View source for Public International Law/Climate Change Law

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<big>'''Author:''' <!--Thalia Viveros-Uehara--></big>   
<blockquote>'''Required knowledge:''' [[Public International Law/International Environmental Law|International Environmental Law]]     

'''Learning objectives:''' <!--Please enter the learning objective for your chapter-->   

# Discern the multifaceted implications of climate change from various lenses including biophysical, socioeconomic, and political perspectives, to appreciate the complexities involved in formulating international legal responses.
# Identify the core principles of international climate change law, the major stakeholders, their interests, and the inherent political challenges, utilizing the terminology specific to the UNFCCC.
# Understand the development, functionality, and criticisms of the main mechanisms in the international climate change treaty regime, incorporating historical context and current scholarship in the field.
# Understand how climate change law interacts with other areas of international law, with a particular focus on multilateral environmental agreements and human rights law, and how these intersections can enhance climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.
# Critically examine the potential opportunities, challenges, and the role of international climate change law in achieving climate justice, integrating contemporary literature and ongoing debates in the field.</blockquote>This is where the text begins.<ref>The first footnote. Please adhere to [https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxlaw/oscola_4th_edn_hart_2012.pdf OSCOLA] when formating citations. Whenever possible, provide a link with the citation, ideally to an open-access source.</ref> This template follows [[Wikibooks:WikiProject_OpenRewi_-_Open_Legal_Science/Styleguide|our style guide]]. Please take into account our [[Wikibooks:WikiProject_OpenRewi_-_Open_Legal_Science/Didactics|guidelines for didactics]]. If you're wondering how to create text in Wikibooks, feel free to check out our  guide on [[Wikibooks:WikiProject_OpenRewi_-_Open_Legal_Science/Writing|how to write]] in Wikibooks. 

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== A. Introduction<!-- There are great thoughts in this introduction and I (here and in general) love the incorporation and perspectives of the global south that is often missing in other CC chapters of PIL textbooks in the past!     When it comes to my suggestions, I got the impression that the introduction is quite long and could be better structured to create/maintain a common threat. The part on activism and criticism could well be placed in a conclusion with corresponding outlook. I would further suggest to move the historical background up to the front either as part of the introduction or following a short introduction.      Futhermore, I actually had expected a definition of climate change in the very beginning of the Chapter (just citing Art. 1 UNFCCC). I know that we are all used to these terms, but I always prefer everybody to be on the same page. Especially for students, it could be very helpful to get into the topic by being introduced to the phenomenon in general and the historical developments regarding legal and political developments leading to the current climate change regime.       I really like the historical overview, also with regard to activism and envionmental movement. Maybe you could also include the early beginnings of the social environmental movement in the 1960ies that moved from conservation purpose and awareness towards local forms of pollution (water and air) to transboundary harm and finally global challenges such as climate change or biodiversity loss.     Activism forms an important part of that history as it sparked legal development, but also criticizes the stagnation in those same legal developments and missing political ambition, which is why it could - besides the historical part - also perfectly be highlighted in the part on criticism/concluding remarks, especially with regard to Fridays for Future etc.  VK  Thank you for these useful remarks. I have shortened the introduction and added some lines on activism and historical background. A definition of climate change has also been incorporated. TVU -->==
<blockquote>[T]he climate crisis is so violent and has exacerbated so much injustice […] It is not only the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced but also the biggest opportunity we have to change the world. 

– Xiye Bastida, Climate Justice Activist.<ref>Xiye Bastida, ‘Speech delivered at the Leaders Summit on Climate’ (''U.S. Department of State Summits and Conferences'', 22 April 2021) 2:50:21<<nowiki>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xa7yyypznY</nowiki>>accessed 1 August 2022.</ref></blockquote>Today, we know with high certainty that the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere, a consequence of human activities, has warmed the climate at an unprecedented rate.<ref>‘IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers’ in V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.), ''Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change'' (Cambridge University Press 2021) 3, 6.</ref> By altering the composition of the global atmosphere, such anthropogenic release of gases has induced a change in the state of the climate over extended periods, a phenomenon known as "climate change."<ref>UNFCCC 1992, Article 1.2</ref> In its most recent Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—the lead scientific body on climate change—attests that climate change is already affecting every region across the globe by altering the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, heavy precipitations, droughts, and tropical cyclones.<ref>‘IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers’ in V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.), ''Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change'' (Cambridge University Press 2021) 3, 8.</ref> Concerningly, the report's projection about a continuous increase in the global surface temperature until mid-century has become increasingly evident.<ref>‘IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers’ in V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.), ''Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change'' (Cambridge University Press 2021) 3, 14.</ref> This claim has been further corroborated by a recent update from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) issued in May 2023.<ref>WMO, 'Global temperatures set to reach new records in next five years' (''World Meteorological Organization'', 17 May 2023)<https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/global-temperatures-set-reach-new-records-next-five-years>accessed 13 June 2023.</ref> The WMO states that there is a 66% likelihood that the annual average global temperature, measured near the Earth's surface, will exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for at least one year between 2023 and 2027. Additionally, it indicates a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years—and the overall five-year period—will be the warmest on record. In the face of such compelling evidence, it becomes crucial to drastically reduce GHG emissions in the forthcoming decades. Otherwise, the global warming threshold of 1.5°C and 2°C could be exceeded within the 21st century, ushering in a host of serious risks to both ecosystems and human societies.<ref>Ibid 14; ‘IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers’ in H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.), ''Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change'' (Cambridge University Press 2022) 1, 13.</ref><!-- Sué: Maybe you would like to update this so as to include the recent warnings by the World Meteorological Organization: https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/global-temperatures-set-reach-new-records-next-five-years --><!-- Thalia: Thank you, Sué. This is an important update that fits quite appropriately in the text. It has been added. -->

Climate change's complexities extend beyond the simple correlation between human-induced emissions and an amplified greenhouse effect—on which the IPCC concentrated in its earliest reports.<ref name=":2">J. T. Houghton, G. J. Jenkins, and J. J. Ephraums (eds.), ''Climate Change: The IPCC Scientific Assessment'' (WMO and UNEP 1990)< <nowiki>https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/ipcc_far_wg_I_full_report.pdf</nowiki>>accessed 1 August 2022.</ref> This issue is intertwined with how current socioeconomic and political systems function and distribute resources.<ref>Susana Borràs, ‘Movimientos para la justicia climática global: replanteando el escenario internacional del cambio climático’ (2016) 33 Relaciones Internacionales 97, 98.</ref> For instance, while the top 10% of the global population is responsible for half of all CO2 emissions, the bottom 57%—those living below the World Bank poverty line—generated only 16%. These vulnerable groups, often marginalized due to gender, race, or ethnicity, are disproportionately impacted by climate change due to limited coping mechanisms and resources. <ref>Caroline Moser, Andrew Norton, Alfredo Stein, and Sophia Georgieva, ''Pro-Poor Adaptation to Climate Change in Urban Centers: Case Studies of Vulnerability and Resilience in Kenya and Nicaragua'' (The World Bank, 2010) <<nowiki>https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/3001</nowiki>>accessed 1 August 2022.</ref> Indeed, between 2010 and 2020, such populations suffered 15 times higher mortality from climate-induced disasters than those in less vulnerable regions.<ref>‘IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers’ in H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.), ''Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change'' (Cambridge University Press 2022) 1, 12.</ref> Consequently, climate change—a 'wicked problem,' as some have famously labeled it<ref>Richard Lazarus, ‘Super Wicked Problems and Climate Change: Restraining the Present to Liberate the Future’ (2009) 94(5) Cornell Law Review 1153.</ref>—demands deep and fast transformations not only in the environmental sphere but also in how the current social, economic, and even political systems work. 

To confront this global problem, the international community responded by establishing a multilateral climate change regime to mitigate and adapt to climatic changes.<ref>Rosemary Gail Rayfuse and Shirley V. Scott, ‘Mapping the Impact of Climate Change on International Law’ in Rosemary Gail Rayfuse and Shirley V. Scott (eds.), ''International Law in the Era of Climate Change'' (Edward Elgar Publishing 2012), 4.</ref> Initiated by the 1990 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 45/212, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) became the bedrock for contemporary international climate change law.<ref name=":3">UN General Assembly, ''Resolution 45/212'' - ''Protection of Global Climate for Present and Future Generations of Mankind'' (United Nations, 21 December 1990)<<nowiki>https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/566/01/IMG/NR056601.pdf?OpenElement</nowiki>>accessed 1 August 2022.</ref> This Convention serves as the foundational framework through which climate change has been comprehended and incorporated into the legal arena. It articulates the core concepts and principles related to climate change and provides a platform for other legislative instruments that contribute to the evolving international climate change regime. Over time, this regime has experienced transformations in its legal form, character, and architecture. It has walked away from its original niche in environmental law to, for some commentators, even forge its own identity<ref name=":12">Cinnamon Carlarne, Kevin R. Gray, and Richard Tarasofsky, ‘International Climate Change Law: Mapping The Field’, in Kevin R. Gray, Richard Tarasofsky, and Cinnamon Carlarne (eds.), ''The Oxford Handbook of International Climate Change Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2016)<<nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1093/law/9780199684601.003.0001</nowiki>></ref> and interconnect with other fields of law, such as human rights and financial law.<ref name=":13">Lavanya Rajamani and Jacob D. Werksman, ‘Climate Change’, in Lavanya Rajamani and Jacqueline Peel (eds), ''The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2021) 492, 507.</ref> However, with the global temperature trajectory surpassing 2°C, the efficacy of such laws is under scrutiny. Meanwhile, young activists<ref>Olivia Lai, '10 Young Climate Activists Leading the Way on Global Climate Action' (Earth, 12 August 2022) https://earth.org/young-climate-activists-leading-the-way-on-global-climate-action/ accessed 19 December 2022. </ref>—including Xiye Bastida, a climate justice activist from Mexico, and Greta Thunberg, the young founder of #FridaysForFuture<ref>'What We Do' (FridaysForFuture, n.d.) https://fridaysforfuture.org/ accessed 19 December 2022. </ref>—are advocating for a carbon-free world. Hence, the study of international climate change law should critically assess its potential and constraints in tackling climate change. This chapter aims to provide an overview of the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement, while emphasizing the deeply rooted socioeconomic and political systems that contribute to climate change. It seeks to foster critical thinking in overcoming the limits of international climate change law and realizing the change young activists envision.<!-- Max: this is such an excellent, engaging introduction to the chapter. However, in light of the fact that you exceeded the word limit by almost 6,000w, this chapter (unfortunately!) must be shortened to a great extent. I think you could already shorten this introduction to 2 paragraphs while keeping the remarks on global injustices caused by climate change  --><!-- Sué: I agree that this introduction is engaging and important, but needs to be significantly shortened. I think you can cut a lot of words without losing too much content by eliminating redundant words and repetitions. --><!-- Raffaela: I can only agree - great read! --><!-- Thalia: Dear Max, Sué, and Raffaela, I appreciate your comments and agree on the necessity of reducing the length of the introduction. I have managed to condense it by approximately 250 words, bringing it down from 871 to 624 words. -->

