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Decentralizing Cap-And-Trade? State Controls Within A Federal Greenhouse Gas Cap-And-Trade Program, Alice Kaswan
Decentralizing Cap-And-Trade? State Controls Within A Federal Greenhouse Gas Cap-And-Trade Program, Alice Kaswan
Alice Kaswan
Cap-and-trade programs for greenhouse gases (GHGs) present central political questions with significant economic and environmental ramifications. This paper addresses a critical structural issue: To what extent should states retain the capacity to develop stricter parameters within a federal cap-and-trade program? This Article argues that, within the confines of a federal trading program, states should retain substantial autonomy to establish their own direct regulatory requirements, impose their own offset policies, and adopt differing trading parameters to maximize a GHG trading program’s co-pollutant and other benefits. State autonomy is justified by benefits to the nation as a whole, since states can provide …
Decentralizing Cap-And-Trade? The Question Of State Stringency, Alice Kaswan
Decentralizing Cap-And-Trade? The Question Of State Stringency, Alice Kaswan
Alice Kaswan
A cap-and-trade program is likely to be a centerpiece of federal climate change legislation. The presence of a national market does not, however, render irrelevant the states’ vital interest in the goals and operation of a national trading program. This Article addresses a first critical question about a state’s role in a federal system: whether federal legislation should allow states to be more stringent than the federal government and to achieve that stringency through controls on stationary sources. This Article reviews the compelling justifications for allowing states to be more stringent. It then assesses particular mechanisms for achieving state stringency …