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102. The Case for a WTO Climate Waiver
- Author:
- James Bacchus
- Publication Date:
- 11-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- There is a looming collision between the rules frameworks of the two separate international institutions that have been created and entrusted with addressing trade and climate change. Links between trade and climate change can no longer be ignored by either the World Trade Organization (WTO) or the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Neither has considered the consequences of the trade restrictions that are likely to be part of many national measures enacted to address climate change, which will fall within the scope of the WTO Agreement and will surely lead to a lengthy WTO dispute settlement process. Such trade-restrictive national measures will be fed by domestic fears of “carbon leakage” and a loss of national competitiveness, and WTO disputes resulting from such measures will confront numerous unanswered legal questions due to an absence of relevant WTO jurisprudence. To minimize the political risks of such a collision to both the WTO and the COP, and to combine the most benefit for the climate with the least risk to trade, a WTO climate waiver is urgently needed. The adoption of a WTO climate waiver should be only the first of the ways in which WTO members revise and realign WTO rules in accordance with the objectives of sustainable development.
- Topic:
- Climate Change
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
103. Innovations in Global Governance
- Author:
- Miles Kahler and Deborah Avant
- Publication Date:
- 09-2017
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Over the last three decades, a diverse collection of actors—private corporations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and subnational (state, provincial, and urban) governments—has developed and promoted a global agenda of collective action. From advancing human rights to combating climate change, these actors have become new governors in world politics. More recently, a second movement—a loose array of populist and nationalist groups and governments—has questioned the forward momentum of institutionalized global cooperation. Brexit, followed by the Donald J. Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Paris Agreement on climate change, as well as proposed cuts in U.S. contributions to the United Nations and development assistance, suggest a weakening—if not undermining—of the network of treaties, institutions, and relationships constructed over the last seventy years. Each of these movements aims to transform a global order based on intergovernmental agreements and institutions. The first movement has already done so by increasing participation in global governance of new actors who are pursuing cooperative outcomes in collaboration with and independently of national governments and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). Their involvement both complements and complicates the traditional international order. The second movement, in contrast, asserts national interest and sovereignty against the constraints of global governance. Although the conflict between these two movements remains unresolved, they will likely shape the future global order.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Human Rights, Governance, and NGOs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
104. Labor Rights & Climate Change
- Author:
- Melissa Rary
- Publication Date:
- 05-2017
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
- Abstract:
- As COHRE wraps up the academic year in the coming weeks, the Center’s focus on labor rights is coming to an end, despite the vast range of important topics left to be discussed. We cannot touch on every aspect of labor rights, though it is important that the international community remain vigilant in advocating for increased respect of labor rights, particularly as we enter into an uncertain age of technological advancement and a changing climate. With this blog, I aim to shed some light on labor issues in relation to climate change, a topic often left out of academic discourse. Population increase and decreasing availability of shared resources including water and land are exacerbated by the indisputable climactic changes the earth is facing. Climate change will also affect respect for labor rights in significant ways, and if the international community is aware of these vulnerabilities, adaptation and mitigation mechanisms can be more effective in addressing the issues.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, Human Rights, and Labor Rights
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
105. Modification of Renewable Energy Support Schemes Under the Energy Charter Treaty: Eiser and Charanne in the Context of Climate Change
- Author:
- Tomas Restrepo
- Publication Date:
- 12-2017
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Goettingen Journal of International Law
- Institution:
- The Goettingen Journal of International Law
- Abstract:
- Nearly half of the claims brought under the Energy Charter Treaty1 raise issues related to the modification of the Renewable Energy Support Schemes (RESs), but only two decisions have been published: Charanne and Eiser. This paper evaluates these decisions in light of the existing general practice on expropriation and Fair and Equitable Treatment, as well as from a pragmatic perspective in the context of climate change. The article concludes that tribunals should recognize reinforced stability to RESs under the ECT.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, International Cooperation, International Law, and Renewable Energy
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
106. The Need for Governance of Climate Geoengineering
- Author:
- Janos Pasztor
- Publication Date:
- 12-2017
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Carnegie Council
- Abstract:
