ANALYSIS: Race to Regulation of Greenhouse Gases Accelerates Without Clear Destination

While international and national attention focuses on the continued inability of the United States Senate to act on meaningful climate change legislation, accelerating actions by the Obama Administration, the courts, and the majority of states threaten to make Congress a footnote in the United States’ response to climate change. These actions have started the United States down the path to economy-wide regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and ensure that there will be costs imposed on major emitters. Although the path forward remains unclear, these actions also set the stage for wider participation by the United States in international carbon markets.