== B. Overview of the Legal Response to Climate Change<s>: Concepts, Principles, Stakeholders, and Politics</s> ==
<!-- Raffaela: in the interest of the wordcount, we decided not to feature introductory texts/roadmaps to each section. Is it possible to remove this section? Otherwise we will add "I. Introduction" --><!-- Thalia: Thank you, Raffaela. I have removed this paragraph and integrated a few relevant sentences into the introduction. -->=== I. <!-- Max: I really enjoyed reading the following section. It provides a very good introduction to the basic institutions and legal concepts of UNFCCC. I think, this section should not be shortened  -->Concepts, Mechanisms, and Principles<!-- It is a very good idea to introduce readers to climate change regime-specific terms and standards!      This section - especially regarding its length - is at times a little bit difficult to follow, particularly when it comes to the transistions from one topic to the other.    I would suggest including sub-titles and reconsidering structure and transitions from one concept/mechanism/pinciple to the other. You could also - of course with caution - use bold letters to highlight certain aspects in the text. At times, it could also be helpful to include the norm that exemplifies the concept/mechanism/principle directly in the text, not only in the footnote.     I also wondered if you use the terms concept/principles in a legal or rather technical sense. This is quite important for newbies in the legal field so they don't get confused. Therefore, it would be great if you could explain this shortly in the text or in a footnote.  Maybe you could also introduce the mechanism of COP already in this section.  VK  I agree with your observations, thank you. I have incorporated sub-titles and bold letters to facilitate readers going through the section; some norms have also been explicitly mentioned. I have also introduced the COP mechanism. TVU.  -->===

==== 1. Concepts ====
The core '''objective''' of international climate change law, as established by Article 2 of the UNFCCC, is ‘to achieve […] stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.’<ref name=":4">UNFCCC 1992, Article 2.</ref> To accomplish this, much of international climate change law spans two different sets of actions: '''mitigation''' and '''adaptation'''. On the one hand, human interventions aimed at mitigating climate change seek to reduce GHG emissions, including preserving carbon sinks such as wetlands and forests.<ref name=":18">IPCC, 'Annex I: Glossary'  in Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, H.-O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P.R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, C. Péan, R. Pidcock, S. Connors, J.B.R. Matthews, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, M.I. Gomis, E. Lonnoy, T. Maycock, M. Tignor, and T. Waterfield (eds), ''Global Warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty'' (Cambridge University Press 2018).</ref> And on the other, adaptation involves actions geared at adjusting to the actual or expected climate and its effects.<ref name=":18" /><!-- I would suggest to include sourc es for these definitions. VK.

Sources have been included. I drew on the glossary of the IPCC. TVU -->

{{OpenRewi/Example|Reference=Climate Mitigation – E-mobility in India|Content=Oil-based road transportation is India's third highest GHG-emitting sector, contributing about 13% of the country's total CO2. To avoid 9.5 million tons of GHG from this sector, in 2022, the Green Climate Fund approved a project that will promote the use of electric vehicles, thereby supporting India's e-mobility transition.<ref>´FP 186 – India E-Mobility Financing Program’ (Green Climate Fund, n.d.)https://www.greenclimate.fund/project/fp186accessed 30 August 2022.</ref> Electric cars emit fewer GHG and air pollutants directly and indirectly than petrol and diesel cars.<ref>Paul Wolfram, Stephanie Weber, Kenneth Gillingham, and Edgar G. Hertwich, ‘Pricing Indirect Emissions Accelerates Low—Carbon Transition of US Light Vehicle Sector’ (2021) 12(1) Nature Communications 7121 <https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27247-y>accessed 30 August 2022.</ref>}}{{OpenRewi/Example|Reference=Climate Adaptation – Climate proofing food production in Burundi|Content=Extreme floods and droughts are expected to intensify in Burundi, making the country's agricultural yield decline by 5-25% in the coming decades.<ref>SAP017 – Climate proofing food production investments in Imbo and Moso basins in the Republic of Burundi’ (Green Climate Fund, n.d.)https://www.greenclimate.fund/project/sap017accessed 30 August 2022.</ref> To increase agricultural productivity and food security amidst such detrimental climatic projections, in 2020, the Green Climate Fund approved a project aimed at building farmers' resilience to climate change by promoting the adoption of agroecosystem management practices to conserve soil and water resources.<ref>SAP017 – Climate proofing food production investments in Imbo and Moso basins in the Republic of Burundi’ (Green Climate Fund, n.d.)https://www.greenclimate.fund/project/sap017accessed 30 August 2022.</ref>}}

Commitments under the UNFCCC concern both mitigation and adaptation. They span the development of programs, international cooperation, education, and public awareness. For example, Article 4 of the Convention sets out that all parties shall <blockquote>‘[f]ormulate, implement, publish and regularly update national and, where appropriate, regional programmes containing measures to mitigate climate change by addressing anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of all greenhouse gases […] and measures to facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change.’<ref>UNFCCC 1992, Article 4(b).</ref> </blockquote>However, despite the dual emphasis of the Convention, during the first decade of the UN climate regime, efforts concentrated mainly on mitigation.<ref name=":0">Daniel Bodansky, Jutta Brunnée, and Lavanya Rajamani, ''International Climate Change Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2017), 12.</ref> This is reflected in the fact that the first legally binding instrument that arose from the Convention, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, prescribed specific GHG mitigation targets and timetables while not laying the same focus on climate adaptation.<ref>Kyoto Protocol 1997, Article 3.</ref> It was not until the Convention’s second legally binding instrument, the 2015 Paris Agreement, that the UNFCCC climate regime strengthened the importance of climate adaptation by agreeing to define a global goal on adaptation.<ref name=":11">Paris Agreement 2015, Article 7.</ref>

==== 2. Implementation and Oversight Mechanisms ====
The UNFCCC established a '''Conference of the Parties''' (COP) and a '''permanent secretariat''' which facilitate negotiations.<ref>Benoit Mayer, ''The International Law on Climate Change'' (Cambridge University Press 2018) 12.</ref> Article 7 of the UNFCCC confers on the COP the status of the supreme body of the Convention and the duty to keep its implementation under regular review.<ref>UNFCCC 1992, Article 7.</ref> The COP meets every year. The first COP meeting (COP1) was held in Berlin, Germany in March, 1995.<ref name=":24">UN Climate Change, 'Conference of the Parties (COP)' (''UNFCCC'', n.d.) https://unfccc.int/process/bodies/supreme-bodies/conference-of-the-parties-cop accessed 19 December 2022.</ref> The latest meeting (COP27) took place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt in November 2022.<ref name=":24" /> Further, Article 8 of the Convention set a secretariat to make arrangements for the COP meetings, facilitate assistance to the parties, and ensure coordination with the secretariats of other relevant international bodies, among other functions.<ref>UNFCCC 1992, Article 8.</ref> The secretariat is located in Bonn, Germany and employs around 450 staff from over 100 countries.<ref>UN Climate Change, 'About the Secretariat' (''UNFCCC'', n.d.) https://unfccc.int/about-us/what-is-the-unfccc-secretariat accessed 19 December 2022.</ref> 

Besides these institutions, other issues structural to the international climate change regime are its means of implementation, namely its financial and oversight mechanisms.<ref name=":0" /> The UNFCCC climate regime sets the commitment for developed countries to provide financial resources to developing countries as an instrumental measure to advance climate action.<ref>UNFCCC 1992, Article 4 para. 3.</ref> Because meeting the costs of mitigation and adaptation is instrumental for accomplishing the regime’s objectives, the parties to the Convention have agreed on establishing a financial mechanism and special funds to facilitate the flow of resources. The operating entities of the financial mechanism set by the UNFCCC are the '''Global Environmental Facility''' (GEF) and the '''Green Climate Fund''' (GCF).<ref name=":1">United Nations Climate Change, ‘Climate Finance’ (UNFCCC n.d.)< <nowiki>https://unfccc.int/topics/climate-finance/the-big-picture/climate-finance-in-the-negotiations/climate-finance#:~:text=The%20Financial%20Mechanism%20is%20accountable,and%20eligibility%20criteria%20for%20funding.&text=The%20Kyoto%20Protocol%20also%20recognizes,activities%20by%20developing%20country%20Parties</nowiki>>accessed 1 August 2022.</ref> Special funds complement the primary mechanism and support specific countries and projects through the '''Special Climate Change Fund''', the '''Least Developed Countries Fund''', and the '''Adaptation Fund'''.<ref name=":1" />

The UNFCCC climate regime has also created oversight mechanisms to ensure implementation and compliance. The Convention requires states to periodically communicate their mitigation and adaptation measures' progress as a general means for promoting accountability.<ref>UNFCCC 1992, Article 12.</ref> The Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement set their implementation frameworks, as the following sub-sections of this chapter will elaborate.

