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Full-Text Articles in Law
Global Climate Litigation Report: 2023 Status Review, Michael Burger, Maria Antonia Tigre
Global Climate Litigation Report: 2023 Status Review, Michael Burger, Maria Antonia Tigre
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
This Global Climate Litigation Report: 2023 Status Review, which updates previous United Nations Environment Programme reports published in 2017 and 2020, provides an overview of the current state of climate change litigation and an update of global climate change litigation trends. It provides judges, lawyers, advocates, policymakers, researchers, environmental defenders, climate activists, human rights activists (including women’s rights activists), NGOs, businesses and the international community with an essential resource to understand the current state of global climate litigation, including descriptions of the key issues that courts have faced in the course of climate change cases.
Climate Change, Coming Soon To A Court Near You – Report Three: National Climate Change Legal Frameworks In Asia And The Pacific, Dena Adler, Hillary Aidun, Michael Burger, Ama Francis, Briony Eales, Maria Cecilia T. Sicango
Climate Change, Coming Soon To A Court Near You – Report Three: National Climate Change Legal Frameworks In Asia And The Pacific, Dena Adler, Hillary Aidun, Michael Burger, Ama Francis, Briony Eales, Maria Cecilia T. Sicango
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
National legal and policy frameworks underpin international climate action because they are the backbone of domestic responses to the climate emergency. Unless they support global objectives, local climate action stalls. Concerned by sluggish national responses to climate change or injured by its impacts, citizens are filing lawsuits, making courts central to national climate governance. To adjudicate these lawsuits, courts require current information about their climate change legal and policy frameworks. This report provides holistic syntheses of the climate legal and policy frameworks of 32 countries in Asia and the Pacific and discusses key legislative trends and climate-relevant constitutional rights.
Climate Change, Coming Soon To A Court Near You – Report Four: International Climate Change Legal Frameworks, Maria Cecilia T. Sicango
Climate Change, Coming Soon To A Court Near You – Report Four: International Climate Change Legal Frameworks, Maria Cecilia T. Sicango
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
In 2020, the Paris Agreement is the pinnacle of international law on climate change. It orchestrates global climate action over the coming decades. Countries agreed to limit global warming to well below 2ºC above preindustrial times, closer to 1.5ºC. Humankind will only achieve this temperature goal if we domesticate our international climate commitments. Judges have proven to be instrumental in holding their governments accountable for their climate pledges. Report Four of this four-part series explores the nature of the Paris Agreement, its history, and the framework of international instruments and international legal principles that support global and domestic climate action.
After Madrid, W[H]Ither The Cop?, Susan Biniaz
After Madrid, W[H]Ither The Cop?, Susan Biniaz
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
With Madrid behind us and Glasgow on the horizon, it is a good time for Parties and others to consider the future of the annual COP. (By “COP,” I mean the climate conference writ large, rather than the “Conference of the Parties,” the narrower technical name for the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.) Madrid, while a remarkably successful venue in terms of logistics, left many not only disappointed at the Parties’ failure to reach agreement and signal an increase in ambition but also confused:
- Why was there such a disconnect between the scientific imperative (as well …
The Contact Group On Somali Piracy: An Unlikely Model For Protecting The Environment?, Susan Biniaz
The Contact Group On Somali Piracy: An Unlikely Model For Protecting The Environment?, Susan Biniaz
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
International environmental law covers a wide range of subjects, is extremely detailed, and evolves very rapidly. No wonder it is challenging for practitioners to keep up with developments. An expert in marine pollution regimes may be unaware of the latest initiatives on forest conservation. Given how hyper-specialized the climate world has become, an expert on mitigation may be only mildly aware of recent advances in adaptation. And neither may be in a position to keep up with innovations in international law more broadly.
Deep knowledge has its advantages, but also some drawbacks. When we are faced with the need to …
Free-Movement Agreements & Climate-Induced Migration: A Caribbean Case Study, Ama Francis
Free-Movement Agreements & Climate-Induced Migration: A Caribbean Case Study, Ama Francis
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
Climate-induced migration has become a global challenge. Climate change intensifies the frequency and severity of disasters, thereby increasing the number of people displaced by extreme weather events. Adverse climate impacts are already exacerbating patterns of human mobility, and will do so to a greater degree in the future. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) reports that approximately 265 million people have been displaced by natural hazards since 2008. Over 17 million people were internally displaced by disasters in 2018 alone. While the majority of climate migrants are displaced within their home countries, many people are forced to move abroad.
