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Full-Text Articles in Law
Compensation For Environmental Damage: Progressively Casting A Wider Net, But What’S The Catch?, M P Ram Mohan, Els R. Kini
Compensation For Environmental Damage: Progressively Casting A Wider Net, But What’S The Catch?, M P Ram Mohan, Els R. Kini
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
In the case Certain Activities Carried Out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua)–-Compensation Owed by The Republic of Nicaragua to The Republic of Costa Rica (the Costa Rica case), the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had to ascertain the compensation amount due by Nicaragua for the environmental damage it had caused to Costa Rica. This was the first time the ICJ was asked to weigh in and settle an environmental damage compensation claim between two states. After a concise introduction in Part I, this Article will first review the distinction between state responsibility for wrongful acts …
A Sinking World: A Model Framework For Climate Change Adaptation Measures In Coastal Cities, Emma Rose
A Sinking World: A Model Framework For Climate Change Adaptation Measures In Coastal Cities, Emma Rose
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
Climate change has already begun wreaking havoc on coastal communities across the globe, including Miami, Venice, and the Philippines. Adaptation mechanisms may be the most powerful weapons these communities have to combat sea level rise and the other disastrous effects of a warming planet. However, these adaptation programs must fit within each nation's unique federal and local regulatory schemes. Additionally, when they are funded by the federal government or foreign sources, these communities may have to sacrifice some autonomy over their implementation. While adaptation strategies can be broken down into three primary modes--resistance, transformation, and retreat--the most effective combination of …
Climate Change Refugees In The Time Of Sinking Islands, Jane Steffens
Climate Change Refugees In The Time Of Sinking Islands, Jane Steffens
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
While environmental migration is not a new phenomenon, the international community has been slow to react to a wildly increasing number of people displaced by climate-related factors. With the current scenario of sinking islands, rapid urbanization, and drought, the international community seems to be on the precipice of a massive humanitarian catastrophe. Even so, lawmakers appear hesitant to fill in the gaps of existing international law, leaving an entire category of people vulnerable and unprotected against the effects of climate change. Private climate-governance initiatives can achieve large-scale, prompt, and efficient solutions to climate-induced migration. While private governance initiatives lack the …
Water Management On The Brahmaputra And The Applicability Of The Unece Water Convention, Stephanie Biggs
Water Management On The Brahmaputra And The Applicability Of The Unece Water Convention, Stephanie Biggs
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
The Brahmaputra River is one of the world's largest transboundary waterways, yet it lacks a coherent, international management framework. The river, which flows from China through India and into Bangladesh, has been subject to decades of stalled negotiations, gamesmanship, and stop-gap oversight measures. As climate change and population growth place new stressors on the Brahmaputra and its riparian states, this arrangement will become untenable. Moreover, obtaining consensus may soon become impossible as the region grows increasingly water scarce. There is a brief window of opportunity to rectify inadequate management of the river and address urgent issues such as environmental protection …
Beyond Known Worlds: Climate Change Governance By Arbitral Tribunals?, Valentina Vadi
Beyond Known Worlds: Climate Change Governance By Arbitral Tribunals?, Valentina Vadi
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
Can economic development and the fight against climate change be integrated successfully? What role, if any, does international investment law play in global climate governance? Can foreign direct investments (FDI) be tools in the struggle against climate change? What types of claims have foreign investors brought with regard to climate change--related regulatory measures before investment treaty arbitral tribunals? This Article examines the specific question as to whether foreign direct investments can mitigate and/or aggravate climate change. The interplay between climate change and foreign direct investments is largely underexplored and in need of systematization. To map this nexus, this Article proceeds …
Climate Change, Forests, And International Law: Redd's Descent Into Irrelevance, Annecoos Wiersema
Climate Change, Forests, And International Law: Redd's Descent Into Irrelevance, Annecoos Wiersema
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
Forestry activities account for over 17 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2005, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have been negotiating a mechanism known as REDD--Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation--to provide an incentive for developing countries to reduce carbon emissions and limit deforestation at the same time. When REDD was first proposed, many commentators argued this mechanism would not only mitigate climate change but also provide biodiversity and forests with the hard international law regime that had so far been missing. These commentators appeared to hope REDD would develop into this kind of …