==== 3. Principles ====
Principles form the bedrock of international climate change law, with roots in [[Public International Law/Sources of International Law/General Principles|general]] and [[Public International Law/International Environmental Law|international environmental law]].<!-- Sué: Please include a link to the chapter on international environmental law --><!-- Thalia: Sué, that's a significant observation. Thank you. I have incorporated links to the principles of international law and international environmental law within the book. -->These principles encompass the '''no-harm rule''', its complementary obligation of '''due diligence''', and the '''principle of common but differentiated responsibility''' (CBDR).<ref>Lavanya Rajamani and Jacob D. Werksman, 'Climate Change,' in Lavanya Rajamani and Jacqueline Peel (eds.), ''The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2021) 492, 493.</ref><!-- Max: this introduction to the section suggests that the no-harm rule and due diligence obligations are distinct concepts. The section, however, shows that the no-harm rule is linked to the obligation of due diligence. It would be great if your introduction reflects this  --><!-- Thalia: Thank you, Max. As per your suggestion, I have clarified the connection between the no-harm rule and the due diligence obligation in the initial paragraph. -->

The no-harm rule, a cornerstone of international environmental law, obliges states to ensure activities within their jurisdiction don't harm the environment of other states or areas beyond national jurisdiction.<ref>Erkki J. Hollo, Kati Kulovesi, and Michael Mehling, eds., ''Climate Change and the Law'' (Springer Netherlands, 2013), 16.</ref> The 1972 Stockholm Declaration of the UN Conference on the Human Environment and the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development set the responsibility of states to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction ''do not cause damage'' to the environment of other states or areas beyond the limits of national jurisdictions.<ref>Stockholm Declaration of the UN Conference on the Human Environment 1972, Principle 21; Rio Declaration on Environment and Development 1992, Principle 2.</ref> The International Court of Justice (ICJ) emphasizes this obligation as requiring states to take appropriate measures to ''prevent harm to other states' environment'' or the global commons, linking it with the due diligence principle. The latter demands that states enforce preventive measures with a certain level of vigilance over both public and private operators.<ref>Case concerning Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay (Argentina v Uruguay) [2010] ICJ Rep 14, 55 (para 197).</ref> The UNFCCC broadens the scope of the no-harm rule, incorporating potential harms lacking full scientific certainty—embracing the precautionary principle outlined in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration.<ref>UNFCCC 1992, Article 3 para. 3.</ref> 

The CBDR principle, initially codified in the Rio Declaration<ref>Rio Declaration on Environment and Development 1992, Principle 7.</ref> and subsequently adopted by the UNFCCC,<ref>Cinnamon Carlarne, Kevin R. Gray, and Richard Tarasofsky, 'International Climate Change Law: Mapping The Field,' in Kevin R. Gray, Richard Tarasofsky, and Cinnamon Carlarne (eds.), ''The Oxford Handbook of International Climate Change Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2016), 14.</ref> acknowledges shared yet differing responsibilities among states for preventing harmful interference with the climate system. This principle takes into account historical contributions to the problem and current capacities to respond, thus accounting for national and regional development priorities, objectives, and circumstances.<ref>UNFCCC 1992, Article 4 para. 1.</ref> 
<!-- Raffaela: what is the source and license of this illustration? It is great to have but needs a reference   -->

{{OpenRewi/Advanced|Reference=How does the CBDR principle reflect in the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol?|Content=The UNFCCC epitomizes the CBDR principle by distinguishing between 'Annex I’ and ‘non-Annex I’ countries. The former group comprises the so-called 'developed countries,' which have contributed the most to climate change and thus bear the bulk of responsibility for its mitigation and adaptation. The latter group includes 'developing countries,' whose contribution to climate change has not been as significant and yet are particularly vulnerable to it.<ref>UN Climate Change, ‘Parties & Observers’ (UNFCCC, n.d.)https://unfccc.int/parties-observersaccessed 30 August 2022.</ref> Similarly, the Kyoto Protocol takes on such principle by assigning Annex I countries quantified emission reduction commitments (inscribed in the Protocol's Annex B), which do not apply to non-Annex I parties. The map differentiates between Annex I and non-Annex I countries.<ref>‘Lesson 2: History of the UN Climate Negotiations’ (WHO, n.d.), 8https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/climate-change/cc-negotiations-and-health-lesson-2.pdf?sfvrsn=fe8f0a68_5accessed 30 August 2022.</ref>

[[Image:Figure 1 CBDR principle (Annex I v non-Annex I countries).png|600px|center]]}}

=== II. Stakeholders and Politics ===
While states have traditionally led international climate change law development, both intergovernmental organizations and non-state actors have gained influence within the UNFCCC, participating actively in Conferences of Parties (COPs).<ref name=":17">Ronnie D. Lipschutz and Corina McKendry, 'Social Movements and Global Civil Society' in John S. Dryzek, Richard B. Norgaard, and David Schlosberg (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society (Oxford University Press 2018), 370.</ref> Their rise in prominence has, directly or indirectly, impacted the trajectory of international climate change law.<ref name=":17" /> These non-state actors or '''[[Public International Law/Actors in International Law/Non-governmental Organization|NGOs]]''',<!-- Raffaela: Please link to the NGO chapter --><!-- Thalia: The requested link has been added.  --> including nonprofit organizations, private corporations, trade unions, and academic institutions,<ref>UN Climate Change, ‘Non-governmental organizations constituencies’ (UNFCCC 2022)<https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/constituencies_and_you.pdf>accessed 19 December 2022.</ref> have seen their participation within the UNFCCC process increase. Currently, they are grouped into nine constituencies: Business and industry NGOs (BINGO), Environmental NGOs (ENGO), Farmers, Indigenous peoples organizations (IPO), Local government and municipal authorities (LGMA), Research and independent NGOs (RINGO), Trade union NGOs (TUNGO), Women and Gender (WGC), and Youth NGOs (YOUNGO).<ref>UN Climate Change, ‘Statistics on Admission’ (UNFCCC 2022)< <nowiki>https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/parties-non-party-stakeholders/non-party-stakeholders/statistics-on-non-party-stakeholders/statistics-on-admission</nowiki>>accessed 1 August 2022.</ref>{{OpenRewi/Advanced|Reference=Cumulative increase in the number of IGOs ad NGOs that have been admitted by the COP as observer organizations to the UNFCCC process|Content=[[image:Figure 2 Cumulative increase in admitted IGOs and NGOs.jpg|600px|center]]<ref>UN Climate Change, ‘Statistics on Admission’ (UNFCCC 2022) https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/parties-non-party-stakeholders/non-party-stakeholders/statistics-on-non-party-stakeholders/statistics-on-admissionaccessed 1 August 2022.</ref>}}The IPCC, established in 1988, is another key player. This body of 195 governments provides scientific data on climate change, informing international climate negotiations.<ref>IPCC, 'About the IPCC' (''IPCC'', 2022) https://www.ipcc.ch/about/ accessed 19 December 2022.</ref> To date, six assessment reports (AR) highlighting critical areas for climate action have been issued.<ref name=":21">IPCC, 'Reports' (''IPCC'', 2022) https://www.ipcc.ch/reports/ accessed 19 December 2022. </ref> AR1 was issued in 1990, and the most recent AR6 was in 2022.<ref name=":21" /> The work of the IPCC thereby constitutes an essential input for international climate change negotiations.<ref name=":22">Joyeeta Gupta, ‘A History of International Climate Change Policy’ (2010) 1.5 ''WIREs Climate Change'' 637<<nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.67</nowiki>></ref>

The varying interests and concerns colliding in the UNFCCC process, due to the diverse participants, expose the political complexities challenging international climate change law. Three distinct perspectives on climate change have emerged amongst these actors.<ref name=":19">Daniel Bodansky, Jutta Brunnée, and Lavanya Rajamani, ''International Climate Change Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2017), 5.</ref> Some, mainly European states and organizations, regard climate change primarily as an environmental issue, advocating for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.<ref>Council of the EU, 'EU position for the UN climate change conference in Paris: Council conclusions' (''Council of the European Union'', 18 September 2015) https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/09/18/counclusions-un-climate-change-conference-paris-2015/ accessed 19 December 2022. </ref> Conversely, other entities, including non-European high-income countries like the US, approach climate change as an economic issue.<ref name=":19" /> They support emissions reduction only when benefits exceed costs, prioritizing economic growth and job creation. Global South countries and organizations, however, frame climate change as a matter of 'climate justice'.<ref name=":20">Brian Tokar, 'On the Evolution and Continuing Development of the Climate Justice Movement' in Tahseen Jafry (ed), ''Routledge Handbook of Climate Justice'' (Routledge 2019); Paul Routledge, 'Translocal Climate Justice Solidarities' in John S. Dryzek, Richard B. Norgaard, and David Schlosberg (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society (Oxford University Press 2018), 385.</ref>  Despite contributing minimally to the problem, these nations bear the brunt of its effects.<ref>Brian Tokar, 'On the Evolution and Continuing Development of the Climate Justice Movement' in Tahseen Jafry (ed), ''Routledge Handbook of Climate Justice'' (Routledge 2019), 20.</ref>  Therefore, they call for high-income countries to acknowledge and assume their responsibilities, including reparations for damage caused by climate change.<ref>See, for example, LDC Climate Change, 'LDC Chair's Reflections at the Thimphu Ambition Summit 2020' (LDC Climate Change, n.d.) https://www.ldc-climate.org/thimphuambition-eventdetails/ldc-chairs-reflections/ accessed 19 December 2022.</ref> <!-- In this last section and the one before I suggest to add some sources. VK

Thank you for this great suggestion. Four additional sources have been added to this and the previous section. These include the work of Brian Tokar, Paul Routledge, Ronnie D. Lipschutz & Corina McKendry, and the positions of the US and the LDC before climate negotiations. TVU -->

{{OpenRewi/Advanced|Reference=For small island developing states (SIDS) climate change is a matter of life and death|Content=SIDS are extremely vulnerable to climate change-induced hurricanes and sea level rise as they are low-lying territories (one-third of them lay on land less than five meters above sea level).<ref>Leila Mead, ‘Small Islands, Large Oceans: Voices on the Frontlines of Climate Change’ (IISD, 29 March 2021)https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/small-islands-large-oceans-voices-frontlines-climate-changeaccessed 30 August 2022.</ref> Also, because most SIDS are highly dependent on food imports; some of them are considered least developed countries.<ref>Leila Mead, ‘Small Islands, Large Oceans: Voices on the Frontlines of Climate Change’ (IISD, 29 March 2021)https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/small-islands-large-oceans-voices-frontlines-climate-changeaccessed 30 August 2022.</ref> Yet, SIDS contribute less than 1% of global GHG emissions.  

