towards a new climate accord - international legal challenges...
TRANSCRIPT
T
2015
Towards a New Climate Agreement – Principles and Practices for Implementation from a Sustainable Development Perspective
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Towards a New Climate Agreement: Principles and Practices for Implementation from a Sustainable Development Perspective
By Katherine Lofts et al, CISDL1
Abstract
At the upcoming 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21), which will take place in Paris from 30 November to 11 December 2015, Parties are set to conclude a new international agreement. This agreement will take the form of “a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force”2, and will be applicable to all UNFCCC Parties. It is currently being negotiated through a process known as the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP). The agreement will establish new mitigation commitments for Parties, as well as commitments on finance, adaptation, loss and damage (which may be included under adaptation or as a separate issue), technology development and transfer, and capacity building. It will take a partially “bottom up” approach, enabling Parties to determine their own mitigation commitments, potentially subject to review processes and other mechanisms to increase ambition.
Law and governance systems can foster or frustrate efforts to implement the proposed 2015 climate agreement. In this background paper, the new climate agreement negotiating text is outlined, key principles are discussed, and legal issues raised by the text are identified and analyzed. It is recognized that law and governance will be essential to consider if Parties are to succeed in meeting their commitments. Indeed, a number of countries may decide to reform their laws and institutions in order to implement the new agreement, leading to a pressing need for legal knowledge, expertise and capacity building.
1 Lead Author; Katherine Lofts, Climate Change Programme Coordinator, Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) © 2015; Contributing Experts: Dr Robert Kibugi, Climate Change Lead Counsel, CISDL and Lecturer, University of Nairobi; Dr Marie-‐Claire Cordonier Segger, Senior Director CISDL and Senior Research Associate, CIFOR; Christopher Campbell-‐Duruflé, Associate Fellow, CISDL; Dr Oonagh Fitzgerald, Director ILRP CIGI; Dr Markus Gehring, Trade Investment & Finance Lead Counsel, CISDL and Lecturer, University of Cambridge; and Dr Christina Voigt, Senior Legal Research Fellow, CISDL & Professor of International Law, University of Oslo. 2 Decision 1/CP.17.
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1 Introduction
Climate change has significant impacts on sustainable development. Recent reports estimate that climate change adaption costs will reach between $70 and $100 billion a year by 2050.3 Indeed, climate change threatens to undermine decades of social and economic development, as well as efforts to protect the environment, and the realization of a wide range of human rights, such as the rights to life, health, water, food, shelter, and an adequate standard of living.4
A global regime, based on the obligations of 196 Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), focuses on achieving climate mitigation, adaptation and financing across many sectors of international and domestic law and policy relevant for sustainable development. The UNFCCC was concluded in 1992, with an objective to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system".5 While the treaty itself does not contain binding greenhouse gas emission limits or enforcement mechanisms, it does provide a framework for the negotiation of further protocols and instruments. The Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted in 1997 and came into force in 2005, includes binding emissions reduction targets for Parties, and is based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. The first commitment period under the Protocol ended in 2012, and a second commitment period, known as the Doha Amendment, should run until 2020.6
Efforts to date have fallen far short of what is needed to mitigate and adapt to dangerous climate change. Indeed, only 37 countries have accepted binding targets under the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, and current projections for average global temperature rise by the end of the century place warming well above the 1.5° -‐ 2.0° Celsius limit necessary to avoid dangerous climate change. Negotiations are now underway for the adoption of a new climate agreement at the 21st
Conference of the Parties in Paris at the end of 2015, which would set binding emission reductions commitments and apply to all Parties. Negotiated through a process known as the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP), the new agreement raises important international and domestic legal issues. 3 Chambwera, M. et al. 2014: Economics of Adaptation. In: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, at 959. 4 Human Rights Council, Resolution 7/23, Human rights and climate change, 28 March 2008, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/RES/7/23; General Assembly, Resolution 63/32, Protection of global climate for present and future generations, 26 November 2008, U.N. Doc. A/RES/63/32; Human Rights Council, Resolution 10/4, Human rights and climate change, 25 March 2009, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/RES/10/4; General Assembly, Resolution 63/281, Climate change and its possible security implications, 3 June 2009, U.N. Doc. A/RES/63/281; Report of the Secretary-‐General, Climate change and its possible security implications, 11 September 2009, U.N. Doc. A/64/350; Statement by the President of the Security Council, Climate Change, 20 July 2011, U.N. Doc. S/PRST/2011/15. Human Rights Council, Resolution 18/22, Human rights and climate change, 30 September 2011, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/RES/18/22. 5 UNFCCC, Art. 2. 6 In accordance with Articles 20 and 21 of the Kyoto Protocol, ratification by 75% of the Parties present and voting at the meeting is necessary for the Doha Amendment to come into force (144 parties), which has not yet materialized.
