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Golden Gate University Law Review

Abstract

This Comment discusses the United States' capability to initiate a new domestic program to confront climate change in the wake of the current political stance on environmental issues. Additionally, this Comment proposes a program premised on market-based incentives that will serve as a compromise between industry and the environment to ensure that the United States takes affirmative action to reduce and limit domestic GHG emissions. Section II of this comment discusses the various factors that contribute to the scientific phenomenon of global warming. It also addresses the scientific community's divergent positions with respect to the causes of global warming and the extent to which it will result in long-term adverse environmental consequences. Section III discusses the world community's development of the Kyoto Protocol in response to global warming and the United States' opposition to its ratification. Current environmental regulatory schemes and approaches by which the United States might domestically reduce and limit GHGs are also considered. Section IV examines the relative advantages and disadvantages of GHG reduction and limitation through existing environmental regulatory schemes. This section also considers the potential of a market based incentives approach to environmental regulation to effectively reduce and limit GHGs. Finally, Section V proposes a new regulatory program designed to reduce and limit domestic GHG emissions. The proposal's program development examines the various criteria necessary to establish an effective environmental regulatory program premised on market-based incentives.

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