Given SIDS' distinctive vulnerability to climate change, they have formed a coalition of states through which they have advanced several advocacy efforts to accelerate climate ambition and action. These efforts include the Male' Declaration on the Human Dimension of Global Climate Change signed in 2007; the Agreement for the Establishment of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law in 2021, and the drafting of a resolution at the UN General Assembly in 2022 requesting that the International Court of Justice gives an Advisory Opinion on climate change. 

Another example of the aforementioned advocacy efforts is illustrated by the photo below. It depicts Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed in an underwater cabinet meeting he convened in 2009 to draw attention to the plight of SIDS in the face of climate change as ‘a symbolic cry for help.’

[[Image:Figure 3 maldives underwater cabinet meeting.jpg|600px|center]]<ref>Leila Mead, ‘Small Islands, Large Oceans: Voices on the Frontlines of Climate Change’ (IISD, 29 March 2021)https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/small-islands-large-oceans-voices-frontlines-climate-changeaccessed 30 August 2022.</ref>}}

<!-- Regarding this advanced box, I would suggest to include the Male' Declaration and cite some more sources regarding the situation of SIDS and climate change, which is really important topic. I really like the picture, but was still wondering it it were better to put a link in a footnote rather than having it put directly in the box. VK

I appreciate this comment. I have included the Male' Declaration and the most recent advocacy efforts of SIDS to advance climate action (the establishment of the Commission on Climate Change and International Law and the coalition regarding the advisory opinion of the ICJ). I would suggest leaving the picture in the box given that it provides a graphic element of the pressing challenges that SIDS are confronting. TVU --><!-- Raffaela: do we have the right to display this image? -->These differing viewpoints have shaped the evolution of the international climate change regime, creating opportunities and obstacles in reaching global agreements. As a result, international climate change law has adapted its form and structure to navigate these complex political tensions. The subsequent section examines the UNFCCC regime's three core agreements and their responses to these contextual political challenges.

== C. Emergence and Evolution on the International Climate Change Treaty Regime ==
<!-- Max: While I really like this section, I think it is where you can relatively easily shorten the chapter. As we are writing a textbook on public international law and not on climate change law, describing the development of international climate change law at such a great length does not fit the purpose of the textbook 100%. I suggest, rewriting this section by summarizing each sub-section to 1-2 paragraphs. However, as I really enjoyed reading this section and you put some effort in it, I suggest we keep it on wikibooks, shorten the section for the printed textbook published by Routledge and link to the section on wikibooks in our printed book. To do this, you could just put the summarized version as a primer directly under the respective heading using the "preformatted " style provided by wikibooks (see: upper toolbox -> click on paragraph -> select preformatted)  --><!-- Thalia: Dear Max, thank you for highlighting the concern regarding the text's length and word count. I concur that condensing the text can enhance its readability and alignment with a broader audience. I've managed to trim the content by approximately 1,800 words while preserving its core substance, which should now make it more suitable as textbook material. I hope this revision meets your requirements. -->=== I. Emergence of the UNFCCC<!-- I really enjoyed reading this part on early international concerns! It was very informative, not too long and followed a common thread! The only thing I would consider is renaming the title. VK  I have modified the first sub-title ("I. Early International Concerns" to "I. The Emergence of the UNFCCC") to make it consistent and clearer with the sequence of the section. Thank you for the observation. I would nonetheless consider that the section's title points to its two main contents: the emergence (section I) and the evolution (section II) of the international climate change treaty regime. TVU.  -->===
Early scientific research into climate change revealed rising atmospheric CO2 levels during the 1960s.<ref>Daniel Bodansky, Jutta Brunnée, and Lavanya Rajamani, ''International Climate Change Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2017), 98.</ref> Enhanced computing power in the subsequent decades deepened our understanding of the issue, leading the 1979 US National Academy of Sciences report to state that unabated increases in CO2 would result in significant climate change.<ref>National Research Council, ''Carbon Dioxide and Climate: A Scientific Assessment'' (National Academies Press, 1979) viii.</ref> The First World Climate Conference convened in Geneva that year under the WMO,<ref>John W. Zillman, ‘A History of Climate Activities’ (''WMO'', 2009)< <nowiki>https://public.wmo.int/en/bulletin/history-climate-activities</nowiki>>accessed 1 August 2022.</ref> resulting in an urgent appeal for nations to anticipate and mitigate potential climate changes harmful to humanity.<ref>Information Unit for Conventions, ‘Climate Change Information Sheet 17’ (UNEP 2000)<<nowiki>https://unfccc.int/cop3/fccc/climate/fact17.htm</nowiki>>accessed 1 August 2022.</ref> The conference laid the foundation for the World Climate Program<ref>Information Unit for Conventions, ‘Climate Change Information Sheet 17’ (UNEP 2000)<<nowiki>https://unfccc.int/cop3/fccc/climate/fact17.htm</nowiki>>accessed 1 August 2022.</ref> and future climate-focused assemblies, such as the 1985 Villach Conference and the 1988 Toronto Conference.

During the 1980s and 1990s, escalating environmental activism and political developments like the adoption of the 1987 Montreal Protocol and the 1992 Rio Conference helped raise public awareness on climate issues.<ref>Daniel Bodansky, Jutta Brunnée, and Lavanya Rajamani, ''International Climate Change Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2017), 98.</ref> This, in turn, pressed policymakers to prioritize environmental protection, including atmospheric preservation.<ref>Luis Roberto Barroso, ‘Revolución Tecnológica, Crisis de la Democracia y Cambio climático: Un Mundo en Transformación y los Límites del Derecho’ in Henry Jiménez Guanipa and Marisol Luna Leal (eds), ''Crisis climática, derechos humanos y los Acuerdos de París y Escazú'' (Fundación Heinrich Böll, 2020) 45, 70. <<nowiki>https://co.boell.org/es/2020/03/30/crisis-climatica-transicion-energetica-y-derechos-humanos</nowiki>>accessed 10 August 2022.</ref> The amalgamation of scientific advancement and growing social and political awareness facilitated the global recognition of climate change, cementing it as an international law concern. In 1988, the WMO and UNEP founded the IPCC and the United Nations General Assembly recognized climate change as a 'common concern of mankind.'<ref>UN General Assembly, ''Resolution 43/53 - Protection of Global Climate for Present and Future Generations of Mankind'' (UNGA Resolution, 6 December 1988)<<nowiki>https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/54234</nowiki>>accessed 1 August 2022.</ref>

In 1989, the Netherlands hosted the Hague Summit and the Noordwijk meeting, the first high-level intergovernmental forum devoted exclusively to climate change.<ref>Daniel Bodansky, Jutta Brunnée, and Lavanya Rajamani, ''International Climate Change Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2017), 99.</ref> That same year, the climate issue was on the agenda of various international summits, including the Small Island States meeting, the Francophone Summit in Dakar, the G7 Meeting, the Non-Aligned meeting, and the Commonwealth Summit.<ref name=":22" /> The Second World Climate Conference in 1990 issued a widely endorsed call for global action on climate change, setting the stage for the negotiation of the UNFCCC.<ref>John W. Zillman, ‘A History of Climate Activities’ (''WMO'', 2009)< <nowiki>https://public.wmo.int/en/bulletin/history-climate-activities</nowiki>>accessed 1 August 2022.</ref> The IPCC also published its inaugural report on climate change's scientific, environmental, and policy implications.<ref name=":2" /><!-- I find the graph very illustrative. Was it intentional not to provide the two big blue balls with references? VK

Thank you for the comment. Yes, it was intentional since the big balls indicate the shift from one decade to another. For instance, the lighter ball at the left is meant to illustrate the transition from the 1960s to the 1970s. Because no landmark events occurred either in 1970 or in 1980, they do not show any reference. TVU.  -->

{{OpenRewi/Advanced|Reference=Timeline of landmark international events that flagged early climate change concerns|Content=[[Image:Figure 4 Early international concerns.jpg|600px|center]]}}

=== II. Evolution of the UNFCCC<!-- I also liked this section on the UNFCCC! VK    Thank you for your kind comment. To make this sub-section's title consistent with your previous observation, I have renamed it. The new title alludes to the "evolution" of the UNFCCC to distinguish the content from the regime's "emergence."   -->===
In 1990, the UNGA adopted Resolution 45/212, setting in motion the creation of the UNFCCC.<ref name=":3" /> Entrusted by the General Assembly, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) finalized the Convention in 1992, and it came into effect two years later when it achieved ratification by fifty countries.<ref>UNFCCC 1992, Article 23 para. 1.</ref> The Convention aims to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations to prevent dangerous interference with the climate system.<ref name=":4" /> It sets out five guiding principles: '''(1) the CBDR principle''', urging developed nations to lead in climate change mitigation, '''(2) special attention to the needs of developing countries, (3) the precautionary principle, (4) the right to sustainable development''', and '''(5) the importance of cooperation''' in an open international economic system.<ref>UNFCCC 1992, Article 3.</ref><!-- I would put the principles in bold. VK

