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Full-Text Articles in Law
Negotiating With Someone Else's Money: Shifting The Responsibility For Climate Change Funding, Richard Faulk
Negotiating With Someone Else's Money: Shifting The Responsibility For Climate Change Funding, Richard Faulk
Richard Faulk
Some people think that “Climategate” will ultimately undermine everything that the UN is attempting to resolve in Copenhagen, but that story is for a later column. The truth, however, is that the parties – all of whom profess agreement that man-made global warming is a reality – are doing a powerful job of self-destructing outside the scientific controversy. The divisive issue is, as expected, which nations will bear the costs necessary to deal with climate change, and how those costs will be apportioned. Judging from yesterday’s conflicts, it seems that even those who agree that the problem exists are in …
The Insolence Of Office: Exposing The Politics Of Perception In Copenhagen, Richard Faulk
The Insolence Of Office: Exposing The Politics Of Perception In Copenhagen, Richard Faulk
Richard Faulk
Despite the malaise that seemed to overlay the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference before opening day, the summit opened with a flourish of rhetoric and apparent optimism by a host of attendees. In a statement titled “Governments set to seal ambitious international climate change deal in Copenhagen,” UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer, the UN’s top climate change official, practically overflowed with enthusiasm, sounding supremely confident that an international climate change deal was within reach.
The First "Official" Draft Of The Copenhagen Agreement: Blanks, Brackets, Chewing Gum, And Baling Wire, Richard Faulk
The First "Official" Draft Of The Copenhagen Agreement: Blanks, Brackets, Chewing Gum, And Baling Wire, Richard Faulk
Richard Faulk
The war of words – and the fight over money – continued at the Copenhagen conference on Friday. Although some parties continue to posture and insist that the negotiations are between the “haves” – “developed” nations such as the United States and Japan – and the “have nots” – “developing” nations such as China and the “G77” group – those classifications are increasingly imperiled by harsh rhetoric and unrealistic expectations.
The "Climategate" Controversy: A Tree Falls In The Forest -- But Is Copenhagen Listening?, Richard Faulk
The "Climategate" Controversy: A Tree Falls In The Forest -- But Is Copenhagen Listening?, Richard Faulk
Richard Faulk
An old philosophical riddle asks "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" The “Climategate” tree has fallen, and there were plenty of people around, both in Copenhagen and Washington, to hear it. The question is, however, was anyone listening? For the sake of the Copenhagen conference, and our Republic, one hopes so.
Bringing Diplomacy To A Boil: Options For Agreements In Copenhagen, Richard Faulk
Bringing Diplomacy To A Boil: Options For Agreements In Copenhagen, Richard Faulk
Richard Faulk
As of Tuesday night, United Nations negotiators still disagreed on the financial aid that the US, Japan and other developed nations will give to the developing world to cope with climate change, Bloomberg reports, referring to a draft document. Many believe that the conference is seriously deadlocked. Well, maybe so, but alternatives still exist, and they have not, at least according to all reports, been fully considered.
Copenhagen’S Disappointing Dénouement: Anatomy Of A Failed Convocation, Richard Faulk
Copenhagen’S Disappointing Dénouement: Anatomy Of A Failed Convocation, Richard Faulk
Richard Faulk
The Copenhagen Climate Change Conference is over. For two weeks, the United Nations and its member nations waited expectantly for “change” – waited, cajoled, argued, accused, threatened, and ultimately, disappointed everyone involved as they struggled on the “World Stage” of Copenhagen’s Bella Center. Tens of thousands watched inside and outside the Center while the convocation became ever more divisive and quarrelsome as the “developing” nations of the world demanded that their “developed” counterparts “share” their wealth and technology to “save the planet.” From the beginning of the conference, few informed attendees realistically expected significant progress, largely because of the twin …
Clearing The Air In Copenhagen, Richard Faulk
Clearing The Air In Copenhagen, Richard Faulk
Richard Faulk
As I prepare to depart for the Copenhagen climate change conference, the entire process seems awash in doubt, confusion, and controversy. Despite the grand hopes of many members of the international community, including many respected politicians and scientists, even the most optimistic advocates concede that it will be impossible to secure a comprehensive and binding climate change agreement. Instead, the delegates will seek a consensus that will guide the drafting and presentation of a formal treaty sometime in 2010, either in Bonn or in Mexico City.
The Crucible Of Common Sense: Real And Illusory Expectations In Copenhagen, Richard Faulk
The Crucible Of Common Sense: Real And Illusory Expectations In Copenhagen, Richard Faulk
Richard Faulk
The agenda is set for the United Nation’s Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen – but few attendees expect substantial progress.. As most students of international diplomacy know, leaders seldom risk valuable political capital on meeting that are expected to be unproductive. As a result, staff and other underlings strive to reach consensus so that, at the worst, some positive result can be declared. Now the consensus expectations are apparent, and predictably, they are far less promising than many delegates hoped.
Premature Burial? The Resuscitation Of Public Nuisance Litigation, Richard Faulk, John Gray
Premature Burial? The Resuscitation Of Public Nuisance Litigation, Richard Faulk, John Gray
Richard Faulk
On Sept. 22, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co., held that federal common-law nuisance suits can proceed against major greenhouse gas emitters. Nine days later, a federal trial court reached the opposite conclusion in another case. In this article, attorneys Richard Faulk and John Gray discuss these rulings, and the revival of public nuisance litigation.
Lifting The Veil: Pressures Mount For Climate Change Disclosures, Richard Faulk
Lifting The Veil: Pressures Mount For Climate Change Disclosures, Richard Faulk
Richard Faulk
Measures from Sarbanes-Oxley to climate change legislation will pervasively transform the manner in which American businesses relate to shareholders and consumers. Capping a month of extraordinary changes, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners adopted a rule that mandates broad disclosures by insurance companies regarding the impact of climate change on their financial stability – thereby enlisting the insurance industry as a ‘‘partner’’ in the enforcement of global and national climate change policies.