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Measurement, Reporting & Verification Of Chinese Mitigation Commitments, Quiyan Zhao
Measurement, Reporting & Verification Of Chinese Mitigation Commitments, Quiyan Zhao
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
This paper discusses China's new transparency pledge – MRV as it relates to Chinese mitigation commitments – as laid out in the non-legal binding agreement reached at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen on December 18. 2009. Specifically, this paper compares China’s position on MRV with relevant mechanisms and requirements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol, the Bali Action Plan, and the Copenhagen Accord. Furthermore, this paper seeks to answer several questions pertinent to the progress and challenges of China’s MRV regime: Are China’s GHGs emissions measured continuously? Are there review …
Assisted Migration: A Viable Conservation Strategy To Preserve The Biodiversity Of Threatened Island Nations?, Jessica A. Wentz
Assisted Migration: A Viable Conservation Strategy To Preserve The Biodiversity Of Threatened Island Nations?, Jessica A. Wentz
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
Anthropogenic climate change poses a substantial threat to biodiversity. The IPCC estimates that 20-30% of species will face an increased risk of extinction if the average global temperature rises more than 1.5 to 2.5 degrees Celsius. Additional scientific studies indicate that 15-37% of species may become extinct by 2050 due to global warming, based on current emissions trajectories. Domestic and international strategies to manage this threat have traditionally focused on conservation and mitigation. In the last few years, however, policy makers have recognized that near-term climate impacts are inevitable and thus adaptation strategies are required to protect both humans and …
Shopping For State Constitutions: Unequal Gift Clauses As Obstacles To Optimal State Encouragement Of Carbon Sequestration, Nicholas Houpt
Shopping For State Constitutions: Unequal Gift Clauses As Obstacles To Optimal State Encouragement Of Carbon Sequestration, Nicholas Houpt
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
Carbon capture and sequestration technology (CCS) could drastically reduce CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants, thereby mitigating climate change. CCS, however, faces a difficult barrier to market entry: liability for the technology’s many long-term risks. States would like to alleviate this long-term liability problem to capture CCS’s social benefits. Some state constitutions, however, have provisions called “gift clauses” that prohibit giving aid to private parties. This Note argues that some state constitutions’ gift clauses prevent indemnification of private CCS developers. As this Note’s fifty state survey shows, other state constitutions allow indemnification. This asymmetry in constitutionally-allowed financial encouragement results in …