I agree. This will allow readers to extract the gist of the paragraph more clearly. TVU.  -->

These principles reflect the tensions between developed and developing countries concerning equity, which influenced the Convention's commitments.<ref name=":5">Daniel Bodansky, Jutta Brunnée, and Lavanya Rajamani, ''International Climate Change Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2017), 104.</ref>  The CBDR principle, in particular, underscores the Convention's distinction between 'Annex I' (developed) and 'non-Annex I' (developing) countries.<ref name=":6">Jacqueline Peel, ‘Climate Change Law: The Emergence of a New Legal Discipline’ (2008) 32(3) ''Melbourne University Law Review'' 922, 928.</ref> '''Annex I''' countries, including members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and nations with economies in transition, are encouraged to limit greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2000.<ref>UNFCCC 1992, Article 4 para. 2(a).</ref> '''Annex II''', a subgroup of Annex I, are expected to provide financial resources to assist developing countries in adapting to climate change.<ref>UNFCCC 1992, Article 4 para. 3 & 4.</ref> '''Non-Annex I''' parties, mostly developing nations,<ref name=":23">UN Climate Change, 'Parties & Observers' (''UNFCCC'', n.d.) https://unfccc.int/parties-observers accessed 19 December 2022. </ref> include the United Nations' 49 classified Least Developed Countries (LDCs) which receive special consideration due to their limited capacity to adapt to climate change.<ref name=":23" /><!-- Maybe you could add little more information on the three different groups as they are stated here: https://unfccc.int/parties-observers VK

I appreciate this suggestion. I have added more information accordingly. TVU -->

Moreover, the Convention recognizes the importance of economic development and promotes an open international economic system.<ref>UNFCCC 1992, Article 3.</ref> While it does not set specific emission targets, the UNFCCC establishes general obligations and provides a base for international climate change regulation. Its importance extends beyond previous conventions by setting up a financial mechanism (Article 11), requiring detailed reporting (Article 12) and international review (Article 7.2(e)).<ref name=":5" />

=== III. The Kyoto Protocol ===
The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997, emerged due to the UNFCCC's lack of specific emission reduction targets.<ref>Jacqueline Peel, ‘Climate Change Law: The Emergence of a New Legal Discipline’ (2008) 32(3) ''Melbourne University Law Review'' 922, 929.</ref> This development started with the 1995 Berlin Mandate at the first Conference of the Parties (COP), which established the Ad Hoc Group (AGBM) to craft a robust legal instrument to fortify the UNFCCC. The AGBM's work culminated in the Kyoto Protocol's adoption in 1997 during COP3. However, its strict provisions led to challenges in securing participation,<ref>Daniel Bodansky, Jutta Brunnée, and Lavanya Rajamani, ''International Climate Change Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2017), 23.</ref> only entering into force in 2005 when ‘enough’ Annex I parties (accounting for at least 55% of the total CO<sub>2</sub> emissions for 1990) deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.<ref>Kyoto Protocol 1997, Article 24, para. 1.</ref>

The Kyoto Protocol's goal was to enforce emission reduction targets for Annex I countries, introducing a commitment period (2008-2012) during which parties aimed to reduce their GHG emissions by 5% below 1990 levels.<ref>Kyoto Protocol 1997, Article 3, para. 1.</ref> The protocol also mandated national systems for estimating GHG emissions by 2007<ref>Kyoto Protocol 1997, Article 5.</ref> and periodic reporting on progress.<ref>Kyoto Protocol 1997, Article 7.</ref> Perhaps among the most salient features of the Kyoto Protocol are the implementation mechanisms it established. They are three: the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) set up under Article 12, the Joint Implementation (JI) defined by Article 6, and the Emissions Trading (ET) set out in Article 16bis. The CDM allows countries with emission reduction commitments (Annex I parties) to undertake emission reduction projects in non-Annex I countries. In so doing, the former countries earn saleable certified emission reduction (CER) credits (each equivalent to one tonne of CO<sub>2</sub>) that count towards their Kyoto targets. Similarly, the JI provided the opportunity for Annex I countries to transfer to, or acquire from, any other such Party emission reduction Units (ERUs) resulting from emission reduction projects implemented in another Annex I country. Each ERU is equivalent to one tonne of CO2, which counts toward meeting these countries’ Kyoto targets.

{{OpenRewi/Advanced|Reference=Concerns on ‘climate grabbing’ in CDM projects|Content=The UNFCCC database indicates that 7844 CDM projects have been registered to date.<ref>UN Climate Change, ‘Project Search’ (UNFCCC, n.d.)https://cdm.unfccc.int/Projects/projsearch.htmlaccessed 30 August 2022.</ref> These projects span several sectors, including 67 activities on afforestation and reforestation.<ref>UN Climate Change, ‘Project Search’ (UNFCCC, n.d.)https://cdm.unfccc.int/Projects/projsearch.htmlaccessed 30 August 2022.</ref> While protecting the world’s forests is instrumental for reducing GHG emissions, several scholars have raised concerns about how such afforestation and reforestation projects promote ‘climate grabbing’ in Global South territories.<ref>Giulia Parola and Lodovica Toffoletto, ‘El “acaparamiento de tierras y el cambio climático”: una oportunidad perdida del Acuerdo de París’ in Henry Jiménez Guanipa and Marisol Luna Leal (eds), Crisis climática, derechos humanos y los Acuerdos de París y Escazú (Fundación Heinrich Böll, 2020) 203, 219https://co.boell.org/es/2020/03/30/crisis-climatica-transicion-energetica-y-derechos-humanosaccessed 10 August 2022.</ref> That is because governments and international NGOs are increasingly incentivized to preserve large areas of forests, they end up appropriating the land and resources of Indigenous peoples and other vulnerable communities for such climate mitigation purposes, thereby reinforcing existing socioeconomic inequalities.<ref>Giulia Parola and Lodovica Toffoletto, ‘El “acaparamiento de tierras y el cambio climático”: una oportunidad perdida del Acuerdo de París’ in Henry Jiménez Guanipa and Marisol Luna Leal (eds), Crisis climática, derechos humanos y los Acuerdos de París y Escazú (Fundación Heinrich Böll, 2020) 203, 219https://co.boell.org/es/2020/03/30/crisis-climatica-transicion-energetica-y-derechos-humanosaccessed 10 August 2022.</ref>}}

The ET scheme allowed countries whose actual emissions did not surpass their emission reduction commitments—and thus had emission units to spare—to sell this excess capacity to countries that were over their targets. In this way, a new commodity was created through emission reductions or removals, whereby carbon is tracked and traded like any other commodity.<ref>UN Climate Change, ‘Emissions Trading’ (''UNFCCC'', n.d.)<<nowiki>https://unfccc.int/process/the-kyoto-protocol/mechanisms/emissions-trading</nowiki>>accessed 10 August 2022.</ref> Since CO<sub>2</sub> is the main GHG, emissions trading is often known as the ‘carbon market.’ CER and ERU units from the CDM and JI, respectively, can also be transferred under this market.

However, the Kyoto Protocol's architecture, a top-down approach with clear delineations between developed and developing countries,<ref>Kyoto Protocol 1997, Article 10.</ref> posed some significant challenges. Its prescriptive nature and favor towards developing countries led to the withdrawal of the United States in 2001,<ref name=":8">Lavanya Rajamani and Jacob D. Werksman, 'Climate Change,' in Lavanya Rajamani and Jacqueline Peel (eds.), ''The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2021) 492, 496.</ref> one of the largest GHG emitters.<ref name=":7">Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser, ‘CO<sub>2</sub> emissions’ (Our World in Data, 2020)<<nowiki>https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions</nowiki>>accessed 10 August 2022.</ref> Given such a significant withdrawal and the fact that China (a non-Annex I country yet also a major GHG emitter)<ref name=":7" /> was not given emission reduction commitments under the Protocol, this treaty’s emissions targets encompassed less than 24% of global GHG emissions.<ref>Daniel Bodansky, Jutta Brunnée, and Lavanya Rajamani, ''International Climate Change Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2017), 108.</ref>

In 2012, the 'Doha Amendment' extended the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period (2008-2012) to a second period from 2013 to 2020.<ref>UN Climate Change, ‘The Doha Amendment’ (UNFCCC, 2022)<<nowiki>https://unfccc.int/process/the-kyoto-protocol/the-doha-amendment</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref> Nonetheless, due to the same structural issues as the original Kyoto Protocol, several developed country parties opted out from the second commitment period, including Canada, Japan, and Russia, further limiting the Protocol's scope.<ref name=":8" />

=== IV. The Paris Agreement ===
Replacing the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement acts as the foundation for specific climate commitments,<ref>Lavanya Rajamani and Jacob D. Werksman, 'Climate Change,' in Lavanya Rajamani and Jacqueline Peel (eds.), ''The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2021) 492, 502.</ref> adopted by the COP during its 21st session in 2015. It marks the first time human rights have been explicitly mentioned in a climate treaty—yet only in its preamble.<ref>Paris Agreement 2015,  Preamble, para. 11.</ref> The development of the Paris Agreement was a politically fraught process starting with the adoption of the 'Bali Action Plan' in 2007. This plan instigated a process that aimed to implement a full, effective, and long-term cooperative action plan under the Convention,<ref>Decision 1/CP.13 2007 (adopted by the COP to the UNFCCC), para. 1.</ref> originally intended for completion by 2009.<ref>Decision 1/CP.13 2007 (adopted by the COP to the UNFCCC), para. 2.</ref> The core contention throughout this process was the differentiation of emission reduction commitments between developed and developing countries.<ref>Benoit Mayer, ''The International Law on Climate Change'' (Cambridge University Press 2018) 42.</ref> The failure to agree on this differentiation led to the inconclusive COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009. The resulting Copenhagen Accords reemphasized the Plan’s invitation to developed countries to submit emission reduction targets for 2020 and to developing countries to submit nationally appropriate mitigation actions.<ref>Benoit Mayer, ''The International Law on Climate Change'' (Cambridge University Press 2018) 44.</ref>

A new attempt to develop a legal instrument under the Convention was formalized in 2011 at the 17<sup>th</sup> session of the COP in Durban, South Africa. COP17 established the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (AWG-DP), a process that would lead to an agreed outcome with legal force to be implemented from 2020. That outcome was the Paris Agreement, whose architecture, influenced by the route the preceding negotiations took, contrasts with the Kyoto Protocol, particularly in how it treats the distribution of countries’ emission reduction commitments.

