Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States

This book contains key information and recommendations from a longer volume, Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States. Legal Pathways is based on two reports by the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP) that explain technical and policy pathways for reducing U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 80% from 1990 levels by 2050. This 80x50 target and similarly aggressive carbon abatement goals are often referred to as deep decarbonization, distinguished because it requires systemic changes to the energy economy. Using these technical and policy pathways, Legal Pathways provides a legal playbook for deep decarbonization in the United States, identifying well over 1,000 legal options for enabling the United States to address one of the greatest problems facing this country and the rest of humanity.

Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States: Summary and Key Recommendations grows out of a desire to get the main messages of the longer volume to the broadest possible audience. It provides thumbnail summaries of each of the 35 chapters from Legal Pathways. It also contains key recommendations from each chapter, the key plays available for deep decarbonization. Finally, an index organizes the key recommendations by actor (e.g., local governments), enabling readers to see in one place all of the key recommendations for any particular actor, regardless of the chapter in which they originated.

While both the scale and complexity of deep decarbonization are enormous, this book has the same simple message as Legal Pathways: deep decarbonization is achievable in the United States using laws that exist or could be enacted. These legal tools can be employed with significant economic, social, environmental, and national security benefits.