This 14th chapter of our outline introduces the subject of
emissions trading.
1. EMISSIONS TRADING IN THE US: LEGAL ISSUES1
A. Introduction
Amid great expectations, the United States ratified the
Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992 but ultimately it
declined to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. What began as reluctance by
the Clinton administration to submit the Protocol for
ratification— stemming in part from a US Senate
resolution warning that presenting the Protocol for ratification
would be futile2—developed into outright
rejection of the Protocol by the subsequent Bush administration.
Convinced that legally binding greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction
targets would have 'wrecked' the US economy,3
former-President Bush instead encouraged a focus on voluntary GHG
initiatives. The perception among key state governments and
non-governmental organizations that the federal government was
shirking its responsibilities, however, led to the initiation of a
number of
