Creating Legal Pathways to a Zero-Carbon Future
Creating Legal Pathways to a Zero Carbon Future Legal and Policy Responses to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment, in 46 ELR 10780 (2016).
12 Pages Posted: 31 Oct 2015 Last revised: 22 Jun 2017
Date Written: September 19, 2015
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of the challenge of achieving a zero carbon future, as well as the way in which sustainable development would frame the decision-making process for doing so. It then reviews major reports by the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project and the World Bank that describe overall approaches at the global and national levels for meeting the zero carbon objective. Finally, using the United States as an example, it describes ways to identify and create legal pathways to that objective for the U.S., building on the insights of these two reports. Creating possible legal pathways could help accelerate the transition the transition to a sustainable energy future for the U.S. and other countries.
Keywords: climate change, decarbonization, zero carbon, global warming, Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project, Paris Agreement
JEL Classification: K19, K32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation