Climate change, global environmental justice and international environmental law

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[W]e need to be constantly skeptical of the universalist ‘we’ who talks loftily about the principles of global justice. Andrew Hurrell I don't find justice either a useful decision-making tool or a recognizable objective for international law. Judge Rosalyn Higgins [I]nternational law exists as a promise of justice. Martti Koskenniemi [T]he future will see increasing efforts to form international [environmental] regimes, often with profound effects on nonparticipants…Principles of global justice…are going to be among the most important topics of the new world. Christopher D. Stone Introduction Climate change is a global problem. The emission of greenhouse gases or destruction of carbon sinks anywhere in the world affects the Earth's climate. Similarly, while the nature and severity of impacts may vary geographically, no state can insulate itself from the consequences of global climate change. Climate change is also an inter-temporal problem. The actions and omissions of the present will have implications for climatic conditions in the future, just as activities undertaken in the past have had impacts on today's climate. Historically, emissions of greenhouse gases have been far greater in the industrialized countries. The emissions of Northern countries still significantly exceed those of developing countries, although the emissions share of the developing world and the emissions of some large developing countries are projected to rise sharply over the next two decades. The impacts of climate change are likely to disproportionately affect Southern, developing countries, many of which are especially vulnerable to such impacts.