The Legal Status of the Commitments in the Convention on Climate Change and the Need for Future Revisions

Canada – Certain Measures Affecting the Renewable Energy Sector (Canada FIT), appears to be the first-ever case at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to address the tenuous ‘trade versus climate’ debate in the context of renewable energy policies. Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) for renewable energy, which have emerged as a popular domestic policy tool to address climate change, share an extremely controversial relationship with the international trade regime, especially with the legality of such support schemes increasingly coming under the WTO scanner. In this article, the authors focus on four aspects that emerge from the decisions made by the WTO’s Panel and Appellate Body in this case, namely the clarification of the blurred legal status of renewable energy support schemes under WTO law; a new ‘public goods’ exception; an evolving, “activist” WTO jurisprudence; and the imminent end of domestic content requirements in renewable energy policies. The authors argue in this article that the WTO Panel and Appellate Body’s decisions represent a development of the law, one that is aimed at settling the ever-so-contentious clash between the WTO law on subsidies and climate change support schemes.

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THE INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL MIGRANTS: ACTIVITIES OF UNITED NATIONS’ ORGANS, PROGRAMMES, AND AGENCIES

Courier of the Kutafin Moscow State Law University ◽

10.17803/2311-5998.2020.76.12.150-158 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 150-158

Author(s):

E. Yu. MARKOVA

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Human Rights ◽

United Nations ◽

Legal Status ◽

Negative Impact ◽

International Level ◽

International Protection ◽

Environmental Migration

The article examines and analyzes the work of the UN Organs, Programmes and Agencies in solving the problem of protecting the rights of environmental migrants. It demonstrates the gradual recognition at the international level of the fact that it is necessary to protect the rights of people forced to migrate to safe and habitable areas in conditions of climate change (the rights of environmental migrants). Despite the fact that climate change has not been recognized as a factor directly in fl uencing migration and that the climate change is considered only in conjunction with other causes (economic, political, social, etc.), the UN Organs, Programmes and Agencies are working on research and recognition of the negative impact of the climate change on the full enjoyment of human rights. The author suggests that such work of the UN system will help to form and consolidate the international legal status of environmental migrants and subsequently to solve the problem of the environmental migration.

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International Law as an Adaptation Measure to Sea-level Rise and Its Impacts on Islands and Offshore Features

The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law ◽

10.1163/15718085-13431094 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 415-439

Author(s):

Nilüfer Oral

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

International Law ◽

Sea Level Rise ◽

Sea Level ◽

Legal Status ◽

De Novo ◽

Law Of The Sea ◽

Current State ◽

Legal Questions ◽

International Climate

AbstractClimate change-induced sea-level rise will result in the partial or complete inundation of low-lying coastal areas and insular features. The consequences of this include the loss of baselines from which maritime zones are established. The loss of baselines raises a number of legal questions, in particular concerning the legal status of maritime entitlements and in some cases the potential loss of statehood. Solutions proposed include maintaining existing baselines or outer limits of maritime zones, or the construction de novo of artificial islands. This article examines the current state of international law under the international climate-change regime and the law of the sea in relation to adaptation and adaptive measures, such as maintaining of baselines, island fortification and the construction of artificial islands. In addition, the article explores the question as to whether measures such as maintaining baselines would constitute adaptive measures under the existing climate-change regime.

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Implementing the SDG-13 through the Adoption of Hybrid Law: Addressing Climate-Induced Displacement

Brill Open Law ◽

10.1163/23527072-20191016 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 69-100

Author(s):

Stellina Jolly ◽

Abhishek Trivedi

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Sustainable Development ◽

International Law ◽

Paradigm Shift ◽

Sustainable Development Goals ◽

Legal Status ◽

Environmental Concerns ◽

Special Focus ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Development Goals

