Climate Change Law Research Articles

The Trend of Changes in the Differentiation in Climate Change Law: Towards Intensifying, Not Weakening

Abstract The differentiation between developing and developed countries has been one of the central issues in the climate change legal regime from the beginning. Although there is a consensus among countries regarding the CBDR-RC as the basis for differentiation, the developing countries have always emphasized the first part of the principle, the responsibility of the developed countries based on equity, and in contrast, the developed countries have focused on the second part, the capability of countries to deal with climate change. Due to this contrast between approaches, the differentiation in the evolutionary process of the climate change regime has always been very volatile, from the UNFCCC to the Paris Agreement. The question arises as to what direction the differentiation has gone and what path it will take. This research shows that the movement toward specialization, pragmatism, and flexibility indicate differentiation is going towards strengthening, and the attempt to weaken or gradually eliminate it will most likely lead to the meaningless participation of developing countries and ultimately the ineffectiveness of the regime. To achieve equitable differentiation along with global participation in the future, two-stage differentiation can be applied. In the first step, the differentiation should be applied between developed and developing countries based on an equitable approach to changing responsibility, and in the second step, sub-differentiation should be applied between the developing countries themselves based on national economic-environmental circumstances such as capability and vulnerability. In this case, differentiation will be considered an opportunity and catalyst instead of a threat and an obstacle.

Vulnerability, climate laws, and adaptation in the Middle East and North Africa

AbstractLaws aimed at tackling climate change problems have grown significantly in the last two decades. Following this global trend and under pressure from international institutions and lenders, both rich, oil exporting (i.e., major greenhouse gas [GHG] emitters) and poor, non‐oil rich (i.e., mostly vulnerable nations with lower shares of emission) states in the Middle East and North Africa have hastened to adopt new laws and regulations to mitigate and/or adapt to climate change. The question remains, however, does the adoption of these laws have any measurable impact on these nations' climate change performance? That is, to what degree do these laws have an impact on greenhouse gas emissions or adaptation capacity and readiness? Utilizing a panel data of 660 country‐year observations (22 countries over 30 years), our cross‐national statistical analysis shows that while climate change laws seem to have an impact on GHG emissions, they have so far failed to boost these nations' adaptation capacity. Our case study shows that oil politics and basic development objectives seem to be the key to this failure.

The Function of OPEC in International Climate Change Law: the Route Taken to COP 28 and the Route Ahead

Abstract Since the consumption of fossil fuels is the main source of GHGs emissions and consequently climate change, the approach of OPEC to climate change is very important. The recent position of OPEC regarding the proposal to phasing out fossil fuels at COP 28 in 2023 showed how significant its approach can be in the evolution process of this regime. The question is what function OPEC has had and should have in the evolution of the climate change law. The results of this research show that in the first encounter of OPEC with the issue, due to the inherent conflict of the economic interests of member states with the goals of the climate change regime, it adopted an obstructive approach. But gradually, due to the global acceptance of the regime and comprehensive consensus regarding the scientific certainty of the threats of climate change, OPEC, reluctantly and inevitably, adjusted its former opposite position to some extent through its active participation in climate negotiations. However, in light of the increasing trend of GHGs emissions by the member states, which indicates the inability of OPEC to align the practice of its members with the goals of climate change, and the recent strong position of OPEC regarding the elimination of fossil fuels in COP 28, concerns have been raised about the future function of OPEC in the climate change legal regime. To play a constructive role in the future and use the available opportunities to reduce the climate change damage to the interests of the member countries over the long term, it should adopt initiatives such as functional changes and integration of climate issues into its strategies and projects in member states to be a supportive partner in the fight against climate change.

A Survey of Climate Change Law in the United Kingdom

Abstract A detailed summative statement of the law of climate change in the United Kingdom has yet to be brought together in the legal literature. This article fills the gap by drawing UK climate change law together into an article-length outline. The law is current to 4 July 2024, when the British Conservative Party, which had been in government for fourteen consecutive years, lost to Labour in a general election.