The Paris Agreement's Article 2 outlines two central goals: mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The mitigation aim strives to limit the global temperature increase to well below 2°C and urges efforts to restrict the rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.<ref>Paris Agreement 2015, Article 2.1(a).</ref> It also advocates for adaptation to the adverse impacts of climate change and fostering climate resilience.<ref>Paris Agreement 2015, Article 2.1(b).</ref> Furthermore, unlike the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement refrains from mandating differentiated emission reduction targets based on the countries' development trajectories. Instead, it calls for mitigation actions from all parties while recognizing the principle of CBDR.<ref>Paris Agreement 2015, Article 2.2.</ref> The Agreement's implementation thus entails certain differentiation between developed and developing countries. For example, it expresses the ‘aim’ of Parties to ‘reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, ''recognizing that peaking will take longer for developing country Parties'', and to undertake rapid reductions thereafter […]’<ref>Paris Agreement 2015, Article 4.1.</ref> It also mandates developed parties to continue 'taking the lead' in emission reduction targets and support developing countries in implementing the Agreement.<ref>Paris Agreement 2015, Article 4.4 and 4.5.</ref>

New principles introduced in the Paris Agreement include the '''maximum ambition''' and '''progression principles'''.<ref>Daniel Klein, ‘El Acuerdo de París sobre Cambio Climático: del dicho al hecho’ in Henry Jiménez Guanipa and Marisol Luna Leal (eds), ''Crisis climática, derechos humanos y los Acuerdos de París y Escazú'' (Fundación Heinrich Böll, 2020) 227, 235.<<nowiki>https://co.boell.org/es/2020/03/30/crisis-climatica-transicion-energetica-y-derechos-humanos</nowiki>>accessed 10 August 2022.</ref> These principles establish a foundation for increasing ambition, requiring each party to periodically enhance its level of commitment over the 5-year cycle. The Agreement employs tools like nationally determined contributions (NDCs), long-term strategies (LT-LEDS), adaptation plans, and the global stocktake for achieving its objectives. NDCs are action plans that both developed and developing countries must communicate every five years, showing a progressive increase in ambition.<ref>Paris Agreement 2015, Article 4.3 and 4.9.</ref> The NDC cycle began in 2020 when all parties were welcome to submit their initial updated communications.<ref name=":9">UN Climate Change, ‘The Paris Agreement’ (''UNFCCC'', n.d.)< <nowiki>https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement</nowiki>>accessed 10 August 2022.</ref> 

{{OpenRewi/Advanced|Reference=The ambition of GHG emission reductions pledged in NDCs is not enough to avert a 1.5°C increase in the global temperature|Content=According to the Climate Action Tracker, an independent scientific analysis that monitors government climate action, as of November 2021, a substantial gap remains between the levels of emissions in 2030 projected in the NDCs submitted to the UNFCCC, and the lower levels that would be consistent with the temperature limit of the Paris Agreement.<ref>Climate Action Tracker, ‘CAT Emissions Gap’ (CAT, November 2021)https://climateactiontracker.org/global/cat-emissions-gaps/accessed 30 August 2022.</ref> As the image shows, there is a gap of 19–23 GtCO2e in 2030 between the emission from the NDCs submitted and the benchmark emissions from a 1.5°C compatible pathway (26 GtCO2e in 2030).[[Image:Figure 5 CAT 2021-11 Briefing 2030EmissionsGaps-Changes2.original.png|600px|center]]<ref>Climate Action Tracker, ‘CAT Emissions Gap’ (CAT, November 2021)https://climateactiontracker.org/global/cat-emissions-gaps/accessed 30 August 2022.</ref>}}

Furthermore, the Paris Agreement invites countries to ‘formulate and communicate long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies’<ref>Paris Agreement 2015, Article 4.19.</ref> (LT-LEDS). These strategies define the long-term horizon to the NDCs. However, unlike NDCs, LT-LEDS are not mandatory.<ref name=":9" /> The Paris COP15 invited state parties to communicate their LT-LEDS by 2020.<ref name=":10">UN Climate Change, ‘Long-term strategies portal’ (''UNFCCC'', 2022)< <nowiki>https://unfccc.int/process/the-paris-agreement/long-term-strategies</nowiki>>accessed 10 August 2022.</ref> As of August 2022, 51 countries had submitted their strategies, including the European Union, United States, and China,<ref name=":10" /> the world’s top GHG emitters.

Unlike the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement employs a hybrid architecture that blends top-down and bottom-up approaches. The Agreement's objectives and principles, established by multilateral negotiations, reflect a top-down approach, while the NDCs and adaptation arrangements follow a bottom-up template.<ref>Daniel Klein, ‘El Acuerdo de París sobre Cambio Climático: del dicho al hecho’ in Henry Jiménez Guanipa and Marisol Luna Leal (eds), ''Crisis climática, derechos humanos y los Acuerdos de París y Escazú'' (Fundación Heinrich Böll, 2020) 227, 233.<<nowiki>https://co.boell.org/es/2020/03/30/crisis-climatica-transicion-energetica-y-derechos-humanos</nowiki>>accessed 10 August 2022.</ref> This structure grants each state the flexibility to set its mitigation ambition level and incorporates these commitments into an international climate accountability system through a global stocktake, which assesses collective progress and informs the determination of subsequent NDCs and communications.<ref name=":25">Robert Falkner, 'The Paris Agreement and the new logic of international climate politics' (2016) 92 International Affairs 5.</ref> The hybrid architecture of the Paris Agreement has enhanced participation levels compared to its predecessor: a record 175 parties signed the Agreement on its opening day, April 22, 2016, and it came into force less than a year after its adoption.<ref>Daniel Bodansky, Jutta Brunnée, and Lavanya Rajamani, ''International Climate Change Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2017), 25.</ref>  

However, there are concerns about the Agreement's potential to meet the urgent need for global decarbonization, considering that countries' GHG reduction commitments' levels of ambition are left to the states themselves. <ref name=":25" /> Despite the Paris Agreement's maximum ambition principle, these concerns are not unfounded, given that governments often express high aspirations but shy away from difficult decisions.<ref name=":25" /> As indicated in the advanced box above, the current ambition levels of submitted NDCs are insufficient to prevent global warming beyond 1.5°C.<ref>Climate Action Tracker, ‘CAT Emissions Gap’ (CAT, November 2021) <nowiki>https://climateactiontracker.org/global/cat-emissions-gaps/</nowiki> accessed 30 August 2022</ref><!-- I found the section on the Paris agreement very informative. 

I suggest to already add a short sentence on that it was the first CC agreement that included human rights (at least in its preamble) and then link it to the part on human rights and climate change.

In general, I am missing the criticism that had been voiced regarding (lack of) accountability and commitment (negative side of bottom-up and NDCs). VK

Thank you for these observations. They are important ones. In the first paragraph, I have added a sentence about the Paris Agreement being the first treaty to include human rights. The penultimate and last paragraphs now indicate the criticisms against the Paris Agreement. TVU  -->

== D. International Climate Change Law beyond the UNFCCC<!-- Max: I think, that also this section can be shortened in order to not exceed the word limit of 9,000w. Again, we could still keep it online on wikibooks, but for the printed version it (unfortunately!) must be shortened to 1-3 paragraphs per subsection.  --><!-- Dear Max, in line with your suggestion, I've managed to shorten this section by 1,600 words. I've condensed each subsection, retaining only the essential legal content of each agreement. -->==
<!-- Some may even say that International Climate Change Law forms (a specific) part of International Environmental Law. VK

I agree. I have included a sentence to make this debate more explicit. TVU -->The UNFCCC treaty regime is a focal point in international climate change law. Nonetheless, the scope extends beyond this treaty. The relevance and substance of international climate change law have expanded considerably, reaching out of its initial confines in environmental law. Some observers even propose that it has developed its own distinct identity,<ref>Cinnamon Carlarne, Kevin R. Gray, and Richard Tarasofsky, ‘International Climate Change Law: Mapping The Field’, in Kevin R. Gray, Richard Tarasofsky, and Cinnamon Carlarne (eds.), ''The Oxford Handbook of International Climate Change Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2016)<https://doi.org/10.1093/law/9780199684601.003.0001>.</ref> intersecting with various legal domains.<ref>Lavanya Rajamani and Jacob D. Werksman, ‘Climate Change’, in Lavanya Rajamani and Jacqueline Peel (eds), ''The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law''(Oxford University Press, 2021) 492, 507.</ref> As climate change permeates almost all facets of human life, norms in other international law areas regulating such facets also intertwine with global warming concerns. These domains include international environmental law, human rights law, trade and investment law, refugee and migration law, and the law of the sea. 

This segment focuses on how international environmental law and human rights law address climate change, thereby enriching international climate change law. While legal perspectives from other areas are crucial, numerous multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) share a particularly close relationship with climate change, as their principles have significantly influenced the UNFCCC. Concurrently, the convergence of climate change and human rights law has forged new avenues, seemingly amplifying the influence of international climate change law, evidenced by the recent surge in rights-based climate litigation. 

