气候适应与联邦制

Climate Adaptation and Federalism: Mapping the Issues

气候变化将会对美国造成严重的影响,其严重程度又部分取决于政府采取何种社会行动来限制气体排放和缓解气候变化。应对气候变化,气候适应与气候缓解同样重要,但未能得到应有的关注。在联邦制体系中,不同层级的政府应当分担应对气候变化的责任。首先,州与地方政府属于气候变化天然的"最先受众",需要在资助和标准制定上承担较多的责任;其次,在州政府失灵、州际溢出效应与政治扭曲的情况下,联邦政府同样应当发挥作用。联邦政府可以根据应对气候变化需要事先制定适应标准或者提供资金支持,但这些努力在宪制上可能会受到一定的限制。

Climate change will have serious impact on the United States,the severity of which partly depends on the social action taken by the government to limit gas emissions and mitigate climate change. Climate change adaption gets less focus than the mitigation,even though both of which are equally import. Under federalism,every level government should take their appropriate roles. Firstly,states are likely to play the leading role in funding adaptation and setting standards. Secondly,federal intervention may be warranted by the existence of interstate spillover effects,political distortions that hinder state responses,or equity factors. However,these federal efforts may be subject to certain constitutional constraints that could limit policy responses.