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This background note provides an overview of the current draft text, identifying key issues and suggesting elements of a future climate law and governance research, dialogue and capacity-‐building agenda.
2 Overview of the Draft Climate Agreement
The draft negotiating text of the new climate agreement was first made available on 25 February 2015 after the eighth part of the second session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) in Geneva on 8-‐15 February 2015. During the Bonn intercessional meeting (ADP 2-‐9), held from 1-‐11 June 2015, aspects of this text were streamlined and consolidated. A further streamlined negotiating text was prepared by ADP co-‐chairs and released on July 24, 2015 (available: http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/adp2/eng/4infnot.pdf). This document, entitled “Co-‐Chairs’ Tool: A Non-‐Paper Illustrating Possible Elements of the Paris Package”, is divided into three sections: Part One -‐ provisions for inclusion in a new agreement (Draft Agreement); Part Two -‐ provisions for inclusion in a COP decision (Draft Decision 1/CP.21); and Part Three -‐ “Provisions whose placement requires further clarity among Parties in relation to the draft agreement or draft decision.” This section will briefly outline the components of the three parts of the Co-‐Chairs’ Tool, highlighting key issues currently addressed by each.7
2. 1. Part One: The Draft Agreement
• The draft agreement begins with a Preamble section, which currently serves as a placeholder, with the bulk of the text from the post-‐Geneva negotiating text having been moved to Parts Two and Three of the Co-‐Chairs’ Tool. The agreement then moves into Definitions and General / Objective sections.
• The Mitigation section includes provisions on collective efforts (outlining overall emissions reduction targets); individual efforts (the obligations of individual countries regarding their emissions); and progression (how countries can enhance their level of ambition beyond their previous undertakings over time).
• The section on Adaptation and loss and damage also contains sections on collective efforts (including overarching adaptation targets) and individual efforts (the ways in which individual countries should prepare, plan for and implement adaptation actions). It also includes provisions for the communication by countries of their individual efforts, priorities and needs relating to adaptation.
• The Finance section includes subsections on objectives and guiding principles (relating to goals and general rules for climate finance); responsibilities under the agreement (referring to the
7 For another excellent outline of the issues addressed in each part of the Co-‐Chairs’ Tool, see the Carbon Brief’s “Explainer: New Negotiating Text Provides Clarity on UN’s Climate Deal”: http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2015/07/explainer-‐new-‐negotiating-‐text-‐provides-‐clarity-‐on-‐un-‐climate-‐deal/
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responsibility of developed countries to provide financial resources); and the financial mechanism under Article 11 of the UNFCCC as the financial mechanism of the new agreement.
• Under the heading of Technology development and transfer is a section on cooperative action, which addresses the promotion and enhancement of access to technology and know-‐how.
• The Capacity-‐building section includes objectives, guiding principles and features (setting out the purpose of capacity-‐building under the new agreement, as well as its key characteristics); individual efforts (Parties’ individual obligations relating to capacity-‐building, including the particular responsibilities of developed country Parties); Article 6 of the Convention (referring to climate change training, education, public awareness, public participation and access to information); and institutional arrangements.
• The section on Transparency of action and support includes guiding principles for the transparency framework applicable to Parties’ commitments under the new agreement, along with information on the scope and applicability of such a framework. It also includes sections on national arrangements for MRV and the MRV of support.
• Time frames and process related to commitments / contributions / other matters related to implementation and ambition includes information on the timing of Parties’ communications of their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), as well as modalities for the adjustment of these contributions, periodic updating of NDCs, and the conduct of review and assessment of commitments in the aggregate and individually.
• The section on Facilitating implementation and compliance concerns the adoption of appropriate and effective procedures for compliance, implementation and enforcement of the provisions of the new agreement.
• Finally, Procedural and institutional provisions covers topics such as the governing body of the new agreement; the role of the secretariat, as well as bodies and institutional arrangements to serve the agreement; entry into force; amendments; and related procedural issues.
2. 2. Part Two: Draft Decision 1/CP.21
• The Draft Decision begins with preambular provisions, as well as a section on the Adoption of the Paris Agreement (I), and an invitation to Parties to submit their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) (II).
