CRS – Climate Change and Existing Law: A Survey of Legal Issues Past, Present, and Future, Robert Meltz, Legislative Attorney, July 2, 2012
“Efforts to mitigate climate change that is, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissionshave 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 EPAs efforts to carry out that authority were resolved in the agencys favor by the D.C. Circuit. Another issue is whether EPAs 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.”
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