Not Waiting for Washington: Climate Policy Adoption in California and New York
THE UNITED STATES’ FEDERAL CLIMATE change mitigation policies are widely seen as weak and ineffective, especially in crossnational comparison. Before the Barack Obama administration, these policies were limited mainly to voluntary measures and were not guided by overall emissions reduction targets. Partly as a result, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased 10.4 percent from 1990 to 2010. In the absence of strong national action, many state governments adopted climate policies beginning in the early 2000s. The main policies include greenhouse gas emissions targets and climate action plans; support for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy development; energy efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions standards for vehicles, appliances, buildings, and