Climate Change Law: Lessons from the Californian Experience

Abstract

California is widely recognised as a leading jurisdiction in the area of climate change law, adopting innovative and ambitious measures on issues such as renewable energy use and the incorporation of global warming considerations into environmental assessment. This article analyses the key elements of Californian climate change law in order to highlight the ways in which other climate regulatory frameworks might be modified, or more imaginatively implemented, in order to improve their environmental effectiveness. Comparisons are drawn principally with Australian climate change measures because of the similarities that exist in environmental factors, governance and regulatory structures betwe..