• Part III of the Draft Decision includes a number of Decision Elements, including on the following topics:
o Mitigation: including sections on low emissions strategies, market mechanisms, land use and REDD+.
o Adaptation and loss and damage: including National Adaptation Planning Processes; guidance for individual efforts (including the promotion and protection of human rights,
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the facilitation of sustainable development, and other guiding principles); the strengthening of institutional arrangements (such as the Adaptation Committee, the Technology Executive Committee, the Standing Committee on Finance, and the Green Climate Fund); and the enhancement of the Nairobi Work Programme.
o Loss and damage: the strengthening of the Warsaw International Mechanism, including through the establishment of a financial technical panel; arrangements regarding displacement coordination, through the establishment of a climate change displacement facility; and the establishment of a clearing house for risk transfer.
o Finance: including actions in the pre-‐2020 period, as well as precisions relating to the Financial Mechanism under the new agreement, rules for the Green Climate Fund, and issues relating to the timing and coordination of finance.
o Technology development and transfer: including sections on strengthening institutional arrangements, supporting operationalization and delivery, and enhancing cooperation for the delivery of technology development and transfer.
o Capacity-‐building: including a section linking MRV processes and capacity-‐building support; institutional arrangements on capacity-‐building; and the possibility of the development of a new capacity-‐building mechanism.
o Transparency of action and support: including guidance on the elaboration of rules for enhanced transparency of action and support, as well as reporting on mitigation activities (including progress on NDCs), and the MRV of financial support.
o Time frames and process related to commitments / contributions / other matters related to implementation and ambition: including options for timeframes for Parties’ commitments/actions under the new agreement, as well as for the periodic communication of proposed commitments/contributions. This section also includes considerations for the timing of an ex ante process for consideration by Parties, including provisions for the consideration of Parties’ aggregate commitments.
o Facilitating implementation and compliance: including a section on modalities relating to the compliance mechanism under the new agreement.
• Part IV of the Draft Decision contains Possible elements on pre-‐2020 ambition (workstream 2), including the need for enhanced mitigation outcomes in the short term, along with finance, technology and capacity-‐building support for efforts by developing country Parties related to pre-‐2020 action.
• Part V outlines a Work programme for the interim period pending the entry into force of the agreement, with provisions under various subheadings, including mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage, and finance.
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• Part VI describes Interim institutional arrangements, including the use of existing convention bodies, the establishment of an intergovernmental preparatory committee (IPC), and arrangement for the IPC to report to COP on the work programme noted in Part V above.
• Part VII concludes with Administrative and budgetary matters, noting the pressing need for greater resources to facilitate the implementation of relevant actions relating to the new agreement.
2. 3. Part Three: Provisions whose placement requires further clarity among Parties in relations to the draft agreement or draft decision
• Preambular and General / Objectives sections refer to guiding principles for the new agreement.
• The Mitigation section addresses whether the long-‐term mitigation goal should be a peaking goal for emissions, a goal of zero emissions, or an emissions budget. It also touches on the features of each Party’s individual mitigation efforts; the quantifiability of emissions reduction commitments; conditionalities for emissions reductions commitments; guidelines for possible market mechanisms; actions in the land use sector; economic and social issues; and global sectoral targets for international transport.
• The section on Adaptation and loss and damage includes a proposal for a global goal for adaptation; the enhancement of Parties’ individual efforts; the inclusion of adaptation in Parties’ INDCs; the monitoring and evaluation of adaptation; and the possibility of new institutional arrangements.
• Loss and damage includes possibilities for including reference to the Warsaw International Mechanism in the new agreement, and for the inclusion of a separate chapter on loss and damage. It also makes reference to compensation, and contains an option for no new institutional arrangements on loss and damage.
• The section on Finance includes provisions on the clarity and scale of finance (including the scaling up of finance over time, and periodic assessment of the needs of developing countries); modalities for the determination of the level of support from individual Parties; the encouragement of South-‐South cooperation; leveraging private finance and efforts on the part of non-‐state actors; the possibility for a collective goal for support to be achieved by all Parties; options for climate-‐proofing investments; options for the reduction / elimination of fossil fuel subsidies; funding and support for adaptation, technology development and transfer, and capacity building; funding for REDD+; provisions on the Green Climate Fund; and funding for the Warsaw International Mechanism.
