The relationship between desirable economic growth and environmental degradation is complex. The international community began to negotiate responsibility for the issue of global climate change twenty-one years ago. This paper suggests that the environmental Kuznets' hypothesis may provide a...

Climate change is an inevitable consequence of human greenhouse gas emissions. Without substantial changes in anthroprogenic causes of climate change, there will be severe negative impacts on our planet. Complete abolition of greenhouse gas emissions, however, is not possible nor will it...

This chapter describes some of the major regional GHG cap-and-trade initiatives in the United States, defines the problem of emissions leakage in the context of regional GHG regulation, identifies the various approaches employed by the regional GHG cap-and-trade regimes in the United States to...

This article assesses what contribution supplementary measures might make in the face of a legislated emissions trading scheme. The proposed Australian Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is discussed briefly to outline the essential features of this Scheme. Then measures such as renewable energy...

Policy initiatives to regulate greenhouse gas emissions are fast becoming a dominant feature of regional public policy. The initiatives commonly involve setting goals to reduce emissions below a baseline or business-as-usual level. The Western Climate Initiative is one such program, and has been...

Recent litigation seeking damages for the environmental and economic effects of global warming is targeting alleged producers of anthropogenic, atmospheric carbon dioxide. These defendants will inevitably seek coverage for the costs of litigation and any resulting judgments under their...

This article explains why policy makers should seriously consider substantial early reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as a part of any post-Kyoto framework, and sets out suggested elements of a framework for early action in a post-Kyoto agreement. Substantial early reductions are needed...

In the spring of 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts v. EPA that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must promulgate automobile tailpipe greenhouse gas emission standards under Section 202 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). American environmentalists hailed the Supreme...

This chapter aims at enhancing the understanding of designing an emissions trading scheme for greenhouse gases within the EU context. After having emphasized the need for a legal analysis of the emissions trading instrument, it will present some important design options. Subsequently, it will...

This article analyzes the American Clean Energy and Security Act under international environmental law and standards. The Act requires that importers pay a fee if certain requirements regarding the country and sector are satisfied. The article presents general difficulties with enforcing...