California, Climate Change, and the Constitution

Author(s): Erwin Chemerinsky, Brigham Daniels, Brettny Hardy, Tim Profeta, Christopher H. Schroeder, and Neil S. Siegel

Published: September 2007

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Climate change, like many environmental challenges, is a global problem requiring local solutions. While the United States has of yet not passed meaningful legislation that addresses climate change, several U.S. states are taking steps to reduce the carbon footprints of their industries and citizens. In this Article, Erwin Chemerinsky, Brigham Daniels, Brettny Hardy, Tim Profeta, Christopher H. Schroeder, and Neil S. Siegel describe the climate change policies proposed by one such U.S. state: California. The authors then examine the possible constitutional issues inherent in these policies, including the roles of the dormant Commerce Clause and the dormant foreign relations power in moderating state efforts at regulation.