PCAP - Presidential Climate Action Project

whenever feasible; and disposal or other release into the environment should be employed onlyas a last resort and should be conducted in an environmentally safe manner.” 325The congressional findings are also relevant: The Congress finds that . . . [t]here are significantopportunities for industry to reduce or prevent pollution at the source through cost-effectivechanges. . . . Such changes offer industry substantial savings . . . as well as help protect theenvironment and reduce risks to worker health and safety. 326Environmental Quality Improvement, Chapter 56 of Title 42. 327The Congress declares that there is a national policy for the environment which provides for theenhancement of environmental quality. This policy is evidenced by statutes heretofore enactedrelating to the prevention, abatement, and control of environmental pollution, water and landresources, transportation, and economic and regional development. This declaration goes on toincorporate this into the duties of federal agencies, “to assure that each Federal department andagency conducting or supporting public works activities which affect the environment shallimplement the policies established under existing law. . . .” 328b. Global Policy. The following statutory provisions are representative of therecognition, from a policy perspective, that climate change should be addressed as a global issue:(1) The Global Climate Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2901 Note, see especially § 1101(5) (theglobal nature of the problem will require vigorous efforts to achieve international cooperationaimed at minimizing and responding to adverse climate change), and § 1103 (coordinating U.S.climate change policy in the international arena); (2) The Global Change Research Act 15 U.S.C.§§ 2921-2961, see especially § 2901(findings), and Subchapter II (§§ 2951-2961)(international cooperation in global change research); and (3) 22 U.S.C. § 7902 (foreign policygoal of reducing GHG intensity in developing countries). Excerpts from these statutes andothers that bear on this point are included in Appendix A. Further, the U.S. is a party to theUNFCCC which is premised on the global nature of the atmosphere and thus the global nature ofthe policy to address climate change.c. Inter-generational Obligation. The following statutory provisions are representativeof the recognition that protecting the atmosphere is an inter-generational obligation: (1) TheGlobal Climate Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2901 Note, see especially § 1101(4) (action must betaken now although consequences of the greenhouse effect may not be fully manifested until thenext century); (2) NEPA, 42 U.S.C. §4331(b) “[I]t is the continuing responsibility of the FederalGovernment to use all practicable means, consistent with other essential considerations ofnational policy, to improve and coordinate Federal plans, functions, programs, and resources to325 Id. at § 13103(b) (emphasis added). (Recognizes that preventing emissions in the first place will help to protectthe environment. This is consistent with the treatment of the atmosphere as a global commons, as inherent in this isthe prevention of GHG emissions.)326 42 U.S.C. § 13103(a)(2) (emphasis added).327 Id. at § 4371 et. seq.328 Id. at § 4371(b)(1); but see, 42 U.S.C. § 4371(b)(2) (The primary responsibility for implementing this policy restswith state and local government).CEES 87 | P age