Abstract
Mitigating the worst impacts of climate change demands a rapid reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and a transition to renewable, low-carbon sources of energy. This requires building thousands of gigawatts of clean energy at an unprecedented rate and expeditiously retiring existing fossil fuel infrastructure. Yet both parts of this task have been obstructed by state legislative efforts over the last decade—particularly in Republican-led states—to block local governments from reducing greenhouse gas emissions while legally mandating continued fossil fuel reliance. These efforts are accomplished through state climate preemption laws. Framed in neutral or positive terms like “energy choice,” the actual effect of these laws is to distort federalism and undermine democratic control over energy and environmental policy. This Article examines the rise of these climate preemption laws. It builds on the preemption literature by constructing a taxonomy of climate preemption laws across sectors and demonstrating that these laws function as legal tools of fossil fuel entrenchment. It also explores how the fossil fuel industry has shaped state-level policymaking to defend its interests while funding opposition to regulation and market change. In so doing, this Article argues that state preemption laws have become deliberate tools of fossil fuel entrenchment that undermine decarbonization, frustrate local democracy, and lock in emissions for decades to come.
Recommended Citation
Vincent Nolette, Climate Preemption and Fossil Fuel Entrenchment, 43 Pace Envtl. L. Rev. 220 (2026)Available at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pelr/vol43/iss2/1
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