The Legislative Temperature for Climate Change

Abstract

It is almost certain that the US Congress is going to pass some kind of comprehensive climate change legislation that in some fashion will have mandatory limits or costs for the production of Carbon Dioxide. How this legislation is constructed will have enormous impacts on the economy and the ultimate stabilization of the world's climate. While interest groups have been putting forth proposals, it is difficult to get a comprehensive picture of all of the issues that should be addressed and how the various legislative proposals address them. This article attempts to do just that. This article first analyzes what issues should be considered in climate change legislation and why they should be considered, then proposes how these issues should be resolved, and how the various proposals come down on these issues.

Keywords: environment, environmental, climate, climate change, legislation, environmental law, environmental administration, carbon dioxide, tradeable emissions, carbon dioxide allocations, greenhouse gases, auctions, carbon tax, CO2 auction

JEL Classification: K23, K32, L51, L60, L94, O31, D44, D61, D63, D64