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The Great Climate Migration: A Critique Of Global Legal Standards Of Climate-Change Caused Harm, Mariah Stephens

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Approximately 2.4 billion people, or about forty percent of the global population, live within sixty miles (one hundred kilometers) of a coastline. The United Nations (“U.N.”) determined that “a sea level rise of half a meter could displace 1.2 million people from low-lying islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with that number almost doubling if the sea level rises by two metres.” The U.N. also reports that “sudden weather-related hazards” have internally displaced an annual average of 21.5 million people since 2008. Within the next few decades, this number is likely to continue to increase. …

Editors' Note, Rachel Keylon, Meghen Sullivan

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

For more than two decades, the Sustainable Development Law and Policy Brief (“SDLP”) has published works analyzing emerging legal and policy issues within the fields of environmental, energy, sustainable development, and natural resources law. SDLP has also prioritized making space for law students in the conversation. We are honored to continue this tradition in Volume XXIII.

About Sdlp, Sdlp

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

The Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief (ISSN 1552-3721) is a student-run initiative at American University Washington College of Law that is published twice each academic year. The Brief embraces an interdisciplinary focus to provide a broad view of current legal, political, and social developments. It was founded to provide a forum for those interested in promoting sustainable economic development, conservation, environmental justice, and biodiversity throughout the world.

La Responsabilidad Internacional De Los Estados Por Violaciones A Los Derechos Humanos Como Consecuencia Del Cambio Climatico: El Rol Del Sistema Interamericano De Proteccion De Derechos Humanos, Jose Daniel Rodriguez Orue

American University International Law Review

El fenómeno del cambio climático es una de las mayores amenazas para la garantía y protección de los derechos humanos a nivel global. Las consecuencias adversas del cambio climático, tales como incremento en el nivel del mar, el aumento de eventos meteorológicos extremos, la perdida de biodiversidad y las sequías, son susceptibles de ocasionar varias violaciones a los derechos humanos en las Américas. Estas violaciones a los derechos humanos se manifiestan con mayor intensidad en determinados grupos poblacionales que se encuentran expuestos de forma desproporcionada a la degradación medioambiental debido a su vinculación especial con los recursos naturales, pero también, …

La Limitacion De Los Derechos Humanos En La Lucha Contra El Cambio Climatico: El Caso De Los Derechos Culturales De Las Porlaciones Indigenas Y La Energia Hidroelectrica De Embalse En America Latina, Sebastian Sauter Odio

American University International Law Review

El cambio climático es el resultado de la emisión de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) producto de actividades antropogénicas. Al ser el sector energético el mayor contribuyente de GEI a nivel mundial, los esfuerzos para mitigar el cambio climático deben comprender la transformación de la matriz energética, hoy basada prioritariamente en la combustión de hidrocarburos, a una que involucre una mayor participación de las energías renovables.

One Choice Is No Choice At All: Indonesia Is Violating The International Covenant On Civil And Political Rights By Requiring Political Parties To Adhere To Its National Ideology Of Pancasila, Daniel Brezina

American University International Law Review

This Comment argues that Indonesia is violating Articles 1, 18, 22, 25, and 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by requiring that all political parties adhere to its national ideology of Pancasila. This Comment will introduce the ideology of Pancasila and explain how Indonesia came to require political parties to adhere to the ideology. This Comment will also explain what rights the ICCPR guarantees and introduce the UN Human Rights Committee, which is tasked with monitoring signatories’ compliance with the ICCPR. This Comment will explain how Indonesia’s requirement violates several Articles of the ICCPR, including how …

Democracy Dies In Broad Daylight: How The Philippines' Halted Media Speech Despite Its Commitment To The Iccpr, Alexis Mozeleski

