Climate Balkanization: Dormant Commerce and the Limits of State Energy Policy
LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources (Forthcoming)
49 Pages Posted: 13 Mar 2014 Last revised: 3 Jul 2014
Date Written: July 2014
Abstract
State governments have adopted a range of policies intended to encourage the development of renewable energy sources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Some of these policies have the potential to burden interstate energy markets and may raise constitutional concerns. The Dormant Commerce Clause prohibits the enactment of protectionist legislation at the state level and further limits the ability of states to adopt policies that may otherwise burden interstate commerce. Whether states may continue to adopt various energy and climate polices may depend, in part, on the courts’ willingness to enforce traditional constitutional constraints on discriminatory and extra-territorial state legislation. This paper was prepared for the Lone Mountain Forum on “Energy Policy: Political, Legal, and Economic Issues,” December 5–8, 2013, Lone Mountain Ranch, in Big Sky, Montana.
Keywords: State Governments, Renewable Energy, Constitutional Law, Dormant Commerce Clause, Federlism, Commerce Clause, Energy
JEL Classification: K32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation