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Gerrard, Michael B. --- "Climate change litigation in the United States" [2015] ELECD 208; in Van Calster, Geert; Vandenberghe, Wim; Reins, Leonie (eds), "Research Handbook on Climate Change Mitigation Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015) 560

Book Title: Research Handbook on Climate Change Mitigation Law

Editor(s): Van Calster, Geert; Vandenberghe, Wim; Reins, Leonie

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849803809

Section: Chapter 27

Section Title: Climate change litigation in the United States

Author(s): Gerrard, Michael B.

Number of pages: 18

Abstract/Description:

The United States Congress has adopted no comprehensive statute on climate change, but the Supreme Court has held that the Clean Air Act of 1970 applies to greenhouse gases. Considerable administrative activity and litigation have ensued concerning the application of that law and several others to climate change. Several states and one regional grouping have also adopted GHG controls. Attempts to apply the common law doctrine of public nuisance to GHG emissions have failed, with the courts holding that any GHG standards should be set by the Environmental Protection Agency, not by the judiciary. The United States is a hotbed of climate change litigation. Indeed, more climate change-related lawsuits have been decided in the United States than in all the other countries of the world combined. There are two major kinds of litigation about climate change in the US – administrative litigation, in which the action or inaction of a government agency is challenged; and common law litigation, in which courts are asked to formulate rules about liabilities and obligations.