More POTUS and the Environment

I thought I'd write a quick post here to flag a piece in the New York Times about the Obama Administration's strategy on global climate change talks that loom over the next couple of years (link). Back in April, I wrote about and linked some pieces about the likely use of "executive power" or administrative authority to pursue some kind of global climate change deal (linked here).

As today's Times' story notes, any measure pursued by the President is, of course, going to upset Republicans already up in arms about what they regard as Obama's excessive use of executive authority (see story). Yet, it's important to note that the inter-branch tug of war over the president's use of the "executive power" given to him in Article II of the US Constitution goes back a long way. As students of American politics will know, the division of authority as laid out in the US Constitution was intentionally designed to set up these kinds of struggles (see Federalist 10 and 51).
 
A new climate accord concluded by the President will also generate howls from the US Senate (for now, controlled by Democrats). That body will be upset with Obama because of the Constitution's Article II requirement that the president present treaties to the Senate for formal ratification. Yet, a moment's reflection suggests the US Senate hasn't ratified all that many treaties (anyone remember Versailles?), and yet the US is a bound Party to all kinds of international conventions. In fact, presidents have been binding the United States to all kinds of conventions for years through Executive Agreements without the "advice and consent" of the Senate.

My bet is that Obama's pursuit of a climate accord intended to bind the US to certain goals will be big enough to push the debate over who has the proper authority (the executive branch or the legislative) to a head. Perhaps more importantly, where that legal battle goes will depend mightily on the American public and their views on the importance of dealing with climate change in the 2016 presidential campaign. I'd suggest that prospective candidates for President in 2016 brush up on this stew of issues since Obama looks poised to firmly plant this issue on the national agenda.

Stay tuned....