Is Climate Change a National Emergency?

66 Pages Posted: 15 Mar 2021 Last revised: 1 Feb 2022

See all articles by Mark Nevitt

Mark Nevitt

Emory University School of Law

Date Written: Dec 31, 2021

Abstract

The next decade is critical for climate action. As sea levels rise, wildfires rage, and disasters increase in frequency and scale, it is clear that the U.S. must leverage an expanding menu of legal, policy, and technological tools to address climate change’s destabilizing effects. At present, we remain off-track to reduce our collective greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and avoid irreversible, catastrophic harm. The emissions gap—the difference between the world’s current emissions trajectory and what we must emit to avoid climate change’s most severe consequences—continues to grow. Although President Biden and the 117th congressional leadership have pledged to combat the climate crisis, the Democrats’ narrow Senate majority will make passing comprehensive climate legislation difficult. In the face of legislative paralysis, a growing number of policymakers have called on the president to declare a climate change national emergency. Is climate change—and its multifaceted impacts—an emergency that warrants using supplemental legal authorities? If so, what federal emergency authorities are available? And what are the normative stakes to democratic governance if a president declares a climate emergency? This Article addresses these questions and others, arguing that climate change is unlike any problem facing the nation and the world. As climate change destabilizes the physical environment, it will force us to look with fresh eyes at all legal tools available to address climate mitigation, climate adaptation, and how we respond to climate impacts. As such, presidents must consider using all legal authorities—to include the National Emergencies Act (NEA)—to address climate change.

Keywords: climate change, environmental law, climate emergency, adaptation, mitigation, Paris Agreement, emergency powers, National Emergency Act

Suggested Citation

Nevitt, Mark, Is Climate Change a National Emergency? (Dec 31, 2021). 55 UC Davis Law Review 591 (2021), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3803655 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3803655

Mark Nevitt (Contact Author)

Emory University School of Law ( email )

1301 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30322
United States

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