Sabine Center releases report to provide legal tools for U.S. cities to combat climate change
Cities across the United States have long Demonstrated leadership In terms of climate change, more than 170 of them have set targets for phasing out fossil energy, and many other countries have pledged to achieve net zero emissions of greenhouse gases. U.S. cities, towns, counties, and other forms of local governments have taken the lead in formulating path-setting methods for economic decarbonization, including market-driven clean energy procurement, renovation of building construction landscapes, and directing polluting vehicles out of central cities. Many of them The city also emphasized fairness and climate justice in its carbon emission reduction policies, aiming to improve the daily life experience of first-line residents.
A new Sabine Center report, Urban Climate Law: A Legal Framework for Local Action in the United StatesWritten by Amy Turner and Michael Burger, it provides comprehensive guidelines for local law and policy makers to develop climate plans that consider and comply with federal and state laws. Although cities face considerable legal obstacles in formulating local climate policies, they also have important powers to formulate new policies that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while reducing local air pollution, expanding opportunities, and making our cities more equitable. Live, work, and play freely. Urban Climate Law It can help local governments transform from commitments to actions by uncovering the mystery of the legal background of local governments formulating climate policies.
Carbon emission reduction law at the local level is a broad discipline that spans federal, state, and local laws, regulations, requirements, plans, and other actions. It draws on various legal systems such as environment, energy, municipal administration, construction, contracts, vehicles and transportation, civil rights, constitution and privacy laws, and applies to carbon emission reduction activities in the construction, transportation, energy and waste sectors. Environmental justice and climate justice The important work done by legal and policy experts and advocates also informs it.
Urban Climate Law Describes the legal background applicable to the following areas:
- Cross-cutting legal concepts: As “the creature of the state”, the power of local governments does not exceed the power granted to them by their state. Therefore, certain legal foundations are applicable to all areas of local climate policy formulation, including municipal autonomy or city powers under the Dillon rule; state and federal laws provide for the right of first refusal; equality with dormant commercial clauses and the Fourteenth Amendment Federal constitutional restrictions related to protection clauses and other clauses; and state and local land use laws. Despite the limitations of the city’s regulatory approach, a deep understanding of this background shows that local governments have important carbon emission reduction policy opportunities.
- fair: Climate policy and issues of justice and fairness are intertwined in all levels of government, but where people live and build communities, perhaps no place is more important than the place. Fairness considerations—including potential unfair policy impacts and prospects for improving the life experience of frontline residents—are at the core of all areas of local climate policy. Urban Climate Law The legal source of the right to support a fair and just climate policy has been determined, and an agenda has been set for future research in this field.
- building: A large number of laws govern the construction of new buildings and the maintenance of existing buildings. Local governments have important legal powers related to the health and well-being of residents through police powers, so they are essential for monitoring the decarbonization of this important greenhouse gas and local air pollution sources. Local building decarbonization laws include considerations related to state and federal pre-emption rights, building codes, energy procurement requirements, land use and zoning, privacy and data security.
- transportation: The power of the local government to supervise the transportation department is determined by the federal and state vehicle and traffic laws, but the local government is in local roads, traffic enforcement, public transportation, and active transportation options (such as biking and walking. Legal considerations include federal and state priority Considerations related to purchase rights, land use and building codes, and road pricing.
- vitality: The energy law is mainly formulated at the state and federal levels, but as market participants, local regulators, and large stakeholders in the electricity regulatory process, local governments have a lot of freedom in increasing the absorption of renewable energy. For utility-scale renewable energy, local laws consider the national energy regulatory framework including power procurement. Other legal tools that can be used to promote clean energy development (including distributed scale) include concession agreements, land use and building code requirements, and community solar plans.
- Waste: Although the urban greenhouse gas emissions produced by the waste sector are relatively small, waste treatment emits a large amount of methane, which is significantly more effective than carbon dioxide. Waste decarbonization plays a role in the context of the dormant commercial provisions of the U.S. Constitution, state laws related to facility location and seizure, local agency powers, and contracts with waste transporters and processors.
Laws can create obstacles to policy implementation and can provide tools for success. The city must consider how to formulate policies to comply with federal and state laws. Given the variable conditions and context, cities cannot simply “copy and paste” successful climate policies elsewhere. They must consider the form and scope of their legal authorization.
this Urban Climate Law The report demystifies these and other thorny legal issues so that law and policy makers can formulate wise and creative carbon reduction policies to solve local political and policy issues while staying within the law and reducing courts. Risk of revocation action.Report can be found here.
