Law Commons^™

Transnational Perspectives On The Paris Climate Agreement Beyond Paris: Redressing American Defaults In Caring For Earth’S Biosphere, Nicholas A. Robinson

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Anxiety about the fate of human civilization is rising. International Law has an essential role to play in sustaining community of nations. Without enhancing International Environmental Law, the biosphere that sustains all nations is imperiled. Laws in the United States can either impede or advance global environmental stewardship. What is entailed in such a choice?

The biosphere is changing. At a time when extraordinary technological prowess allows governments the capacity to know how deeply they are altering Earth's biosphere, nations experience a perverse inability to cooperate together. The Arctic is melting rapidly, with knock on effects for sea level rise …

Options For Adaption To Climate Change, Richard L. Ottinger, Pianpian Wang, Kristin M. Motel

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In order to tackle climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (“IPCC”) provided a portfolio of measures: mitigation, adaptation and constant research. Although Article 10 of the Kyoto Protocol underlined the importance of adaptation, adaptation to climate change had been obtained limited attention in the early negotiations of climate talks. In 2010, Cancun Session of Conference of Parties (“COP”) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”) highlighted the equal importance of adaptation just as mitigation. Since then, increasing attention has been drawn to adaptation practice by the international society. Typically, adaptation can be broken down into …

Insuring Island States: The Role Of Insurance For Small Island States In Responding To The Adverse Effects Of Sea Level Rise, Maria Antonia Tigre

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Student Publications

Small island states are likely to suffer the greatest impact of sea level rise. They are also generally low emitters of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), meaning they have contributed little to the problem of human-induced climate change. For an array of reasons, including their reduced economic and political power relative to the international power of other states, these smaller islands and states have come together, forming the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). Jointly, they have been battling to gain the attention of the international community in their search for solutions. However, they are still left with many unanswered questions …

Keeping It Legal: Transboundary Management Challenges Facing Brazil And The Guarani, David N. Cassuto

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This paper examines the legal and ecological problems facing the Guarani Aquifer System. Because the majority of the Guarani Aquifer System underlies Brazil, the Brazilian legal regime forms the paper’s principal focus. The importance of the region makes the need for accurate information crucial. Yet relying on such information to manage a complex resource presents risks. Too often, the role of uncertainty in regulating is underplayed. Increasing knowledge over the resource demands categorizing “hard” and “soft” uncertainties, especially those presented by climate change. In addition, regulators must acknowledge the unitary nature of the aquifer while remaining sensitive to differing national …

Success Or Failure?, Richard L. Ottinger

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The Copenhagen Climate Conference and its Copenhagen Accord have generally been billed by the press as having been a failure. I think this is a very unfortunate mischaracterisation. The conference was a failure only in not achieving binding commitments to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission levels sufficiently to meet the requirements identified by the some 3,000 leading global scientists of the UN International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to avoid disastrous consequences – such as sea-level rise leading to massive migration, food disruption, water shortages, tropical disease migration, biodiversity destruction, etc. But the conference didn’t expect that this could …

Climate Change As A Global Challenge, Nicholas A. Robinson

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Global Climate Change Kyoto Protocol Implementation: Legal Frameworks For Implementing Clean Energy Solutions, Richard L. Ottinger

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This paper describes the measures that have been and can be taken and the legal mechanisms by which successes have been achieved in reducing greenhouse gases. Examples are given of success stories from around the world, but these examples are just demonstrative. Many hundreds of programs have been pursued successfully around the world in both industrial and developing countries. What does emerge, however, is clear evidence that global warming can be effectively addressed and that many significant steps have been taken profitably in both the public and private sectors, offering significant business, export and job opportunities, and that much can …