The sustainable development goals (sdgs) with their integrated linkage of development and environmental concerns have been hailed as a paradigm shift in the attainment of sustainability. The article attempts to understand the normative framework that underwrites international law and sdg-13 vis-a-vis climate change with a special focus on climate-induced displacement. It explores the existing provisions, limitations, and gaps under international law with regard to displacement associated with climate change. More specifically, the analysis assesses the potential of hybrid law in promoting the goals of sdg-13. The hybrid law approach proposed in this article involves the amalgamation of substantive norms from different branches of international law, integration of norms of differing legal status and engagement of state and non-state actors. The analysis explores the concept of hybrid law, surveys the Nansen Protection Agenda and the Global Compact on Migration and analyses their suitability in exploring solutions to climate displacement. The article evaluates how the adoption of the sdgs provides a foundation for the development of a hybrid law in examining solutions to climate displacement under sdg-13.

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The Northern Sea Route and the Seaward Extension of Uti Possidetis (Juris)

Nordic Journal of International Law ◽

10.1163/15718107-08304004 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 83 (4) ◽

pp. 476-508 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Christopher R. Rossi

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

International Law ◽

Legal Status ◽

High Arctic ◽

The United States ◽

Roman Law ◽

Law Of The Sea ◽

Northern Sea Route ◽

Human Rights Abuse ◽

High Seas

Once considered impassable due to icebound conditions of the High Arctic, receding ice attributed to climate change and projections of ice-free polar seasons in coming decades may soon make the Northeast Passage a commercially viable conduit for seafaring traffic. A major stretch of this waterway atop Russia, straddling Eurasia from Providence Bay to Murmansk, passes through important geographic bottlenecks that scantily ever have been traversed by non-Russian ships, until most recently. This stretch, referred to as the Northern Sea Route, is claimed by Russia as historic waters, making its use subject to Russia’s complete sovereign decisions. The United States regards the Route as an international strait connecting two high seas, making transit free and open to all ships, military or commercial, in accordance with traditional High Seas freedoms and a newer right of transit passage. This article considers the prospect of a coming clash in the waters of the High Arctic over the legal status of the Northern Sea Route. Through analogous application of the Roman law principle of uti possidetis juris, a principle adapted to international law, but with serious criticism, this article argues that Russia’s claim of sovereign control over the Route finds legal support but is pragmatically and strategically weak. Existing lacunae in the governing international law of the sea nevertheless make consideration of the principle valuable, particularly components of the principle that emphasise factual circumstances, called effectivités, which support Russia’s claim. The creeping pelagic significance of this principle, historically tethered to terrestrial border delimitations and more recently to factual patterns involving gross human rights abuse, is affirmed, notwithstanding doctrinal criticisms about its topical application.

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Legal status of environmental refugees as a vulnerable categories of the population requiring environmental and legal protection

Law Review of Kyiv University of Law ◽

10.36695/2219-5521.4.2020.60 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 337-342

Author(s):

Olga Vasianovych

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Legal Status ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

