Energy Policy Today and Tomorrow - Toward Sustainability?

Abstract

This Symposium Essay assesses the current state of United States energy policy and argues that the impending crisis of climate change provides a critical opportunity not only for direct action to curb greenhouse gas emissions but, perhaps just as importantly, for merging energy and environmental law. The Essay proceeds in three primary parts. Using Professor Joseph Tomain’s “dominant” paradigm of domestic energy policy, Part I traces the historical disconnect between environmental and energy regulation. Part II assesses what a modified, “alternative” energy paradigm might look like. Part III concludes by briefly examining potential roadblocks in the way of moving to a new, sustainable energy policy.

Keywords: Energy policy, energy law, environmental policy, environmental law, sustainability, climate change, renewable energy, clean energy, policy innovation, legal innovation

JEL Classification: K10, K23, K32, L52, L94, L97