International climate law Flashcards
1
Q
What is climate law?
A
- relates to regulation that aimed at activites that are impacted by or contribute to climate change
- involves national and international legal frameworks
2
Q
What is meant by climate law being transnational?
A
- climate change is a global problem that does not respect boarders, and in order to address it effectively it requires efforts on an international scale
- it involves multiple countries that need to cooperate and create and develop legal mechanisms to tackle the issue of climate change
3
Q
How does climate law intersect with other areas of law?
A
- closely linked with environmental law; regulation in environmental law often contribute toclimate change mitigation and adaptation efforts
- planning law: land use regulation can encourage sustainable land use practices that contribute to mitigation (ex. park areas)
- property law: when regulations address issues of property damage, compensation
- human rights: giving rights to a healthy environment?
4
Q
What are the main features of the architecture of the Kyoto protocol?
A
- top-down approach, involving nternationally-negotiated emissions targets and accounting rules
- sharp differentiation between developed and developing countries
- legal bindingness, including a strong compliance system
- market mechanisms to allow cost-effective implementation
5
Q
What are the commitments of the Kyoto protocol?
A
- annex 1 countries (developed) have a commitment to collectively reduce their total GHG emission by at least 5% in the first commitment period, 2008-12, compaired to 1990 (non-developed state had no quantified reduction commitments)
- same ultimate objective as the UNFCCC (preamble, paragraph 2)
- the ‘teeth of the protocol - only for annex 1 parties
- quantified emission reduction targets
- strict timetable
- assigned amounts of units (AAUs) allocated to each annex 1 party: emission budhet/quota
- detailed reporting requirements
- non-compliance measures?
- different commitment of annex countries (in quantified emission limitation or reduction commitment)
- the ‘old’ EU countries agreed to redistribute their commitments in accordance with art. 4 of the Kyoto protocol (EU bubble)
6
Q
What options were available for implementing the commitments in the Kyoto protocol?
A
- reduction of emissions of GHG from sources (GHG and sourced are listed in annex A)
- removals of carbon dioxide with sinks: LULUCF (land use, land use change and forestry)
- market-based mechanisms (flexibility mechanisms)
- emission reduction/removals by sinks in other annex 1 countries: joint implementation (JI) - emission reduction units
- emission reduction/removals by sinks in non-annex 1 countries: CDM (clean development mechanism) - certified emission reduction units
- emissions trading (ET) - Kyoto units
7
Q
Did the Kyoto protocol require states to take specific action to reduce its emissions?
A
No specific action (had a lot of freedom to chose the action they wanted to take), but the parties had to implement policies and measures in accordance with their national circumstances, such as
- enhancement of energy efficiency
- promotion of renewable energy
- reforms in relevant sectors to reduce emission
- protection and enhancement of GHG sinks
- reduction of transport sector emissions
8
Q
How does the Kyoto protocol monitor compliance?
A
- did not agree on any legal concequences for not meeting the targets, they gave this task to the COP to agree on (art. 18)
- any procedure and mechanism entailing binding concequences were to be adopted in an amendment to the protocol, such an amendment were however never made
9
Q
How many commitment periods were in the Kyoto protocol?
A
- the first period started in 2008 and expired at the end of 2012
- Doha amendment adopted at COP8 in 2012 which agreed on extending the commitment period to 2020 - entered into force in 2020
- established a 2nd commitment period
- new targets for annex 1 states - in aggregate 18% on average below 1990 emissions
- less support among developed states = covers even less % of global emissions then in the first commitments period (due to geopolitical issues, leadership crisis, and burden sharing dilemma)
10
Q
How was the road from the Kyoto protocol to the Paris agreement?
A
- COP15 in Copenhagen (Copenhagen accord): no int. treaty was made, but it is an important political agreement because it marks a shift in how to regulate climate change (bottom-up approach, weakening of the ‘firewall’ between developed and developing countries, increased participation of non-state actors and increased political support)
- COP17 in Durban: launch of new platform of negotiations, mandate was to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the UNFCCC applicable to all parties, which was to be completed no later then 2015 and implemented by 2020 (suppost to replace Kyoto)
- in line with subsequent COP decision, UNFCCC parties submitted their intenden antionally determined contributions (INDCs) before COP21 in Paris (INDCs later became NDCs)
11
Q
When can a party to the Paris agreement leave it?
A
- according to art. 28 a party to the agreement cannot withdraw from it until 3 years has passed since it entered into force for that party (have to give notice to the depositary)
12
Q
What had changed since Copehagen accord when the Paris agreement was agreed upon?
A
- temperature goal instead of emission reduction and limitation targets for individual parties
- from top-down approach to a bottom-up approach
- political pledge of both developed and developing countries
- incread role of non-state actors
- joint announcement of USA and China in 2014
- rapid increase in emissions of large developing countries
13
Q
What are the main objectives of the Paris agreement? And where can these be found?
A
- mitigation: temperature goal
- adaptation: increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change
- finance: making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low GHG emission and climate resilient development
- found in art. 2: refers to the ultimate objectives of the UNFCCC
14
Q
What is the temperature goal of the Paris agreement? And why are the numbers the way they are?
A
- temperature goal: to keep global temperature increase ‘well below’ 2 degrees celcius and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees celcius over pre-industrial levels
- to rreach a peak of GHG emissions ASAP, and a balance of sources and sinks of GHG emissions in the 2nd half of the century
- why these numbers?: connects to UNFCCC art. 2, where it is enough to ‘prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system’ and to ‘allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change’, ‘ensure that food forduction is not threatened’ and ‘enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner’
15
Q
What are some of the commitments in the Paris agreement?
A
- art. 3: the efforts are to ambitious and progressive, with the view of reaching the temperature goal, supporting developing countries to effectively implement the agreement
- art 4 (mitigation): no quantitative reduction commitments, pledges made by each party (NDCs, ambition requirement, new NDCs every 5 years)
- the NDCs reflect the principle of common but differenciated responsibility and respective capacities, in light different national circumstances
- art. 13 (robust accounting rules): accounting of emissions and removals, transparency a key principle, also focus on environmental integrity, accuracy, completeness, comparability, consistency, and the avoidance of double counting
- art. 15: no enforcement mechanism, but the agreement seeks to facilitate implementation by creating a mechanism for it
- art. 14 (global stocktake): the COP shall periodically take stock of the implementation of the agreement to assess the collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the agreement and the long-term goals, first one in 2023 and then every 5 years, intended to guide partied when reviewing their NDCs (reliabel info., increased knowledge and awareness/more ambition)
- art. 6 (envisions the use of market-based measures): opens up for carbon credits where a state that is in surplus can sell those to a state who is struggling to reach their NDCs (controversial because it could lead to less amibtion to avoid having to buy units)