Request for an Advisory Opinion Submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law, Case 31

Abstract On 21 May 2024, the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delivered a ground-breaking and authoritative advisory opinion on States’ obligations under Part XII of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC). After confirming its jurisdiction over the request, ITLOS ruled that greenhouse gas emissions cause ‘deleterious effects on the marine environment’ and therefore constitute pollution under the LOSC. ITLOS explained the relationship between obligations under the LOSC and climate law and clarified the due diligence nature of the LOSC obligations to prevent marine pollution and to protect the marine environment.

Legal Systems and Loss & Damage at the Ocean-Climate Nexus: a Tribute to Meinhard Doelle

Abstract In 2021, the Research Handbook on Climate Change Law and Loss & Damage was published. Co-edited by myself and my late colleague Meinhard Doelle, the Handbook seeks to clarify the need for legal systems, both within and beyond the climate regime, to evolve so as to fairly and equitably address climate loss and damage claims. The Handbook considers the challenges of legal remedy for climate loss & damage from the perspectives of public international law and domestic, transnational, and private international law. While loss & damage at the ocean-climate nexus is implicit in many chapters, this contribution will reflect explicitly on how the lessons from the Handbook could apply at the ocean-climate nexus, with reference to the London Convention and Stockholm Declaration at fifty, developments at COP 28, and the Advisory Opinion on Climate Change before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

Integrating Climate Change into Global Ocean Governance: The ITLOS Advisory Opinion on the Specific Obligations of State Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

Climate change is having a significant impact on small island states and the adaptation to climate change is likely to become increasingly critical as the phenomenon intensifies. Despite growing attention to the effects of climate change on small island states, substantive progress remains limited. In order to obtain more multi-dimensional solutions for the climate crisis, the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law submitted a request for an Advisory Opinion from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on 12 December 2022. After going through written proceedings, oral proceedings, etc., the tribunal delivered a unanimous Advisory Opinion in this Case on 21 May 2024. The replies to two questions may mark the beginning of a new era for incorporating climate change into global ocean governance.

STUDY OF THE ADVISORY OPINION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF THE LAW OF THE SEA REQUESTED BY THE COMMISSION OF SMALL ISLAND STATES ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

On May 21, 2024, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea issued its advisory opinion in the context of the issues submitted for opinion by the Commission of Small Island States on climate change and international law; This opinion constitutes a foundational reference for international law regarding the obligations of States in environmental matters and the fight against Climate Change in the seas and oceans. This study analyzes several elements that arise from the ruling, such as the jurisdiction of the Court; the applicability of various international law instruments beyond those on climate change; and, the establishment of marine protected areas as an ideal tool for the fight against Climate Change in accordance with international treaties on the Law of the Sea and Environmental Matters.

Uncertain, unstable and unequal: Can regime interaction help international fisheries law address anthropocene challenges?

The term “Anthropocene” has become ubiquitous within debates on the future of international environmental law. While contested, it can generally be understood to refer to the fundamental idea that the world has entered a new era in which human activities, more than any other factor, are the driving force for change within the Earth system. This concept has inspired a rethinking of traditional international environmental law in line with the challenges that are expected to result from human-induced environmental impacts. This article explores how the Anthropocene will challenge international fisheries law and how understanding the role of regime interaction as a central characteristic of international law will be a necessary part of addressing these challenges. In order to determine what might be said to constitute Anthropocene conditions the article explores the effects of human activities on two core planetary boundaries, climate change and biosphere integrity, in the context of the world’s oceans. Through examining the human-induced threats to these boundaries, common themes of uncertainty, instability and inequality within the Anthropocene ocean are identified, highlighting broadly the ways in which the current international fisheries legal regime alone is inadequate to achieve its goals in the Anthropocene context. This article proposes that enhanced regime interaction, between related regimes such as international fisheries law, international climate change law and international biodiversity law could allow international fisheries law to be more readily able to meet the uncertain, unstable and unequal Anthropocene context.