• Technology Development and Transfer includes the possibility of a global goal on technology development and transfer. It also examines how Parties could address barriers to technology development and transfer, and various institutional arrangements to serve the agreement.
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• The Capacity-‐building section examines the possibility of the establishment of a new institution or capacity-‐building mechanism.
• Transparency of action and support includes options for the type of information that should be provided by Parties in their biennial communications on the achievement of their commitments/contributions; general accounting principles for mitigation and support; and options for the development of a tracking system to avoid double counting.
• The section on Time frames and process related to commitments / contributions / other matters related to implementation and ambition includes information on the duration of the new agreement; the timing of the communication of INDCs; upfront information to be communicated on contributions/commitments; the timing of revisions; and ex-‐ante processes to enhance the clarity, transparency and understanding of aggregate commitments.
• Facilitating implementation and compliance includes options for the establishment of a compliance mechanism, as well as for the establishment of a climate justice tribunal.
• The section on Procedural and institutional provisions suggests options for procedures relating to the amendment of annexes 1 and 2 under the Convention.
3 The Draft Text from a Sustainable Development Perspective 3. 1. General Objectives and Scope of a New Climate Agreement
The draft text suggests several possible directions for a global consensus on the general objective of a new instrument. The draft agreement refers to the attainment of net zero emissions, which is a departure from the UNFCCC/Kyoto decision to set emissions reductions relative to 1990 levels. It also proposes universal participation to further enhance the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention. This implies a possible move away from the conventional interpretation of common but differentiated responsibilities, as even States with the least historical contribution to global emissions would play a role in emissions reduction. A new global agreement should not be underestimated in its impact. Many private actors have been focusing on voluntary action but with a global framework in place, these will become much easier to justify as preparation for future compliance. As such, a global climate agreement would have an important signal and multiplication function.8
The scope of the new climate accord thus suggests an attempt to achieve two complex goals in the context of sustainable development – proposing to expand commitments such that developed and developing countries achieve absolute emissions reduction targets (AERTs), and diversified enhanced mitigation actions (DEMAs), respectively. The former would seek to bind Parties to attain net zero
8 See for example G. Edwards, J. T. Roberts, M. Araya and C. Retamal, "A New Global Agreement Can Catalyze Climate Action in Latin America" (Brookings 2015) available at http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2015/05/global-‐agreement-‐climate-‐action-‐latin-‐america/correct-‐climate-‐lac-‐globalviews52015_final.pdf.
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emissions levels in the long-‐term through a global standard that is quantifiable. On the other hand, DEMAs would be more ambitious than current mechanisms, although no indication is given of making developing country mitigation undertakings obligatory.
3. 2. Sustainable Development Principles in the New Climate Accord
Article 2 of UNFCCC states as its objective the stabilization of greenhouse gas emissions in a manner that would allow development to proceed without causing dangerous climate change and in a sustainable manner. Sustainable development norms are relevant, therefore, and can assist in understanding the proposed system to govern States’ climate change actions. The ILA New Delhi Declaration of Principles of International Law Relating to Sustainable Development – a set of seven principles that seek to secure development that is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable – can help to shed light on the proposals for a new climate agreement. Each principle is reflected in the text in different ways. i. The duty of States to ensure sustainable use of natural resources
• The draft text frames atmospheric and carbon resources as key resources to be managed in a sustainable manner, and in a way that avoids dangerous climate change, including in the preamble and in the substantive sections on mitigation. For example, section 175.4, Option (d) calls on “[e]ach Party to consider adjustments on the basis of historical responsibilities and equitable sharing of global atmospheric resources and carbon space.”
• There are also multiple references to the sustainable management of forests as a key natural resource and carbon sink, including references to REDD+.
ii. The principle of equity and the eradication of poverty
• The notion of equity arises frequently in the draft text. The preamble makes several references to equity in general terms (intra-‐generational equity, between and within State parties), while also citing intergenerational equity.
• The operational provisions of the draft agreement note that Parties should protect the climate for the benefit of present and future generations of humankind, on the basis of equity, including in the Mitigation and Finance sections, as well as in the context of achieving long-‐term emission reductions in the context of equitable access to sustainable development.
• Poverty reduction is also referenced in relation to adaptation and countries’ social and economic development.
iii. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities
• This principle is referenced in numerous sections of the text, and is frequently accompanied by references to equity, historical responsibility, respective capabilities, and/or national circumstances and capacities.
iv. The principle of the precautionary approach to human health, natural resources and ecosystems
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• The draft text asserts in several places that action on climate change should be guided by the best available scientific knowledge, including, inter alia, the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
• It also recognizes the need to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system and in order to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, so as to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner, etc.
v. The principle of public participation and access to information and justice
• The principle of public participation and access to information is contained primarily in the preambular, General / Objective and Finance sections of Part Three of the draft text.