=== I.  Multilateral Environmental Agreements<!-- I see the usefulness of moving beyond the direct legal framework on CC and spreading out to other field related to CC and the UNFCCC framework.   I was just wondering whether this part got a little bit too long and could be shortened a bit, especially when it comes to listing every single agreement. It is definitely important to point out the linkages between CC and biodiversity, particularly as biodiversity had remained somehow in the shadow of the climate crisis topic for quite a while. Yet, I think the section could be further condensed and the point would still become sufficiently clear. VK    I appreciate these comments. I have shortened this section as much as possible so as not to lose the key elements of each field of law. I also incorporate the most recent normative developments regarding the CBD (Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework). TVU  --><!-- Max: in these sections, please try to focus on the legal rules stemming from these conventions. I think, one paragraph per Convention is sufficient for this purpose. While implementation is also very interesting and important, in light of the word limit, you have to remove some parts of the chapter for the printed publication.  --><!-- Thalia: Thanks, Max! I have revised this subsection accordingly, as indicated in my previous comment. -->===<!-- I would either link the sources or put footnotes regarding each agreement. VK

Links to the sources of each agreement have been added. TVU -->

==== The Ramsar Convention ====
Adopted in the city of Ramsar, Iran and in force since 1975,<ref>The Ramsar Convention Secretariat, ‘History of the Ramsar Convention’ (''Ramsar'', 2014)<<nowiki>https://www.ramsar.org/about/history-of-the-ramsar-convention</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref> the [https://www.ramsar.org/sites/default/files/documents/library/current_convention_text_e.pdf Ramsar Convention] promotes the conservation of wetlands (areas of marsh, fen, peatland, or water with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish, or salt)<ref>Ramsar Convention 1971, Article 1.1.</ref> that hold international significance in terms of their environmental characteristics.<ref>Ramsar Convention 1971, Article 2.2.</ref> Despite not directly addressing climate change, it identifies the threats global warming imposes on the ecosystems under its protection. For example, peatlands and mangroves, key components of wetlands, play significant roles in carbon storage and disaster risk reduction.<ref name=":122">The Ramsar Convention Secretariat, ‘Global Wetland Outlook: 2021 Special Edition’ (''Ramsar'', 2021)<<nowiki>https://www.global-wetland-outlook.ramsar.org/</nowiki>></ref> Recognizing the climate mitigation and adaptation capabilities of wetlands, the Conference of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention (COP-Ramsar) has incorporated climate change considerations into the management and protection of these vital ecosystems. Particularly, in 2002, it adopted Resolution VIII.3 on 'Climate change and wetlands; impacts, adaptation and mitigation,' which the Conference subsequently updated through Resolution X.24 during its 10<sup>th</sup> Meeting in 2008. This superseding resolution entitled 'Climate change and wetlands' mandated contracting countries, among other measures, to ‘include in national climate change strategies the protection of wetlands’ and to ‘improve management practices of peatlands and other wetland types that are significant GHG sinks.’ <ref name=":132">10<sup>th</sup> Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Wetlands 2008, Resolution X.24, para. 31 & 32<<nowiki>https://www.ramsar.org/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/res/key_res_x_24_e.pdf</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref>

==== The Convention on Biological Diversity ====
Effective since 1993,<ref>Convention on Biological Diversity, ‘History of the Convention’ (''CBD'', 15 August 2022)<<nowiki>https://www.cbd.int/history/</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref> the CBD has three primary objectives: the conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of ecosystem components, and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their genetic resources.<ref>CBD 1992, Articles 1 & 2.</ref>  Recognizing the inseparable connection between biodiversity conservation and climate change, the CBD integrates climate change concerns into its core operations[9]. Notably, the findings of the [https://www.cbd.int/doc/publications/gbo/gbo3-final-en.pdf 3<sup>rd</sup> Global Biodiversity Outlook] (GBO), published in 2010, led the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (COP-CBD) to adopt the [https://www.cbd.int/doc/strategic-plan/2011-2020/Aichi-Targets-EN.pdf Strategic Plan 2011-2020 and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets], which include climate-related measures in two strategic goals.<ref>Decision X/2 [2010] COP CBD<<nowiki>https://www.cbd.int/decision/cop/?id=12268</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref> 

The post-2020 [https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/e6d3/cd1d/daf663719a03902a9b116c34/cop-15-l-25-en.pdf Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework]  has continued this trend by including targets designed to directly respond to the impacts of climate change.<ref>2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, para. 4.</ref> This framework has 23 action-oriented global targets, of which three seek to respond directly to the impacts of climate change. First, target 8 calls for minimizing the effects of climate change and ocean acidification on biodiversity and increasing its resilience through mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction actions. Second, the framework's target 11 pursues the restoration, maintenance, and enhancement of nature's contributions to people, including the climate. And third, target 19 commends the increase of financial resources by optimizing co-benefits and synergies targeting the biodiversity and climate crises. 

==== Environmental Governance Agreements ====
The Espoo Convention, a European MEA adopted in 1991,<ref name=":16">UN Treaty Collection, ‘Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context’ (''United Nations,'' 2022)<<nowiki>https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=XXVII-4&chapter=27&clang=_en</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref> guides countries to implement national environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures to manage adverse transboundary environmental impacts.<ref>Espoo Convention 1991, Article 2.</ref> While not fully encompassing climate change in its provisions, its Kyiv Protocol, in force since 2010, requires a strategic EIA irrespective of the transboundary context, thereby considering effects on the global environment.<ref>Benoit Mayer, ‘Environmental Assessments in the Context of Climate Change: The Role of the UN Economic Commission for Europe’ (2019) 28(1) Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law 82<<nowiki>https://ssrn.com/abstract=3279299</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref> Further, the EU Commission has called for the mainstreaming of climate mitigation measures into member states’ legislation on EIA and therefore issued guidance documents in 2013<ref>EU Commission, ‘Guidance on Integrating Climate Change and Biodiversity into Environmental Impact Assessment’ (''European Union'', 2013)<<nowiki>https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eia/pdf/EIA%20Guidance.pdf</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022; EU Commission, ‘Guidance on Integrating Climate Change and Biodiversity into Strategic Environmental Assessment’ (''European Union'', 2013)<<nowiki>https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eia/pdf/SEA%20Guidance.pdf</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref> and a directive in 2014<ref>Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 amending Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment [2014] Official Journal of the European Union L124/1.</ref> on the matter, which ultimately reverberates on the implementation of the Espoo Convention and its Protocol.

The Escazú Agreement, focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean, assures access to environmental information, public participation, and justice in environmental matters.<ref>Escazú Agreement 2018, Article 1.</ref>  Adopted in 2018, it commands countries to reveal updated information on climate change sources and encourages public involvement, including in their National Determined Contributions (NDCs).<ref>Escazú Agreement 2018, Article 7.1.</ref>  Through these directives, the agreement emphasizes a more inclusive and transparent approach to climate change mitigation and adaptation.<ref>Lina Muñoz Ávila and Camilo Quintero-Giraldo, ‘El Acuerdo de Escazú sobre democracia ambiental y su relación con el Acuerdo de París sobre cambio climático en Colombia’ in ''Crisis climática, derechos humanos y los Acuerdos de París y Escazú'', in Henry Jiménez Guanipa and Marisol Luna Leal (eds), ''Crisis climática, derechos humanos y los Acuerdos de París y Escazú'' (Fundación Heinrich Böll, 2020) 267, 279<<nowiki>https://co.boell.org/es/2020/03/30/crisis-climatica-transicion-energetica-y-derechos-humanos</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref><!-- Shouldn't the Aarhus Convention also form part of this section? VK

The answer would be yes if this section had dealt with a parallel and thorough recount of regional MEAs concerned with environmental governance. However, the idea is just to provide a general glimpse of some of them. TVU -->

=== II. Human Rights Law<!-- My research actually focusses on human rights and climate change; I am writing my phd on a human right to climate protection. So just in case, I leave you the link to a NQHR publication on the topic from June 2022, which gives some more information on the relationship between human rights and climte change, which could be useful for this part. It's open access:   https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09240519221092595  Would be happy if it is of any use for you!  VK    I truly appreciate you sharing this great work. I think it enriches the thread of argument so I have included it as a reference. Thanks! TVU -->===
Despite climate change impacting nearly every aspect of human well-being, the formal convergence of international climate change and human rights law is a recent development. These two legal domains arose from different historical and political contexts, leading to distinct normative paths. The treaty-based international human rights regime can be traced back to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, facilitated by the post-World War II momentum.<ref>Frans Viljoen, ‘International Human Rights Law: A Short History’ (UN Chronicle, n.d.)<<nowiki>https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/international-human-rights-law-short-history</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref> Conversely, the UNFCCC emerged four decades later in 1992. However, the formal interaction between human rights and climate change only took place in 2008, when the Human Rights Council adopted Resolution 7/23. The UNFCCC adopted human rights language two years later, in 2010.