The Fake News Effect: Experimentally Identifying Motivated Reasoning Using Trust in News

Motivated reasoning posits that people distort how they process information in the direction of beliefs they find attractive. This paper creates a novel experimental design to identify motivated reasoning from Bayesian updating when people have preconceived beliefs. It analyzes how subjects assess the veracity of information sources that tell them the median of their belief distribution is too high or too low. Bayesians infer nothing about the source veracity, but motivated beliefs are evoked. Evidence supports politically motivated reasoning about immigration, income mobility, crime, racial discrimination, gender, climate change, and gun laws. Motivated reasoning helps explain belief biases, polarization, and overconfidence. (JEL C91, D12, D72, D83, D91, L82)

Deep learning tool: reconstruction of long missing climate data based on spatio-temporal multilayer perceptron

Long-term monitoring of climate data is significant for grasping the law and development trend of climate change and guaranteeing food security. However, some weather stations lack monitoring data for even decades. In this study, 62 years of historical monitoring data from 105 weather stations in Xinjiang were used for missing sequence prediction, validating proposed data reconstruction tool. First of all, study area was divided into three parts according to the climatic characteristics and geographical locations. A spatio-temporal multilayer perceptron (MLP) was established to reconstruct meteorological data with three time scales (Short term, cycle and long term) and one spatio dimension as inputing (rolling predictions, one step predicts one day), filling in long sequence blank data. By designing an end-to-end model to autonomously detect the locations of missing data and make rolling predictions,we obtained complete meteorological monitoring data of Xinjiang from 1961 to 2022. Seven kinds of parameter reconstructed include maximum temperature (Max_T), minimum temperature (Min_T), mean temperature (Ave _ T), average water vapor pressure (Ave _ WVP), relative humidity (Ave _ RH), average wind speed (10 m Ave _ WS), and sunshine duration (Sun_H). Contrasted the prediction accuracy of the model with general MLP and LSTM, results shows that, in the seven types of parameters, designed spatio-temporal MLP decreases MAE and MSE by 7.61% and 4.80% respectively. The quality of reconstructed data was evaluated by calculating correlation coefficient with the monitored sequences of nearest station,determining the applicable meteorological parameters of the model according to the results. Results show that,proposed model reached satisfied average correlation coefficient for Max_T, Min_T, Ave _ T and Ave _ WVP parameters are 0.969, 0.961, 0.971 and 0.942 respectively. The average correlation coefficient of Sun_H and Ave _ RH are 0.720 and 0.789. Although it is difficult to predict extreme values, it can still capture the period and trend; the reconstruction effect of 10 m Ave _ WS is poor, with the average similarity of 0.488. Proposed method is applicable to reconstruct Max_T, Min_T, Ave _ T and Ave _ WVP, but not recommended to reconstruct Sun_H, Ave _ RH and Ave _ WS.

Women, Climate Change and the Law: Lessons for Tanzania from an Analysis of African Nationally Determined Contributions

AbstractWomen experience climate change in different ways to men and are often disproportionately affected, highlighting the need for gender-focused climate initiatives. Strengthening laws and policies to address women's and gender issues is one way forward. Yet, less research attention has been given to women and gender in climate change law than in other issues. This article seeks to advance the field by exploring the relevant law, policy and governance commitments made by all African nations under the Paris Agreement. The findings indicate that most African nations include some gender-related commitments, but only a few include detailed legal initiatives ready for implementation. These more detailed initiatives are synthesized to identify a toolbox of options, which are then applied to Tanzania as a case study. This article contributes to the literature by comprehensively analysing the African climate change commitments and by making tangible recommendations for Tanzania.

The Efficacy of Climate Change Law in Ethiopia

Climate change is continuing all over the world including Ethiopia. This research investigates the efficacy of Ethiopian law in responding climate change. It employed qualitative research methodology whereby international legal instruments as well as literature have been analysed. Relevant national legal instruments and literature have also been investigated. The research found that no comprehensive climate change law is available and the regulation of the issue is left to diverse laws, strategies and plans. It identified that the implementation is not satisfactory, in general. It recommends comprehensive law to be enacted by the Ethiopian Government and bring the duties of regulation into one institute.