• The draft text does not present refer to access to justice, as such. vi. The principle of good governance
• The principle of good governance is cited in the Preamble of Part Three of the draft text, in relation to the post-‐2015 development agenda of the United Nations.
• It is also referenced in the section on adaptation (including provisions that Parties enhance efforts to strengthen governance and enabling environments for adaptation) of the Draft Agreement.
• The draft text contains provisions for monitoring, reporting and evaluation (including for mitigation, adaptation and climate finance); the consideration of indicators for governance and planning; and the development of a transparency framework relating to the implementation of each Parties’ commitments.
• Finally, the Preamble, General / Objective, and Adaptation and loss and damage sections of Part Three of the draft text contain references to respect for human rights in climate related actions.
vii. The principle of integration and interrelationship, in particular in relation to human rights and social, economic and environmental objectives
• This principle is reflected in aspects of the draft text that recognize the far-‐reaching nature of climate change across environmental, social and economic domains, as well as the need to act in a timely and effective manner in order to prevent detrimental impacts.
• The text also supports the integration of environmental considerations into economic and social development, while ensuring that climate change actions are economically viable and respect human rights.
• The principle is also reflected in references to sustainable food systems, and the respect for human rights, gender equality, indigenous rights, and the integrity of Mother Earth.
3. 3. Relevant International and National Legal Issues for Climate Agreement Implementation
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Key aspects of the draft text respond to international legal obligations and are very likely to require domestic legislation for effective implementation.
i. Mitigation Mechanisms (including INDCs, CDM, REDD+)
• INDCs: Parties’ Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) represent the emissions reductions that each country intends to commit to under the new agreement. In order to meet these commitments, Parties will need to implement changes across various sectors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to institute processes for monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV). In many cases, this will require domestic legislation. A growing body of literature suggests that mitigation actions are required under customary international law, by virtue of the due diligence obligation to prevent harm to other countries and the global commons. The Draft Climate Change Principles adopted by the International Law Association, for example, affirm that States have an obligation “to employ due diligence efforts to mitigate climate change impacts” in the design of any social and economic development plan which may result in significant emissions of greenhouse gases (Article 5). In a special report, the International Bar Association highlighted that:
[t]he need for climate change justice is also apparent in the unequal geographic distribution of its environmental effects. Unlike more localised forms of pollution, the externalities of climate change are not confined to neighbouring countries and regions, but affect the entire world. International norms and law, including the ‘no-‐harm rule’, already recognise that individual countries may not cause environmental harm in areas beyond the limits of their national jurisdiction. Climate change raises the same concern on a global scale.9
In determining whether the substantive and procedural actions taken are in accordance with the due diligence principle, the Draft Principles suggest that “economic development and available resources, scientific knowledge, the risks involved in an action, and the vulnerability of affected states shall be taken into account” (Article 7A3).10 Customary international law thus provides further guidance for the determination of INDCs.
• Mitigation Mechanisms (CDM, REDD+): The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) are examples of mitigation mechanisms included in the draft text. Such mechanisms may also require legislation to implement – for example, in bringing various sectors into harmony or clarifying land tenure in order to support the establishment of REDD+.
9 International Bar Association, Achieving Justice and Human Rights in an Era of Climate Disruption (London: IBA, 2014), p. 45. 10 International Law Association, Legal Principles Relating to Climate Change, Adopted at the Washington Conference, April 2014. See also the Oslo Principles on Global Obligations to Reduce Climate Change, adopted on March 1, 2015 by a group of renowned legal experts.
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• Incentives for Mitigation Technologies: Best practices may be leveraged to incentivize mitigation technologies, including in the areas of cap and trade, carbon taxes and hybrid systems, both within subnational jurisdictions, among subnational jurisdictions, and among countries. The removal of perverse subsidies and the implementation of incentives for the development of clean technologies are also key.
ii. Adaptation and Resilience
• Disaster Risk Reduction: Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) planning at the national level will need to be integrated with climate adaptation planning, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
• Disaster Response / Internal Climate Migration and Displacement: In addition to DRR planning, a legal framework for disaster response will be required to assist those who are impacted by both slow and rapid onset climate disasters, including those internally displaced by climate change.
