A Climate to Regulate

ISBN-13: 9783838321868 / Angielski / Miękka / 2010 / 100 str.

John Sautter

Opis

This book investigates how state laws and institutions may contribute to global warming. The hypothesis generally forwarded here is that state laws and institutions can have an enormous impact on the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from a states energy generation decisions. Public service commissions have an immense amount of power over the generation decisions of electric utilities. However, this power is not always equal among PUCs, nor always used in the same manner throughout the United States. State laws and institutions provide the basis from which public utility commissions regulate electricity generation in ways that inadvertently affect climate change. Therefore, differences in these laws and institutions can and do impact each states contribution to the amount of carbon dioxide emitted annually. Three separate studies are used to investigate the importance of laws and institutions in shaping a states carbon emissions profile. The research findings indicate that some state laws and institutions have made a significant difference in halting states carbon dioxide emissions, and without a doubt political determinants play a role in a states emissions profile.

O autorze

John Sautter earned his B.A. from New York University, a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska, as well as a J.D. and LL.M. from Vermont Law School. He has published articles on subjects such as American domestic energy policy, international energy policy, international climate change agreements, as well as authoring three other books.