Navigating transformations: Climate change and international law

Abstract The global climate crisis response envisioned by the Paris Agreement is commonly understood as demanding transformative change. International law, however, lacks a holistic conceptual framing for making sense of what such change would entail, how it might unfold, and who and what it will involve. Moreover, there has been little critical engagement with the question of what is at stake when invoking the notion of transformation. Contributing to the broader debate about what the climate crisis demands of international law, this article offers a critical conceptual appraisal of the notion of ‘transformation’. Conceptually, it describes transformative dynamics as processes which work towards radically different states of affairs that seem practically impossible under the status quo, but which could arguably be realized if different conditions were in place. Developing an ontology of transformative change, the article identifies heterogenous temporality, the actualization of impossible possibilities, and distributed engagement as three central features of transformations in climate crisis. Having laid the conceptual groundwork, the article then takes a critical turn and foregrounds unresolved tensions that run through transformation thinking. The aim here is to connect to critical discourses and show how these tensions can serve as entry points for international law to meaningfully engage with the notion of transformation. The article closes by offering some reflections on what engagement with the notion of transformation might mean for international law’s disciplinary identity, rationale, and sense of purpose.

Climate policies and legislation for renewable energy transition: The roles of financial sector and political institutions

Given the urgent need to address global ecological degradation and its accelerating impacts, countries worldwide are increasingly prioritizing the acceleration of the transition to renewable energy sources. In this quest for green development, economies are motivated to enact enabling policies and supportive legislation to facilitate an expedited transition. Within this context, the present study seeks to investigate the roles of financial development and political institutions––particularly corruption control, civil society participation, and democracy––as conditional factors that support clean energy policies and climate change legislation (laws and regulations) in accelerating renewable energy transition in the top-10 polluting economies between 1996 and 2019. By applying the augmented mean group technique, the empirical findings indicate that clean energy policies and climate change laws and regulations alone are ineffective in driving the transition to renewable energy. However, financial development and certain political institutions––such as corruption control, civil society participation, and democracy––have been identified as key contributors to this transition. The effectiveness of clean energy policies in accelerating the renewable energy transition depends on a well-developed financial sector to implement and enforce these policies effectively. Enacting clean energy policies, along with environmental laws and regulations, while supported by a well-developed financial sector, accelerates the transition to renewable energy. Moreover, enacting such policies and laws, coupled with strong corruption control and higher active civil society participation, creates an environment that enables the transition to renewable energy.

Carbon Leakage and International Climate Change Law

AbstractCarbon leakage – the increase of greenhouse gas emissions in foreign jurisdictions following the introduction of domestic or regional climate mitigation measures – raises key questions in the climate change debate. This includes whether carbon leakage constitutes a threat to the environmental integrity of climate policies and, if so, how this could be mitigated. Through the use of four hypothetical models of international climate change regime, this article argues that international climate change law is a key factor in answering this two-part question. Firstly, the article demonstrates that the architecture of international climate change law affects whether carbon leakage can be considered as undermining the mitigation objective of climate policies. Secondly, it draws attention to the interaction – and potential tension – between carbon leakage prevention measures and international climate change law.

Climate Change and Islamic law

‌‌This scientific study has been conducted under the title (Climate Change and Islamic Sharia) in which the perspective of Islamic Sharia related to climate change has been revealed. In the scientific field related to climate change, a jurisprudential interpretative reference is available to climate change-related students, students of Sharia sciences, and workers in the field of climate change laws. Islamic Sharia is known which we have reached in this bibliographic research article. The result of this study is that Islamic Sharia clarify all the causes of climate change: such as global warming, air pollution, atomic pressure, etc. Islamic Sharia has pointed out and recommended the necessary solutions for this, such as building land on trees and forests, preventing the cutting of trees, preventing air pollution, and doing all the work that keep the climate moderate in such a way as to make human life comfortable and forbid all the activities that cause the climate to change in such a way that human life becomes harmful.