American University International Law Review

A primary initiative of the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency was the national campaign against drug users and criminals. During the turbulent period that was Duterte’s presidency, journalists who published dissenting views on the drug war frequently became targets of Duterte’s administration, which came in the form of frivolous charges, arrests, banning media outlets, or in some instances, murder. This Comment argues that the Philippines violated international law protections of freedom of expression as codified in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. As a party to this treaty, the Philippines, under Duterte’s administration, unjustifiably restricted speech …

When The Race To Net Zero Becomes A Race To The Bottom: Human Rights Violations In The Renewable Energy Transition And The Extraterritorial Obligation To Protect Human Rights, Yogi Bratajaya

American University International Law Review

Recent reports published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have shed light on and confirmed the extent of damages that will result if the world fails to keep global warming below 2°C. Irreversible adverse impacts on our ecosystems and the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters will have a significant negative effect on the enjoyment of human rights worldwide. Climate change is already affecting food security through increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and greater frequency of some extreme events. Additionally, the deteriorating conditions caused by climate change will cause millions of people to leave their homes and …

The Gendered Face Of Climate Change: Exploring The Impact Of Climate Change On Gender-Based Violence And The Role Of State And Non-State Actors In Effecting Climate Justice, Hannah Wilson

American University International Law Review

Climate change affects men and women differently. While some individual women may be less vulnerable to climate change than some men, the global perpetuation of discrimination, inequality, patriarchal structures, and systematic barriers contribute to an overall higher risk of women experiencing harmful effects of climate change. International human rights law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender. However, in practice, systematic discrimination, harmful stereotypes, and social, economic and political barriers related to gender can lead to varied climate change impacts with respect to health, food security, livelihoods and human mobility, and more, which may significantly limit women’s and girls’ adaptive …

Criminalizing Environmental Degradation And Devastation: New Prospects For The Icc Rome Statute, Kelly Pisimisi

American University International Law Review

Over the last decade, steadily increasing voices are ringing the tocsin to the international community for the impact of human activities on climate and their potential consequences on human life and dignity. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its recent (6th) Assessment Report, confirmed this assertion. Greenhouse gas concentrations and emissions (particularly CO2), as well as the retreat of arctic glaciers and the subsequent sea level rise causing—among other issues—the acidification of the oceanic waters, are some of the most evident human-induced implications on climate and the environment.

Using State Law Before The Glaciers Thaw: Climate Torts After Bp V. Baltimore, Jillian Mayer

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

We are living in the beginning stages of Earth’s sixth mass extinction. Since the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century, the burning of fossil fuels has released huge quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses (“GHGs”) into the atmosphere. The increased concentration of GHGs causes the atmosphere to retain more heat. Consequently, ecosystems and weather patterns shift and change faster than most plants, animals, and human societies can adapt. Climate change threatens global peace, crashes economies, and creates humanitarian crises.

Accounting For Climate Change In United States Regional Ocean Planning: Comparing The Obama And Trump National Ocean Policies To A Climate-Forward Approach, Taylor Goelz

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

“At What Cost?’: The Future Of Securities Enforcement In Climate Change Litigation, Angela Washington

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Climate Gentrification: An Imminent Threat To Oceanfront Cities, Marcel Apple

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Overview

Traditionally, gentrification occurs when real estate prices appreciate, leading to significant cultural change in low-income communities and involuntary displacement of low-income residents. In recent years, Miami, Florida is beginning to feel the impacts of “climate gentrification.” High-income buyers, who historically develop property close to the ocean, are affected by rising sea levels and increasingly look inland to develop areas on higher ground. The influx of real estate investments in these is expected to lead to spiking home prices and property taxes, forcing many longtime community members to abandon their homes.

