Climate Stumbling Blocks : Zombie Energy Laws, States, and the Path to Paris

Comment with Jessica R. Bell on University of Chicago Law Professor Joshua C. Macey's Zombie Energy Laws law review article on zombie energy laws that undermine incorporation of more clean energy resources into the electricity grid and harm consumers in the process. Zombie energy laws, according to Macey, are "statutes, regulations, and judicial precedents that continue to apply after their underlying economic and legal bases dissipate.”The comment highlights the progress states have made and are poised to continue making in reducing GHG emissions at the dawn of the Biden Administration. Then it discusses two of the zombie energy laws identified in Macey’s article and identify other proposed fixes. Last, the comment explores two additional zombie laws that may impede clean energy progress.The comment was published in the August 2021 issue of the Environmental Law Reporter along with Professor Macey's article. The article was presented at the Environmental Law Institute and Vanderbilt Law's Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review (ELPAR) Conference in April 2021. Bell and Macbeth provided comments at ELPAR in response to the article