United States of America, Climate change

‘America accounts for 15% of global emissions, (‘The Great Divide,’ The Economist 29th June 2019, p.38). ‘More than half of all Americans now live in states that have championed legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,’ (‘States’ Rights’, The Economist 29th June 2019, p.13-14). ‘State efforts have speeded up in response to the intransigence of the Trump administration. Since Massachusetts v EPA, a Supreme Court ruling issued in 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been legally required to regulate carbon-dioxide emissions, which the ruling classified as a dangerous pollutant. Under Barack Obama the agency adopted far-reaching regulation known as the Clean Power Plan, which targeted reductions in emissions from electricity generation by phasing out coal. The rule was tied up in the courts and never went into effect,’ (‘The great divide’, The Economist 29th June 2019, p.38).