• Incentives for Adaptation Technologies: As with mitigation technologies, the development and implementation of adaptation technologies (for example, to prevent coastal erosion and flooding) must be incentivized domestically and internationally.
• Legal Rules of Adaptation Funds: Adaptation funds (such as the Adaptation Fund, the GEF Trust Fund, the Green Climate Fund and others) will require clear legal rules governing transparency, accountability, and effectiveness, and incorporating safeguards.
iii. Climate Finance
• Laws Governing Finance: Climate finance must be predictable and sustainable. In addition, full transparency is necessary in the way that financial resources are used for mitigation and adaptation activities. To this end, effective systems are crucial for the monitoring, reporting and verification of climate finance.
• Laws Governing Subsidies: Certain agricultural and industrial subsidies (for example, in the areas of fossil fuels, energy, mining and transportation) will need to be eliminated, and new subsidies created (including for renewable energy and clean technology) at the national level in order to stimulate a shift towards sustainable practices.
iv. Transparency, Reporting & Accountability
• Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV): Requirements for monitoring, reporting and verification are key for the successful implementation of a new climate agreement and figure heavily in the draft text (for example, for climate finance, mentioned above).
• Social and Environmental Impact Assessments: Laws relating to the requirements for social and environmental impact assessments will need to be put into place for actions relating to climate change mitigation and adaptation (for example, CDM or REDD+ projects) in order to minimize negative human rights, social and environmental impacts, as well as with respect to projects and
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policies relating to agriculture, infrastructure, transportation, industry, energy and natural resources, vis-‐à-‐vis their potential climate-‐related impacts.
v. Human Rights & Equity
• Loss and Damage: Legislation relating to liability, response action and compensation for loss and damage due to climate change – including with regards to health, property, infrastructure, and industry – will be required at the domestic level, in addition to provisions for related issues such as climate-‐induced displacement and migration. The establishment of claims processes or tribunals may be required, along with good governance assurances in compensation mechanisms11.
• Respect for Human Rights: Following from the Cancun Agreements, which recognized the importance of respecting human rights in all climate related actions, the draft text also contains several references to respect for human rights in the implementation of the provisions of the new agreement, and in adaptation commitments. Human rights considerations – arising from the effects of climate change itself, as well as Parties’ climate change response measures – must be taken into account at the national level. At its latest session, the Human Rights Council reaffirmed the importance of respect for human rights in the efforts to address climate change. This built on previous statements to the same effect.12 In addition, as observed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, respect for the right to public participation and access to information are guaranteed under international human rights law and, along with other fundamental rights, are critical to the success of efforts to address climate change13.
• Recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, including FPIC: Climate response measures should recognize of the specific rights of Indigenous peoples, as affirmed in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other binding international human rights treaties. Indigenous peoples should be included in participatory processes relating to climate change. The principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) may also be applicable in climate-‐related projects that affect the lands of Indigenous peoples, and the traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples and local communities should be considered in climate actions at the domestic level.
11 See S. Atapattu, “Climate Change, Differentiated Responsibilities and State Responsibility: Devising Novel Legal Strategies for Damage Caused by Climate Change” in B. Richardson et al., eds., Climate Law And Developing Countries: Legal and Policy Challenges For The World Economy (Edward Elgar, 2009) and C. Voigt, “State Responsibility for Climate Change Damages” (2008) 77:1 Nordic Journal of International Law 1. 12 UN Human Rights Council Resolution, 29th Session, 30 June 2015, UN Doc A/HRC/29/L.21; UN Human Rights Council Resolution 7/23, 7th Session, 14 July 2008, UN Doc A/HRC/7/78; UN Human Rights Council, Resolution 10/4, 10th Session, 12 May 2009, UN Doc A/HRC/10/L.11. 13 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Relationship between Climate Change and Human Rights, 15 January 2009, UN Doc. A/HRC/10/61, para. 78-‐79. See also Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Analytical study on the links between human rights and the environment, A/HRC/19/34, 2011. See also S. Atapattu, Climate Change, Human Rights and Forced Migration: Implications for International Law, (2009) 27 Wisconsin International Law Journal 607 and S. Atapattu, Global Climate Change: Can Human Rights (and Human Beings) Survive this Onslaught? (2008) 20 Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy 35.