- Sooner rather than later, policymakers around the world will need to confront an uncomfortable reality: that despite the best efforts of national governments and thousands of mayors and other civic leaders, we can no longer contain global average temperatures to below 1.5–2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels through mitigation of carbon emissions alone. It is widely acknowledged that even if the world stopped all emissions today, there would still be a rise in global temperatures to a level that would stay for hundreds of years (the lifetime of the carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere) before temperatures began to drop, thus constituting a temperature “overshoot.” For many experts the question is no longer whether the world can keep the temperature rise below the goals stipulated in the Paris Agreement, but by how much will the world miss that target and how long will the overshoot last. For many experts the question is no longer whether the world can keep the temperature rise below the goals stipulated in the Paris Agreement, but by how much will the world miss that target and how long will the overshoot last. The acknowledgement of this temperature overshoot—alongside a growing appreciation of its devastating impact on people’s lives, the global economy, and the environment—may mark a new inflection point in our efforts to manage the risks of climate change.1 When you add to this the U.S. president’s announcement in June 2017 that the nation would withdraw from the Paris Agreement, it comes as no surprise that a growing number of scientists are thinking about additional approaches to managing the risks of an overshoot. Perhaps most dramatically, we have seen a resurgent interest in a field that once resided at the fringes of science or on the pages of sci-fi novels, but which is now being taken quite seriously in academic circles: geoengineering. As this interest develops, it is becoming more likely that a group of countries or cities or even one or more wealthy individuals might decide to deploy geoengineering technologies during the coming decades. We need to be ready for any such eventuality; and being ready means considering a host of pressing questions. How would we govern such actors? Who assesses the balance of risks and rewards when deploying geoengineering technologies? What safeguards and what compensation mechanisms need to be built in? If we start deliberately altering global temperatures, who controls the global thermostat? It was to address these questions that the Carnegie Climate Geoengineering Governance Initiative was born: to bring the profoundly complex issues of geoengineering governance and ethics to a much wider audience.2 We are potentially at the dawn of an age of geoengineering. It is time for policymakers to start discussing whether geoengineering is to go forward and, if so, how.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, Governance, and Geoengineering
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
107. Global justice and environmental governance: an analysis of the Paris Agreement
- Author:
- Marcelo Santos
- Publication Date:
- 12-2017
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Journal:
- Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
- Institution:
- Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
- Abstract:
- Based on the major normative political theory contributions on global climate justice, the present paper analyzes the new international agreement on climate change, adopted at COP 21 in Paris (2015). Therefore, a literary review of the extensive normative theoretical discussion about global climate justice is made, with special attention to the two approaches that have permeated multilateral political negotiations - historical responsibility and equal per capita emissions. From this normative discussion, this paper recalls the global climate change negotiation process, focusing on the Kyoto Protocol. Next, the analysis emphasizes on the Paris Agreement in an effort to evaluate the normative questions on justice and equity within the environmental governance regime. Finally, the set of conclusions indicates that, although the flexibility of the Agreement has encompassed some dimensions of responsibility, necessity and ability to bear the costs, the most complex dimensions of justice and equity has not been completely solved, which may hinder the operation of environmental governance in a near future.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Governance, Justice, and Paris Agreement
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
108. “We Did Not Have Tornadoes or Typhoons”
- Author:
- A. Kokorin
- Publication Date:
- 01-2017
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
- Institution:
- East View Information Services
- Abstract:
- This intervew discusses an increase in natural disasters.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, Natural Disasters, and Paris Agreement
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
109. The Paris Agreement – an important step in facing climate change challenges
- Author:
- Marina Funduk
- Publication Date:
- 07-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO)
- Abstract:
- t the twenty-�irst session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21), which was held in Paris, France, in December 2015, 195 countries reached an historic agreement to combat climate change, and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable, low carbon future. The central aim of the Paris Agreement is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, by keeping the global temperature rise in this century to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further, to 1.5°C. Additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts caused by global warming. To reach these ambitious goals, it was agreed that appropriate �inancial �lows, new technology and an enhanced capacity building framework should be put in place, to support the most vulnerable countries.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, and International Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
110. Assessing the Governance Practices of Sustainability Reporting
- Author:
- Jason Thistlethwaite and Melissa Menzies
- Publication Date:
- 01-2016
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- To promote climate change risk mitigation in financial markets, the Financial Stability Board recently proposed the creation of a Climate Disclosure Task Force, coordinated through the G20, to develop standards for companies to disclose their exposure to climate change risks. With more than 400 existing disclosure schemes, this task will be challenging. This brief identifies the key categories of governance practices that must be addressed, how these divergent practices challenge end-users, and how the establishment of criteria that define effective and efficient reporting is a critical first step for the Climate Disclosure Task Force.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Economics, Markets, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus