Publication
New York Law School Law Review
Volume
58
Page
777
Year
2014
Abstract
This essay considers how we might fit local efforts to address climate change, especially those by very small, suburban cities, within models for solving "global problems." While acknowledging the need for more action on climate change at international, national, and state levels, and regional ones in between, this essay explores how different types of cities, as they participate in multilevel networks, can provide models for action and complement efforts to address climate change through the treaty regime. Using a diverse group of suburbs in the Twin Cities metropolitan region making innovative climate change and sustainability efforts as a case example, it analyzes pathways for small governments — which may be more nimble due to their geographic size and smaller number of people in charge — to: (1) learn from other localities and find cost-effective approaches to reducing emissions, and (2) serve as a constructive influence on national and international efforts to address climate change.
Recommended Citation
Hari M. Osofsky, The Geography of Solving Global Environmental Problems: Reflections on Polycentric Efforts to Address Climate Change, 58 N.Y. L. Sch. L. Rev. 777 (2014), available at https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/faculty_articles/185.
