Session Four: Are Federal Institutions Up to the Challenges of Climate Change?

Event Details

9:00 – 11:00 a.m.

Climate change was first discussed by an American President in the 1960s, and a decade later it became the subject of Congressional hearings. But little subsequent federal legislation or policy development has occurred. This session considered the capacity of the three branches of the federal government to address climate change and respond to likely policy challenges. This  included a review of the federal judiciary, the U.S. Congress, and the likely lead unit of the executive branch: the Environmental Protection Agency.

Chair

Jonathan Cannon, School of Law, University of Virginia

Authors

Kirsten Engel, University of Arizona – Can the Courts Govern the Climate? Download Powerpoint Presentation.

Barry Rabe, University of Michigan – Can Congress Govern the Climate? Download Powerpoint Presentation.

Walter Rosenbaum, University of Florida – Can the Environmental Protection Agency Govern the Climate? Download Powerpoint Presentation.

Discussant

Susan Gander, National Governors Association – Center for Best Practices

The National Conference on Climate Governance was made possible by grants from WestWind Foundation; Muhlenberg College; the Center for Local, State and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan's Gerald Ford School of Public Policy; Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation; Altria Group, Inc.; and an anonymous Charlottesville foundation.