The …
Human Rights And Article 6 Of The Paris Agreement: Ensuring Adequate Protection Of Human Rights In The Sdm And Itmo Frameworks, Romany M. Webb, Jessica A. Wentz
Human Rights And Article 6 Of The Paris Agreement: Ensuring Adequate Protection Of Human Rights In The Sdm And Itmo Frameworks, Romany M. Webb, Jessica A. Wentz
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement recognizes the right of Parties to cooperate in the implementation of their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) through both market- and non-market-based approaches. One market-based approach is outlined in Article 6.2 which provides for “the use of internationally transferred mitigation outcomes [(ITMOs)] towards” NDCs. This is widely seen as establishing a “bottom-up” approach, whereby “mitigation outcomes,” representing emission reduction credits, can be transferred internationally and then become ITMOs. It can be contrasted with other market-based approaches that are “top-down,” involving centralized programs supporting emission reduction projects. One such program is created in Article 6.4 of …
What Happened To Byrd-Hagel? Its Curious Absence From Evaluations Of The Paris Agreement, Susan Biniaz
What Happened To Byrd-Hagel? Its Curious Absence From Evaluations Of The Paris Agreement, Susan Biniaz
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
In the midst of the negotiations leading to the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, the U.S. Senate adopted the “Byrd-Hagel Resolution,” co-sponsored by Senators Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. Passed by a vote of 95-0, it reflected the Senate’s view that the international climate change agreement then being negotiated by the Clinton Administration was not on the right track. Specifically, it signaled dissatisfaction with an agreement that would contain legally binding greenhouse gas emissions commitments for developed countries without such commitments in the same time period for developing countries.
By its terms, the Byrd-Hagel Resolution applied …
I Beg To Differ: Taking Account Of National Circumstances Under The Paris Agreement, The Icao Market-Based Measure, And The Montreal Protocol’S Hfc Amendment, Susan Biniaz
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
This paper explores the different ways in which negotiators to three recent environmental instruments accounted for different national circumstances in formulating commitments and other aspects of cooperation in the instruments. The author finds that the negotiators of these instruments have significantly expanded the arsenal of differentiation tools based on considerations pertaining to logic, fairness, limited capacity, and negotiating leverage.
Act Locally, Reflect Globally: A Checklist Of Options For U.S. Cities And States To Engage Internationally In Climate Action, Susan Biniaz
Act Locally, Reflect Globally: A Checklist Of Options For U.S. Cities And States To Engage Internationally In Climate Action, Susan Biniaz
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
U.S. cities and states are increasingly asking how they can play a more visible and active role in international climate change efforts.
Cities and states have obvious incentives to take action to mitigate and adapt to climate change. But why engage internationally? They may seek to demonstrate leadership or gain appropriate recognition for “doing their part.” They may want to inspire others to follow suit or support them in doing so, such as through exchanging best practices. They may seek to join the global march toward low-emission and resilient societies. Or they may want to show the world that U.S. …
Transparency And Icao's Aviation Offsetting Scheme: Two Separate Concepts?, Aoife O'Leary
Transparency And Icao's Aviation Offsetting Scheme: Two Separate Concepts?, Aoife O'Leary
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the UN specialised body for aviation, is developing a scheme to reduce the climate impact of aviation emissions, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). From 2021, participating countries will (voluntarily at first) offset any growth in CO2 aviation emissions above the level those emissions have reached in 2020. This paper does not consider the climate implications of the scheme but rather focuses on whether the governance structure under which the scheme is being developed – especially its transparency and opportunities for public participation – meets an appropriate standard, given the …
10 Questions To Ask About The Proposed “Global Pact For The Environment”, Susan Biniaz
10 Questions To Ask About The Proposed “Global Pact For The Environment”, Susan Biniaz
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
There is no doubt that more needs to be done, both nationally and internationally, to protect the environment. It is tempting, particularly during the Trump era, to welcome any concerted effort to do so. The issue is whether the proposed “Global Pact” is the right vehicle for enhancing environmental protection.
The Global Pact was launched this past June in Paris, with support from, among others, President Macron of France and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. At least in its preliminary state, the Pact reflects broad, cross-cutting principles in legally binding form. France intends to seek support at the upcoming UN …
A Call To Action For New Yorkers, Jeffrey Gracer, Michael Mahoney
A Call To Action For New Yorkers, Jeffrey Gracer, Michael Mahoney
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
President Donald Trump's announcement last week that he will begin the process of withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Change Agreement is a deeply disappointing decision, one that jeopardizes the future of the planet and cedes U.S. leadership on international climate action.
A Mitigation Based Rationale For Incorporating A Climate Change Impacts Fee Into The Federal Coal Leasing Program, Michael Burger
A Mitigation Based Rationale For Incorporating A Climate Change Impacts Fee Into The Federal Coal Leasing Program, Michael Burger
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
This paper describes the legal and policy rationale for imposing a fee on federal coal that reflects the costs of the climate change impacts generated by that coal. It notes that the federal government has a duty to mitigate climate impacts from the federal coal leasing program, and that the Department of Interior (“Interior”) and the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) have ample authority to impose a climate change impacts fee on coal leases as a form of compensatory mitigation for those coal leases. The paper also discusses technical issues that should be considered when assessing the effectiveness of this …
Comma But Differentiated Responsibilities: Punctuation And 30 Other Ways Negotiators Have Resolved Issues In The International Climate Change Regime, Susan Biniaz
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
International climate change negotiations have a long history of being contentious, and much has been written about the grand trade-offs that have allowed countries to reach agreement. Issues have often involved, for example, the level of ambition, differentiated treatment of Parties, and various forms of financial assistance to developing countries.
Lesser known are the smaller, largely language-based tools negotiators have used to resolve differences, sometimes finding a solution as subtle as a shift in the placement of a comma. These tools have operated in different ways. Some, such as deliberate imprecision or postponement, have “resolved” an issue by sidestepping it …