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The Feb. 11 conference will bring together some of the nation's foremost education and government experts to discuss state and federal agency roles as a result of global climate change.

By La Monica Everett-Haynes, University Communications
January 14, 2008

Figuring out the best roles for state governments and the relationship they should have with federal agencies given the reality of global climate change will be discussed during a Feb. 11 conference co-hosted by The University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law.

“Federalism and Climate Change: The Role of the States in a Future Federal Regime” will bring legal and environmental experts as well as government officials and policymakers to the UA.

"This is a hugely timely topic,” said Sally Rider, director of the UA's William H. Rehnquist Center on the Constitutional Structures of Government.

Rider added that federal and state governments “are at odds” over what to do about regulations. In some cases, state and federal governments do not agree on the same policies and regulations proposed in an effort to curb climate change.

She pointed to a recent case in California where “tough” standards were developed to limit vehicle emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency had to approve the standards before they would go into effect. But, in December, the agency refused.

In a news release issued last month, the EPA said it favored a uniform, nationwide standard to reduce emissions from cars and trucks.

Not everyone agrees with uniformity, opting to look at other options.

“When it comes to climate change, there are different ways to think about this,” Rider said. “States can be laboratories for thinking about these things.”

In panel format, the conference will include discussion about best practices for regulations and examples of unsuccessful models, the balance of power between federal and state governments, constitutional restraints individual states are dealing with and other topics.

But such discussions are not meant only for lawmakers and experts, Rider said.

“It’s something the general public should be interested in,” she added. “Some of the conversation is theoretical, but some of it is very practical and is about what members of the public may be able to do in their states.”

The UA’s Institute for the Study of Planet Earth is the other host of the conference, whose speakers include:

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer.
• Paul D. Clement, Solicitor General of the United States
• Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change
• Cindy Tuck, undersecretary for the California Environmental Protection Agency
• David Leitch, Ford Motor Company senior vice president

Breyer will speak during a 6:30 p.m. dinner at the Westward Look Resort, 245 E. Ina Road. Paul R. Portney, UA Eller College of Management dean, is the luncheon speaker.

Other speakers come from the U.S. Court of Appeals, the California Environmental Protection Agency, Ford Motor Company and institutions including New York University, Yale University and the University of Michigan.

Visit the William H. Rehnquist Center on the Constitutional Structures of Government Web site to learn more about the conference or to register.