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• Climate Justice: The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has alerted us that the “effects of climate change will be felt most acutely by those segments of the population who are already in vulnerable situations due to factors such as poverty, gender, age, minority status, and disability.”14 Parties must thus mainstream consideration for the right to non-‐discrimination of historically vulnerable groups across their climate policies and climate-‐related legislation, and take the necessary affirmative actions to ensure that climate change harms and climate response measures do not impact on substantive equality15.
• In reference to the recent decision in the Dutch Courts, some authors are beginning to discuss the possibility that the lack of a global agreement could trigger a wave of climate related litigation.16
4 The Draft Climate Agreement in its International Legal Context
The draft ADP text must be compatible with other relevant treaty obligations across international law on human rights, environmental and economic trade, investment and finance, demonstrating synergies, and also co-‐benefits for all three pillars of sustainable development.
4. 1. Human Rights Instruments
Of relevance to the draft negotiating text are the obligations contained in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and other international and regional human rights treaties.
In order for States to comply with their obligations under those instruments, the new climate agreement will need to contain strong human rights provisions, ensuring the full respect for human rights in all climate change related actions. It will also need to ensure mitigation action sufficient to safeguard the substantive human rights enshrined in fundamental human rights treaties such as the ICESCR, the ICCPR, and the CRC. These include the right to life, the right to adequate food, the right to the highest attainable standard of health, the right to adequate housing, and access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Procedural rights relating to climate change of prime importance also include access to information, public participation, and access to justice.17 Finally, special attention must be 14 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Relationship between Climate Change and Human Rights, 15 January 2009, UN Doc. A/HRC/10/61, para. 42. 15 See also: C. Voigt, “Equity in the 2015 Climate Agreement” (2014) 4:1-‐2 Climate Law 50.
16 See K. Purnhagen, "Climate law: Dutch decision raises bar" (2015) 523 Nature 410-‐410. 17 International Law Association, Legal Principles Relating to Climate Change, Adopted at the Washington Conference, April 2014, p. 35. See also the Oslo Principles on Global Obligations to Reduce Climate Change, adopted on March 1, 2015 by a group of renowned legal experts.
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directed to gender equality and the full and effective participation of women; the recognition and respect for Indigenous peoples’ rights in all climate actions and decision-‐making; and the recognition and protection of the rights of those displaced by climate change (climate migrants).
4. 2. Environmental Agreements
A number of environmental treaty obligations are relevant to the text of the new agreement, including treaties on water such as the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Helsinki Water Convention and the New York Watercourses Convention; treaties on biodiversity such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) with its Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS); treaties on chemicals the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides (PICs), the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal; and treaties on air and atmosphere such as the Vienna Convention and its Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and the Convention on Long-‐Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP); among others. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and its Regional Seas Conventions, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (IT PGRFA) are also relevant.
To achieve synergies and co-‐benefits, the new agreement may need to establish climate change mitigation ambition sufficient to ensure that Member States fulfill their undertakings under other instruments to protect natural environments and ecosystems.18 For example, mitigation ambition and procedures for the monitoring, reporting and verification of States’ emissions reductions commitments can help to minimize environmental impacts such as the loss of wetlands due to sea level rise, coral die-‐off due to warming sea temperature and ocean acidification, increases in drought and desertification, and biodiversity loss to the greatest extent possible, taking account of the precautionary principle. Conversely, the information gathered and best practices developed under different multilateral environmental agreements may assist in the negotiation and implementation of the new Climate Agreement.
4. 3. Economic Instruments
Trade, investment and financial instruments can support action on climate change, including action on mitigation, adaptation, and clean technology. Through negotiations in the World Trade Organization under its international treaties (the WTO Agreements); special provisions in regional trade agreements (RTAs); initial awareness in international investment agreements (IIAs); cooperation in specialized instruments such as the agreements establishing the International Energy Agency, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the Energy Charter Treaty; changes in the interpretation of the
18 The objective of promoting “synergies and coherence” between environmental treaties was explicitly affirmed in: The Future We Want, U.N. G.A. Res. 66/288, 27 July 2012, U.N. Doc. A/RES/66/288, at 79.
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mandates of international financial institutions (IFIs) and other means, Parties are seeking ways to harness international economic law to foster more efficient responses to climate change, and sustainable low-‐carbon development pathways19.
