The United States and the European Union worked together closely in achieving a high level of ambition at the Paris Climate Change Summit last year. Achieving this united front required bridging some fundamental differences of view on the nature and importance of the legal form of the Paris Agreement. 

At the Policy Forum, Professor David Wirth of Boston College Law School, will explore, from a US perspective, at what cost this accommodation was reached, as measured in the durability of the US economy-wide emissions reduction pledge for 2025 (minus 26-28% from 2005 levels) and the likelihood of its effective implementation.  The US Supreme Court’s recent stay of the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan raises the stakes regarding implementation and highlights the risks involved.

This presentation will thoroughly explain the domestic legal and political constraints, unique to the US legal system, at work behind the scenes in shaping the form and content of the US position on the Paris Agreement.  It will analyse the role of the Congress, including the US Senate, and the courts, and examine the extent to which the Obama Administration has fully utilized its executive power both domestically and internationally. 

Jacob Werksman, Principal Adviser, DG-CLIMA, European Commission, will set the stage for the discussion by responding with a European perspective on the legal character of the Paris outcome and on next steps for the EU and for the US in implementing the Paris Agreement.