Resolution 7/23, introduced in 2008, marked the first time a UN human rights body acknowledged climate change's impact on human rights. This resolution led to a comprehensive analysis by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the relationship between the two.<ref>41<sup>st</sup> Meeting of the UN Human Rights Council 2008, Resolution 7/23 - Human Rights and Climate Change, para. 1<<nowiki>https://ap.ohchr.org/documents/E/HRC/resolutions/A_HRC_RES_7_23.pdf</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref> The OHCHR report, submitted in 2009, highlighted the effects of rising global temperatures on specific human rights and groups.<ref>Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 2009, Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Relationship between Climate Change and Human Rights, UN Doc. A/ HRC/10/61, para. 20<<nowiki>https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G09/103/44/PDF/G0910344.pdf?OpenElement</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref> It also underscored the importance of procedural rights in addressing climate change,<ref>Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 2009, Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Relationship between Climate Change and Human Rights, UN Doc. A/ HRC/10/61, para. 78<<nowiki>https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G09/103/44/PDF/G0910344.pdf?OpenElement</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref> providing an early clarification on human rights obligations concerning climate change<ref>Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 2009, Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Relationship between Climate Change and Human Rights, UN Doc. A/ HRC/10/61, para. 69<<nowiki>https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G09/103/44/PDF/G0910344.pdf?OpenElement</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref>. Since then, numerous resolutions, studies, and discussions on the relationship between climate change and human rights have been adopted by the UN human rights system.<ref>UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, ''Climate Change and Human Rights: Contributions by and for Latin America and The Caribbean'' (ECLAC/OHCHR 2019), 17<<nowiki>https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/S1900999_en.pdf</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref> Regional human rights systems, like the African and Inter-American Commissions, have also approved resolutions establishing the connection between human rights obligations and the need to prevent dangerous global warming.<!-- I would include corresponding sources already here and maybe relocate the two boxes that address these resolutions. VK

Because sources comprise several footnotes which do not fit nicely in a single sentence, instead of inserting them into the text, I have indicated that the regional developments can be found in the boxes below (where readers can find the links to the sources). TVU -->Some of these developments are indicated in the boxes below.<!-- Max: I think it makes sense to exclude the textboxes from the printed version. For this reason, you could link to the cited sources via a footnote in this paragraph.  --> <!-- There are several other very important resolutions on human rights and climate change issued by the African Commission, the last one from 2019. Would recommend to take a look at them and consider which one to introduce as well. VK

Thank you for the note. I have added into the box a broader recount of them. TVU --><!-- Thalia: I recommend retaining the textboxes as they effectively illustrate the work of these regional bodies and are succinct. I have shortened their length. However, the final box regarding climate litigation could be omitted as it merely serves as an example and doesn't contain central information. -->

{{OpenRewi/Advanced|Reference=Climate change and the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights|Content=Recognizing the intricate link between climate change and human rights, the African Commission has issued several pivotal resolutions. In 2009, Resolution 153 marked the first significant stride, emphasizing the need to infuse human rights standards into climate change negotiations. Subsequently, the Commission expanded its focus through Resolution 271 in 2014, commissioning an exploratory study on the direct influence of climate change on human rights in Africa.

Moving a step further in 2015, a diverse group of stakeholders converged to endorse the Yaundé Declaration. This document underscored the paramount importance of indigenous peoples' involvement and rights protection in climate change policymaking processes<ref>Yaoundé Declaration on the Implementation in Africa of the Outcome Document of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples 2015https://www.achpr.org/news/viewdetail?id=85accessed 30 August 2022.</ref>.

The Commission, maintaining this momentum, passed Resolution 342 in 2016, promoting regional cooperation for climate action. It pursued a vision of safeguarding the human rights of Africans now and for future generations. This trajectory culminated in the adoption of Resolution 417 in 2019, which implored state parties to cohesively integrate climate change concerns into broader developmental strategies, thereby reinforcing their commitment to preserving human rights.}}{{OpenRewi/Advanced|Reference=The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ Resolution on the Climate Emergency|Content=In December 2021, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights adopted Resolution 3/21 ‘Climate Emergency: Scope of Inter-American human rights obligations,’ the first document of this regional human rights body specifically dedicated to the issue of climate change.<ref>Resolution 3/2021 Climate Emergency: Scope of Inter-American Human Rights Obligations 2021https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/decisions/pdf/2021/resolucion_3-21_ENG.pdfaccessed 30 August 2022.</ref> This resolution draws inter alia on the normative and jurisprudential developments of the Inter-American Human Rights System, including the Advisory Opinion 23 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, to systematize the human rights obligations of States in the context of the climate crisis in order to guide them toward rights-based approach policy-making.<ref>Resolution 3/2021 Climate Emergency: Scope of Inter-American Human Rights Obligations 2021https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/decisions/pdf/2021/resolucion_3-21_ENG.pdfaccessed 30 August 2022.</ref>}}

This expanding focus on human rights in climate change discourse has led to significant institutional and normative developments<ref name=":14">Verena Kahl, 'A human right to climate protection - Necessary protection or human rights proliferation?' (2022) 40 NQHR 2. </ref>.<!-- Max: I think for the printed publication, one sentence per development is sufficient. However, we could again link to these more details elaborations   --> For instance, in 2021, the Human Rights Council appointed a special rapporteurship to make recommendations on addressing and preventing climate change's adverse effects on human rights.<ref>44<sup>th</sup> Meeting of the UN Human Rights Council 2021, Resolution 8/14 – Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, para. 2(a)<<nowiki>https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G21/285/48/PDF/G2128548.pdf?OpenElement</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref> Moreover, in July 2022, the UN General Assembly recognized the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, compromised by climate change, as a human right.<ref>UN General Assembly 2022, The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, A/75/L.75<<nowiki>https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3982508?ln=en</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref>

In parallel to international human rights law, the link between human rights and climate change has also evolved within climate change law, albeit at a slower pace. The COP to the UNFCCC first acknowledged this link at its 10th session in Cancún in 2010.<ref>16<sup>th</sup> Session of the COP to the UNFCCC 2010, Decision 1/CP.16 - The Cancún Agreements: Outcome of the Work of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Action under the Convention, UN Doc. FCCC/CP/ 2010/7/Add.1, Preamble.</ref> However, a stronger emphasis came with the Paris Agreement, the first legally binding instrument to explicitly refer to human rights, despite the political tension that relegated human rights to a preambular reference.<ref>Paris Agreement 2015, Preamble.</ref>

The Paris Agreement represents a milestone for the integration of these two legal fields. As a result, policy and judicial efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change increasingly aim to merge human rights and climate change frameworks. For example, the development of National Adaptation Plans under a human rights approach is gaining momentum as a strategy to advance specific human rights in high inequality contexts.<ref>Thalia Viveros-Uehara, ‘Health Care in a Changing Climate: A Review of Climate Change Laws and National Adaptation Plans in Latin America’ (2021) 23(2) Health and Human Rights Journal 139<<nowiki>https://www.hhrjournal.org/2021/12/health-care-in-a-changing-climate-a-review-of-climate-change-laws-and-national-adaptation-plans-in-latin-america/</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref> Additionally, the Paris Agreement has triggered a surge in climate change lawsuits worldwide, using human rights arguments to urge national courts to redress climate-induced risks.<ref>Annalisa Savaresi and Joana Setzer, ‘Rights-Based Litigation in the Climate Emergency: Mapping the Landscape and New Knowledge Frontiers’ (2022) 13(1) Journal of Human Rights and the Environment 7<<nowiki>https://www.elgaronline.com/view/journals/jhre/13/1/article-p7.xml</nowiki>>accessed 20 August 2022.</ref> In this respect, the IPCC has acknowledged the importance of climate-related litigation as a means to facilitate the implementation of mitigation and adaptation actions.<ref>IPCC, 2022: Summary for Policymakers [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, M. Tignor, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem (eds.)]. In: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, p. 27.</ref>{{OpenRewi/Advanced}}
==Conclusion==
Climate change, one of the most complex challenges of our era, demands robust legal responses. This chapter has endeavored to provide an overview of the international climate change law primarily anchored on the UNFCCC regime. It has traced the historical background, structural blueprint, and normative propositions of the UNFCCC, aiming to delineate the pathways for the practical implementation of these written legal instruments.

However, the effectiveness and timeliness of these tools, as well as those emerging from the intersection of climate change law with other legal domains, remain critical questions in the prevention and adaptation to escalating global temperatures. The inescapable interlinkages between climate change and global inequality patterns underscore political and socioeconomic conflicts. Untangling these tensions is a prerequisite for achieving climate justice. As the law is a perfectible instrument, its adequacy in addressing climate change largely depends on our ability to prioritize a healthy planet over accumulation and dispossession.

== Further Readings ==

** Benoit Mayer, ''The International Law on Climate Change'' (1st edn, Cambridge University Press 2018).
** Cinnamon Carlarne, Kevin R Gray and Richard Tarasofsky, 'International Climate Change Law: Mapping The Field' in Kevin R Gray, Richard Tarasofsky and Cinnamon Carlarne (eds), ''The Oxford Handbook of International Climate Change Law'' (Oxford University Press 2016).
** Daniel Bodansky, Jutta Brunnée and Lavanya Rajamani, ''International Climate Change Law'' (Oxford University Press 2017).
** Henry Jiménez Guanipa and Marisol Luna Leal (eds), ''Crisis climática, derechos humanos y los Acuerdos de París y Escazú. Crisis climática, transición energética y derechos humanos'' (Fundación Heinrich Böll 2020).
** Jacqueline Peel, 'Climate Change Law: The Emergence of a New Legal Discipline' (2008) 32 ''Melbourne University Law Review'' 922.
** Joyeeta Gupta, 'A History of International Climate Change Policy' (2010) 1 ''WIREs Climate Change'' 636 <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.67</nowiki>.
** Jutta Brunnée, 'Legal Argumentation in the Evolving Climate Regime' in Ian Johnstone and Steven R Ratner (eds), ''Talking International Law: Legal Argumentation Outside the Courtroom'' (Oxford University Press 2021) 239.
** Katrina Fischer Kuh, 'International Climate Change Treaty Regime' in Karl S Coplan and others (eds), ''Climate Change Law: An Introduction'' (Edward Elgar Publishing 2021) 5.
** Lavanya Rajamani and Jacob D Werksman, 'Climate Change' in Lavanya Rajamani and Jacqueline Peel (eds), ''The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law'' (2nd edn, Oxford University Press 2021) 492.
** Rosemary Gail Rayfuse and Shirley V Scott (eds), ''International Law in the Era of Climate Change'' (Edward Elgar Publishing 2012).
** Susana Borràs, 'Movimientos para la justicia climática global: replanteando el escenario internacional del cambio climático' (2016) 33 ''Relaciones Internacionales.''
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