. Emergency Powers and Climate Change

Abstract
In the wake of the president's use of emergency powers to override Congressional opposition to his proposed border wall, and with numerous declarations of a climate emergency at local government levels and proposals for such declarations at national government levels, emergency powers have emerged as a potential resource for climate change mitigation and adaptation. In this poster. I examine the recent politics of declarations of emergency, at various scales from local to national, including their legal and policy dimensions. In addition, I examine the history of presidential authority to declare such emergencies, previous uses of such powers, and the system of shared powers and checks between the legislative and executive branches for which emergency declarations create a notable exception. Through this analysis, I aim to identify the prospects and limits of using emergency powers to combat or respond to climate change.