• Environment Defense Fund
• Resources for the Future
• World Resources Institute
• Pew C2ES
• Brookings Institute
• Earthjustice
• US Climate Action Network

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Secondary Sources

Michael B. Gerrard & Gregory E. Wannier, United States of America, in CLIMATE CHANGE LIABILITY, 556-603 (Richard Lord et al. eds., Cambridge University Press 2011)

More available here.

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Updated as of: December 2013