Law Commons^™

A Comparative Study On Carbon Emission Reduction Systems, Mingde Cao

Dissertations & Theses

The overwhelming majority of scientists have concluded that global warming is unequivocal. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) fifth report in 2013 concluded that the challenge of climate disruption to human beings is even more imperative than the previous report claimed, and that anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions have extremely likely been the dominant causes of the observed global warming since the mid-20th century.

Anthropogenic GHGs emissions have many implications, including more intensive, extreme meteorological events, spreading of diseases, and threatening human health and life. Climate change also causes injustice in human society because of the dislocation of the …

The Climate Change-Sustainable Development Nexus: A Proposal For Convergence, Alvin K. Leong

Dissertations & Theses

This thesis is founded on the proposition that climate change and sustainable development are inextricably linked with each other and form a “nexus” that should be understood in a pragmatic and holistic way. Accordingly, the climate change “problem” cannot be adequately addressed in “silos” or by traditional output control techniques but instead should be viewed as a multidimensional challenge that calls for transformative change in the world energy sector in light of the wider contexts of sustainability and social equity. This thesis observes that with the emergence of a post-2015 development agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the United …

Climate Change: Human Rights In The Times Of Climate Displacement, Shakeel Kazmi

Dissertations & Theses

The increasing numbers of climate migrants caution that the dilemma of climate refugees is a well-substantiated concern of today not tomorrow. In 2011 large-scale flooding and landslides affected more than one million people in the Philippines. More than twenty million people were displaced after massive floods in Pakistan in 2010. A significant number of future projections show that climate change will lead tens, and perhaps hundreds, of millions of people to leave their homes and in some cases their countries. The crisis of human displacement, which entails immediate actions, raised the questions of legal and moral obligations to protect the …

Carbon Forest Markets And The Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest: Can Market-Based Economic Incentives Save The Forest?, Romulo Silveira Da Rocha Sampaio

Dissertations & Theses

This study is divided into six main chapters. The first chapter is dedicated to situate forests in the global context and providing a detailed description of the Atlantic Rainforest's history, ecological features, geographical and demographical information and its potential contribution to emissions and removals of greenhouse gases. Considering the traditional trend of not valuing ecosystem services, this first chapter introduces the notion of economic incentives to promote forest conservation and regeneration policies highlighting existing market-based approaches. The goal is twofold: first, to compare the Atlantic forest's reality and characteristics with a worldwide deforestation trend; second to provide an understanding of …

Sustainable Tourism And The Law: Coping With Climate Change, Navamin Chatarayamontri

Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation addresses the critical relationship between the tourism sector and sustainable development, examining global trends and the problems they raise, exploring the current set of solutions being implemented, and offering some new ideas for better managing the relationship. Among these, the most important and comprehensive is the “Climate and Sustainable Tourism Model” a framework developed to encapsulate many of the issues explored in this dissertation and offering insights for policy makers seeking to develop better solutions. Moreover, this dissertation acknowledges the continuing importance of market-based solutions for harmonizing the development of the tourism sector with the demands of sustainability. …

Fairness And Equity In Climate Change, Friedrich Soltau

Dissertations & Theses

Questions of fairness and equity are central to the challenge of tackling global climate change. The complexity of the question arises from the global and long-term nature of the problem. At the same time, the impacts are localized and differentiated, so that states least able to respond are those that will be hardest hit. Policies and measures to abate – mitigate – greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions demand the decision-making under conditions of uncertainty and the commitment of resources beyond the time horizon of politics-as-usual. And while international environmental law has achieved notable successes, it has arguably not confronted a challenge …