Homeowners in these communities already report approaches from developers …

Storm Warning: New Zealand's Treatment Of "Climate Refugee" Claims As A Violation Of Internatinal Law, Isabella Zink

American University International Law Review

As some countries begin to acknowledge the increasingly strong effects of climate change, others have struggled with its slow onset of effects for decades. Coastal communities, especially island nations at or slightly above sea level, face not only threats of flooding and damaging storms, but also rising sea levels jeopardizing soil and water health. As citizens of these coastal regions face increasing difficulty accessing food, water, and medical care, the United Nations‘ (“U.N.”) scientific bodies predict there will be staggering numbers of displaced persons within the next few decades. Island nations rising two meters above sea-level face total submersion by …

Why Central Banks Need To Take Human Rights More Seriously, Daniel D. Bradlow

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Most central bankers think that there is a tenuous connection between the operations of central banks and human rights. Their responsibility is to concentrate on the relatively narrow set of macro-economic variables that are relevant to their mandates and to leave to their country’s political leadership the decisions dealing with the complex and politically sensitive variables that affect the functioning of the economy and society.

This position is no longer tenable. Climate change is forcing the central banking community to rethink their view of their responsibilities. The recent release of the Network for Greening, the Financial System’s first comprehensive report …

The Paris Agreement And Global Climate Litigation After The Trump Withdrawal, David Hunter

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The article addresses the emergence of cases in many countries around the world that are addressing climate change by enforcing, or at least referring to, the Paris Agreement.

Water, Water, Nowhere: Adapting Water Rights For A Changing Climate, Caleb Hall

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Seven Principles For Equitable Adaptation, Alice Kaswan

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Implications Of The Copenhagen Accord For Global Climate Governance, David B. Hunter

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Climate advocates are increasingly raising specific climate change concerns before domestic courts, human rights tribunals, international commissions and other national and international decisionmaking bodies. Win or lose, these litigation strategies are significantly changing and enhancing the public dialogue around climate change. This article discusses the awareness-building impacts of climate litigation as well as related impacts such strategies may have on the development of climate law and policy. The article argues that litigation's focus on specific victims facing immediate threats from climate change has increased the political will to address climate change both internationally and nationally. It has also shifted the …

Introductory Comments: The Current State Of Climate Change Law, Michael B. Gerrard

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Standardization Of Redd Monitoring Technology To Level The Playing Field, Beth Zgoda

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Fsm Vs. Czech: A New “Standing” For Climate Change?, Paulo A. Lopes

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Climate Change And The Regional Human Rights Systems, Megan Chapman

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Industry Cries Foul To Epa’S Attempt To Regulate Ghg Emissions Using The Clean Air Act, William J. Walsh, Mark A. Erman

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Sec Interpretive Guidance For Climate Related Disclosures, Nickolas M. Boecher

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Readily Deployable Approaches To Geoengineering: Cool Materials And Aggressive Reforestation, Max G. Bronstein

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Equitable But Ineffective: How The Principle Of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities Hobbles The Global Fight Against Climate Change, Mary J. Bortscheller

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Moving Global Health Law Upstream: A Critical Appraisal Of Global Health Law As A Tool For Health Adaptation To Climate Change, Lindsay Wiley

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The relatively new discipline of global health law is a potentially powerful tool for promoting health adaptation to climate change. Unfortunately, global climate change will intensify exactly those health threats that have not been adequately addressed by multilateral cooperation with respect to health in the past, which has been dominated by security-based and treatment-focused approaches. Recent focus on biosecurity concerns such as the global spread of emerging infectious diseases and biological terrorism has further entrenched a security-based approach to global health law and policy that has origins in the earliest attempts at international health cooperation and is currently embodied in …

Adaptation To The Health Consequences Of Climate Change As A Potential Influence On Public Health Law And Policy: From Preparedness To Resilience, Lindsay Wiley

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Because the health effects of climate change are likely to be significant and far-reaching, a key component of climate change adaptation will be our public health infrastructure. Perhaps counter-intuitively, recent emphasis in public health law on preparedness for extraordinary events may be to the detriment of our ability to cope with the health impacts of climate change. While existing emergency preparedness law will necessarily be an important backdrop for health-focused climate change adaptation efforts (especially with regard to natural disasters and infectious disease outbreaks), the focus on emergency preparedness in recent years does not necessarily situate us well for handling …