Exploring Best Practices for New Climate Change Policy and Law Program

Climate change law is seldom taught formally as a program at institutions of higher education. Hence, it is unclear as to how climate change law lessons should be delivered. This paper focuses on the exploration of best practices for new climate change policy and law program. The study engaged in purely qualitative methodology, involving interviews with 10 experts in environmental law and climate change from academia and industry partners, as well as environmental law alumni. The collected data was analysed in ATLAS.ti software version 22 using thematic analysis approach. The study found that among the recommended best practices of teaching delivery methods for the program are service learning (SL), global learning, article contributions to newspapers and project-based learning (PBL). SL involves the implementation of credited projects by the students for the benefit of a targeted community focusing on climate change issues. Meanwhile, global learning involves collaborative events with member institutions within Malaysia or abroad, in which experts, academia and industry practitioners can join and participate for sharing of experiences, skills and knowledge on climate change current issues and challenges. Students can also be encouraged to write their articles to be submitted to newspaper portals, either printed or online sites. Additionally, lecturers can prompt specific PBL projects to the students, in which students are to “carry out” climate change-related projects in this innovative and inspiring learning strategy. The final strategy is to encourage students to implement roleplay in classes, aiming at giving simulation experiences in solving climate change issues. Hopefully, this paper will become a catalyst for future studies on climate change curriculum development, particularly on teaching delivery practices. The findings are highly pertinent to United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal SDG13 on climate action. In the broader context, the findings of the study will be a great contribution towards the attainment of sustainability efforts on climate action, particularly in capacity building of the people on teaching delivery methods of climate change policy and law.

Recent Trends and A Future Direction of Malaysia’s Climate Change Law Program

Climate change is a critical global issue that is predominantly caused by human activities. To equip students in higher education institutions (HEIs) with the necessary knowledge and skills to play an active role in mitigating the effects of climate change, HEIs need to incorporate climate change-related programs into their teaching curricula. These programs should emphasize law and policy, enabling students to become environmentally aware and motivated to act. The Climate Change Institute (Institut Perubahan Iklim or IPI) at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia is among several (HEIs) in Malaysia offering a master’s program in Climate Change (Coursework), with a specialization in Environmental Science and Earth Science. This paper aims to analyse the structure of existing climate change programs at both public and private HEIs in Malaysia. Desk research is conducted to gather various information from the available structures involving seven public universities and two private universities in Malaysia which offer 24 environmental-related programs both in undergraduate and postgraduate studies. The findings were analysed by a constant comparative approach that is guided by the key themes of the study. The finding shows that all universities that offer law programs do not have climate change postgraduate law programs offered at their faculties. Other faculties, should they have such a similar program, are more related to sciences, engineering, technology and management. This paper concludes by providing insights into the key features of recent trends in the offering of climate change postgraduate law programs in Malaysia. Accordingly, the findings of the study would serve as a significant guide for the development of any new climate change policy and law programs in the future in line with United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal SDG13 on climate action which focus on Target 13.3 in improving education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning. The new climate change postgraduate law program will also contribute to the sustainability of climate action, particularly in capacity building of the people on teaching delivery methods of climate change policy and law, protecting the planet, promoting prosperity, maintaining peace and establishing connections and partnerships in the teaching methods, such as global learning.

Exploring Institutional Barriers to Effective Human Rights-Based Climate Litigation in Latin American Courts—Lessons from Chile and Ecuador

Abstract The global climate crisis demands that all branches of government play a role in tackling climate change, including the judiciary. One important mechanism is climate litigation. In the adjudication of climate litigation, courts can advance the protection of human rights, promote environmental values, assist in developing climate change law and policy, and uphold the rule of law. However, some Latin American countries are facing several constitutional and legal barriers to adequately protecting environmental and human rights enshrined in their constitutions. Through analysis of the Chilean and Ecuadorian contexts, this note identifies obstacles and barriers that might prevent human rights’ protection in each jurisdiction when adjudicating climate cases and proposes reforms that may strengthen courts’ performance. Among the options are strengthening existing environmental and human rights provisions, developing new legal frameworks addressing climate change, and enhancing the capacity of courts to hear and decide climate change cases. Furthermore, these reforms must be accompanied by adequate resources, training, and support for the judiciary effectively to advance climate justice through human rights.