Abstract
The United Nations introduced the Paris Agreement in 2015 aimed at reducing emissions globally. Signatories to the Agreement are responsible for amending their domestic climate policies and implementing binding emission targets. Federations confront several challenges when adopting such policies since jurisdiction is shared between orders of government. This paper explores why Canadian and American federal governance structures constrain the implementation of national climate policies following the Paris Agreement. Despite both countries having ratified the Agreement, climate action in Canada and the US is enacted in a patchwork fashion that reflects subnational jurisdiction. The paper begins by assessing the Paris Agreement and the challenges federations confront when adopting climate legislation. The following section examines the Canadian and American federations separately to identify the factors that inhibit a coordinated response to reducing national emissions post-2015. The paper concludes by exploring strategies to advance climate action on a subnational basis.
Highlights
Fossil fuels allowed countries to industrialize, develop manufacturing sectors and experience prolonged economic growth
I explore how Canadian and American federal governance structures impact these countries’ ability to adopt binding emission targets following the Paris Agreement. Why do these governance structures constrain Canada and the United States (US) from decreasing their net greenhouse gas emissions? This paper argues that climate policies in Canada and the US are enacted in a patchwork fashion, despite both countries having ratified the Paris Agreement
As outlined in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the US aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26% below its 2005 levels by 2025.54 Likewise, the US intended to linearly reduce its emissions until 2020 and attain an 80% reduction in economy-wide emissions by 2050.55 The federal government planned to attain these goals by amending the Clean Air Act, implementing fuel economy standards on heavy-duty vehicles and enacting regulations to reduce carbon emissions from power plants
Summary
Assessing Canada and the U.S Response to Climate Change Following the Paris Agreement. University of Northern British Columbia Federalism-E is founded by the Royal Military College of Canada and the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queen’s University Federalism-E Vol 22, No. (2021). Federalism-e is an electronic student journal about federalism, multi-level governance, and intergovernmental relations put forth in collaboration between Queen's University and the Royal Military College of Canada. This annual journal will publish papers by undergraduate students, which are reviewed by an editorial board composed of their peers, in both English and French languages.
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