National Level ◽

Forced Migration ◽

Legal Protection ◽

Legal Regulation ◽

Fundamental Rights ◽

Border Crossings ◽

Environmental Refugees

The increase in the number of people forced to leave their homes due to climate changes or other environmental problems is growingsteadily. The number of vulnerable categories of population requiring environmental protection is increasing. In this regard, theconcept of “environmental refugee” has emerged at the global level, which requires clear legal regulation and its formal classificationas vulnerable.The results of numerous studies show that the cause of migration is not only political and economic factors, but also the environmentalsituation in a particular area. To determine climatic factors, a standardized precipitation and evaporation index SPEI is used,which is called the “multi-scalar drought index”, which determines the onset, duration and extent of drought relative to normal conditionsin various systems (rivers, sowing areas, ecosystems).The concept of “environmental refugees” is currently recognized in the Global Compact on safe, orderly and legal migration inaccordance with its 2018 goals.The issue of environmental refugees has been discussed at the UN level since 1985, when UNEP – UN Environment Programexpert Essam El-Hinawi identified environmental refugees as “… people who have been forced to leave their habitat, temporarily orpermanently, due to noticeable changes in the environment (natural or man-made), which endangered their existence or significantlyaffected their quality of life. “The definition of environmental refugees should include the following distinguishing features: forced migration, temporary orpermanent relocation, border crossings, disturbances related to climate change: whether they are natural or anthropogenic.The analysis of acts of “soft law” and international agreements in the context of the legal status of “environmental refugees” givesgrounds to classify “environmental refugees” as vulnerable categories of the population subject to environmental and legal protectionon the following grounds:1) environmental refugees are those who have suffered from natural disasters and slow climate change, which destroys the conditionsof proper existence of each person, protection of his fundamental rights, and therefore they are forced to leave their places ofresidence due to environmentally unfavorable conditions;2) environmental refugees are persons of different ages, health conditions, social status, race and nationality, which already automaticallyclassifies them as “vulnerable”;3) environmental refugees need environmental and legal protection and protection, as well as an appropriate legal mechanism toregulate their status as a community at the international legal level and at the national level.

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Averting robo-bees: why free-flying robotic bees are a bad idea

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20190063 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (6) ◽

pp. 723-729

Author(s):

Roslyn Gleadow ◽

Jim Hanan ◽

Alan Dorin

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Computer Simulation ◽

Food Security ◽

European Countries ◽

Plant Interactions ◽

Plant Insect Interactions ◽

Native Habitat ◽

Insect Pollinators ◽

Insect Interactions

Food security and the sustainability of native ecosystems depends on plant-insect interactions in countless ways. Recently reported rapid and immense declines in insect numbers due to climate change, the use of pesticides and herbicides, the introduction of agricultural monocultures, and the destruction of insect native habitat, are all potential contributors to this grave situation. Some researchers are working towards a future where natural insect pollinators might be replaced with free-flying robotic bees, an ecologically problematic proposal. We argue instead that creating environments that are friendly to bees and exploring the use of other species for pollination and bio-control, particularly in non-European countries, are more ecologically sound approaches. The computer simulation of insect-plant interactions is a far more measured application of technology that may assist in managing, or averting, ‘Insect Armageddon' from both practical and ethical viewpoints.

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Modelling ecosystem adaptation and dangerous rates of global warming

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20180113 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 221-231 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Rebecca Millington ◽

Peter M. Cox ◽

Jonathan R. Moore ◽

Gabriel Yvon-Durocher

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Global Warming ◽

Diffusion Rate ◽

Individual Species ◽

Genetic Evolution ◽

Rates Of Change ◽

Rapid Climate Change ◽

Warming Climate ◽

Intraspecies Competition ◽

High Trait

Abstract We are in a period of relatively rapid climate change. This poses challenges for individual species and threatens the ecosystem services that humanity relies upon. Temperature is a key stressor. In a warming climate, individual organisms may be able to shift their thermal optima through phenotypic plasticity. However, such plasticity is unlikely to be sufficient over the coming centuries. Resilience to warming will also depend on how fast the distribution of traits that define a species can adapt through other methods, in particular through redistribution of the abundance of variants within the population and through genetic evolution. In this paper, we use a simple theoretical ‘trait diffusion’ model to explore how the resilience of a given species to climate change depends on the initial trait diversity (biodiversity), the trait diffusion rate (mutation rate), and the lifetime of the organism. We estimate theoretical dangerous rates of continuous global warming that would exceed the ability of a species to adapt through trait diffusion, and therefore lead to a collapse in the overall productivity of the species. As the rate of adaptation through intraspecies competition and genetic evolution decreases with species lifetime, we find critical rates of change that also depend fundamentally on lifetime. Dangerous rates of warming vary from 1°C per lifetime (at low trait diffusion rate) to 8°C per lifetime (at high trait diffusion rate). We conclude that rapid climate change is liable to favour short-lived organisms (e.g. microbes) rather than longer-lived organisms (e.g. trees).

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