As one example, recent WTO efforts to reduce perverse subsidies and to promote trade in environmental goods and services, such as the recently launched plurilateral ‘green goods’ negotiations.20 Other efforts by trading nations have resulted in new models of investment agreements and regional trade agreements that may seek to be mindful of green procurement schemes, emissions trading systems, carbon taxes and other GHG reduction mechanisms. Further, there are opportunities to promote renewable energy cooperation and other climate-‐compatible economic development objectives, among other climate and sustainable development measures, in a new generation of regional trade agreements. Initial examples include the EU-‐Peru-‐Colombia, EU-‐South Korea, Canada-‐EU and Japan-‐Switzerland Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs), though arguably a great deal more can be done to ensure that trade, investment and financial instruments foster rather than frustrate sustainable development goals.21
5 Initial Conclusions
The principles of sustainable development can be reflected in the new climate agreement, in order to ensure that Parties’ commitments are equitable and sustainable, and that they can be effectively implemented to avoid dangerous climate change in a way that benefits the environment and society alike. Indeed, based on the available scientific information, there can be no sustainable development if the worst-‐case scenarios for climate change are not averted. A strong climate agreement and its effective implementation are therefore necessary to achieving sustainable development.
Key international and domestic law and governance issues raised by the draft text can be identified and analyzed to assist Parties and key institutions in their preparations to implement new climate change commitments. Indeed, the negotiation and eventual implementation of the new agreement will occur in an environment characterized by the emergence of new forms of international governance, and the fragmentation of international law into increasingly specialized regimes; polycentricism and multi-‐level action in rule-‐making and implementation; experimentalism and revisability of legal obligations;
19 See also: A. La Viña, J. C. Dulce, & N. Saño, National and Global Energy Governance: Issues, Linkages and Challenges in the Philippines, Global Policy , 2011 , Volume 2 , pp. 80 -‐ 93 20 WTO, 2014 News 8 July 2014, “Azevêdo welcomes launch of plurilateral environmental goods negotiations” (Fourteen WTO members launched plurilateral negotiations for an Environmental Goods Agreement on 8 July 2014 at the WTO. These members said the talks will promote green growth and sustainable development while providing impetus for the conclusion of the Doha Round). 21 M. Gehring, M.-‐C. Cordonier Segger, F. de Andrade Correa, P. Reynaud, A. Harrington and R. Mella, "Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Measures in Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs)" (ICTSD Working Paper 2013). See also M.-‐C. Cordonier Segger, M. Gehring & A. Newcombe, eds. Sustainable Development in World Investment Law, Global trade law series v. 30 (Alphen aan den Rijn, The Netherlands : Frederick, MD: Kluwer Law International ; Sold and distributed in North, Central and South America by Aspen Publishers, 2011), and M. Gehring & M.-‐C. Cordonier Segger, eds. Sustainable Development in World Trade Law, Global trade and finance series v. 9 (The Hague : Frederick, MD: Kluwer Law International ; Sold and distributed in North, Central and South America by Aspen Publishers, 2005).
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increased participation of non-‐State actors; and increased recourse to non-‐binding standards.22 These phenomena transform the roles and potential of all the actors involved in the CoP21 negotiations, including State delegations, non-‐State participants, and international organizations. Making the most of this new environment and adapting traditional forms of international law making under framework treaties accordingly is essential to establishing effective responses to climate change under international law.
Finally, many countries plan to reform their laws and institutions across diverse economic, environmental and social sectors in order to respond to the challenges of climate mitigation, resilience, technology, finance and accountability23. There is a pressing need for legal knowledge, expertise and capacity building with regard to the climate law and governance issues discussed in this brief in order to ensure a strengthened agenda at CoP21 and beyond.
22 See for instance: Kenneth W. Abbott & Duncan Snidal, Strengthening International Regulation Through Transnational New Governance: Overcoming the Orchestration Deficit, Vand. J. Transnat’l L. 501 (2009), Matthew J. Hoffmann, Climate Governance at the Crossroads: Experimenting with a Global Response after Kyoto (Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), Harriet Bulkeley et al. Transnational Climate Change Governance (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014). 23 See for instance: Robert Kibugi, Mainstreaming Climate Change into Public Policy Functions: Legal Options to Reinforce Sustainable Development of Kenya, Fla. A & M UL Rev., 2012, Robert Kibugi, Legal Options for Mainstreaming Climate Change Disaster Risk Reduction in Governance for Kenya, in KOH Kheng-‐Lian, ed., Adaptation to Climate Change, ASEAN and Comparative Experiences (Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., 2015), J. R. T. Villarin, M. A. Y. Loyzaga & A. G. M. La Viña, In the Eye of the Perfect Storm: What the Philippines should do about climate change, Working Paper, 8 July 2008.