Contested Federalism and American Climate Policy

Abstract:     
Climate change has routinely been framed as an issue to be addressed through an international regime guided by a set of large nations. The evolving reality of climate policy development, in the United States and abroad, relies heavily on sub-national initiative. This paper reviews the evolution of the American climate policy odyssey, emphasizing distinct periods in which respective federal and state roles have shifted. It devotes particular attention to the substantial expansion of state involvement between 1998 and 2007 and the more recent experience in which high state and federal engagement has translated into a period of contested federalism. It concludes by exploring the growing likelihood that this arena will continue to be dominated in coming years by either state policy or some blending of state and federal authority.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 42

Keywords: climate change; climate policy; federalism; Canada and United States policy

JEL Classification: H2, H71, Q48, Q38

Accepted Paper Series