CLIMA - Centre for Climate Change Law and Governance’s Post

Powerful 'advisory opinion' emitted today by the Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: countries need to up their emission-reduction game to protect the oceans. According to Opportunity Green, countries must take “"all necessary measures” to prevent, reduce and control GHG emissions from any source - informed by the best available science and the 1.5-degree temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. Simply participating in global efforts is not necessarily enough to meet this standard." Sounds like gold for those pushing for ambitious decarbonisation policy ... and for those planning to use litigation to drive climate action. #shippingdecarbonisation

How should judges and lawyers address climate change? Join us on 17 October at Pakhuis de Zwijger to explore these questions! Lawyer Up! 19:30, Pakhuis de Zwijger, free admission, sign up here: https://lnkd.in/e2WWUb4d Judges and lawyers have become crucial actors in the protection of climate. Think of the Dutch cases of Urgenda v. the Dutch government and Milieudefensie v. Shell which have become milestones on the path to establish climate protection as a legal right and obligation. Finally, international courts are increasingly inclined to recognise a clean and safe environment as a human right. But critics question if courts are the right place to discuss profoundly political issues. Is the legal route simply short-circuit the democratic process? Should judges and lawyers be in charge of problems that need to be addressed by parliaments and the public? In conversation with renowned German law professor Martin Heger and Katharina Bachmann.

Today the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) has made it clear that countries are legally required to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in order to protect the ocean. This comes in the form of an ‘advisory opinion’, which was requested last year by a commission of small island states (COSIS) - those on the frontlines of the impact of the climate crisis.  The advisory opinion said that: 👉 Countries have an obligation to reduce their emissions to protect the ocean  👉 Countries’ climate action may need to go beyond the Paris Agreement to meet their legal obligations on marine protection  👉 Countries that have contributed most to climate change must do more to address pollution than those with smaller footprints The impact of this opinion is huge. Next year, states must improve the climate plans they submit to the United Nations (NDCs) and today’s outcome can be instrumental to push countries most responsible for the climate crisis to ramp up their ambition. This also extends to the business world, as where governments lead, companies and financial institutions must follow. 2024 is a year of serious legal reckoning on climate change in international courts, with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights hearing arguments on how climate change is impacting human rights this month in Brazil and the International Court of Justice considering a similar question later this year. “None of this would have been possible without the Commission of Small Island States on International Law and Climate Change – we're incredibly grateful to them for taking this important step.” Lea Main-Klingst, ClientEarth lawyer More here: https://lnkd.in/eEG7J2fU

The difficulty of establishing causality when it comes to anthropogenic climate change and the focus of human rights law on states and public authorities are considered by some to render human rights law irrelevant when imposing obligations on high GHG emitters. On the other hand, the concept of due diligence by businesses at the heart of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights has been linked to state obligations. The OHCHR emphasizes that “all States have a duty to protect against human rights abuse by business within their territory and/or jurisdiction, including with respect to climate change.” This obligation combines with states’ duties to exercise due diligence to take all necessary measures to ensure compliance by private actors, such as fishing vessels engaging in illegal fishing, among others. The duty of due diligence cited in the ICJ request is an opportunity to connect the due diligence obligations of states with the due diligence obligations of businesses in the climate change context. In 2021, I was privileged to learn under Professor Margaret Young and expert colleagues, as part of the Ocean Governance intensive training program. The program was delivered in partnership with: the World Bank, the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations (DOALOS), the International Seabed Authority (ISA), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 

⚡⚡ HUGE NEWS from Hamburg where the #ITLOS Advisory Opinion has marked a historic moment in international climate law! 🌊 ITLOS has confirmed that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions constitute “pollution of the marine environment” and that States therefore must comply with a wide-ranging set of obligations under UNCLOS. These include, among other things, taking “all necessary measures” to prevent, reduce and control GHG emissions from any source - an objective standard which must be informed by the best available science and the 1.5-degree temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. The Tribunal has also made clear that simply participating in global efforts is not necessarily enough to meet this standard. ⚖ Our Legal Director, David K., commented: “This is a seminal moment for international climate change law. The judges were clear that given the high risks of serious and irreversible harm to the marine environment, states’ obligations to address GHG emissions need to meet a very high standard, informed by the best available science and the 1.5 degree temperature goal and timeline. It’s not enough to just rely on global efforts and international organisations. With sectors such as international shipping currently off course, States urgently need to put in place effective policies to meet these legal obligations.” Read our full press release here! 👇 👇 #ClimateJustice #AOletsGO #COSIS

Our CILJ Blog Manager and Managing Editor Renatus O. F. D. has just written about the recent advisory opinion on climate change and international law of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea/Tribunal international du droit de la mer. For a clear and concise summary of the advisory opinion, please see our blog post here: https://lnkd.in/dP2VG6dc

❓Are Internal Market Law and its underlying principles sufficiently capable, resilient and future-proof to contribute to the transition of our current societies into sustainable societies; and if not is a paradigm shift needed? ❗️ Sybe de Vries and I discuss this essential question tomorrow at the conference: “Navigating the Environmental Transition: The European Green Deal and the Rule of Law” at the University of Maastricht, 1-2 July 2024.  ‼️ We are boldly going to suggest a recalibration of EU Internal Market Law paradigms in light of the EU Green Deal!

On the UN's World Environment Day, we're spotlighting Brill's Journal for European Environment & Planning Law. Now in its 20th year, it publishes research and debate around environmental policies. As governments seek to limit the adverse effects of climate change, legal frameworks are key in ensuring countries across Europe tackle these challenges together. The board of editors is emblematic of the journal's cross-border and multidisciplinary approach. Under the helm of Lorenzo Squintani from the University of Groningen, the editors hail from universities and research institutes from a dozen European countries. This is just one small step we're taking to help protect our planet, by spreading the knowledge experts need to improve policies. Check out the journal here: https://lnkd.in/ejxuxgjy The declaration from the first World Environment Day in 1973 can be found in Brill's reference work "International Law & World Order": https://lnkd.in/exyz-Qtn #DeGruyterBrill #EnvironmentDay #EnvironmentalLaw

Since the beginning of the Master "Law and Sustainability" at Utrecht University,  I have been delving into the most challenging, yet topical issues of our time. From biodiversity loss to circular economy, the courses at Utrecht University have provided me with an all-rounded perspective on sustainability issues. I had the opportunity to be inspired by great lecturers, like Haomiao Du, who challenged us to think beyond the limits of the law with the course "Climate Law and Climate Science”. During this course we reflected together on how the world of science and the world of law interact within the context of climate change. Drawing from her own research, Haomiao highlighted the common challenges emerging from the cooperation between actors belonging to these two different fields. We reflected together on the importance for these two worlds to communicate, considering that sustainability issues can never be approached and resolved from one angle only. More specifically, climate change has been defined as a wicked problem: a complex issue, difficult to define, tackle and solve, for which no magic bullet exists. Neverthless, such cooperation appears rather complicated due to the inherent differences of actors belonging to these two worlds: climate scientists speak a language made of numbers, formulas and graphs, whereas climate legal experts see the world through principles, articles, and definitions. This is why, encouraged by Haomiao, I interviewed Dewi Le Bars, who is devoting his career to fight climate change. He is currently working as a climate research scientist at KNMI - Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, where he makes, among others, long-term sea-level projections. These are used to implement adaptation measures to climate change in the Netherlands and the whole world. While we discussed many interesting topics, I was curious to understand the status quo of this cooperation from his perspective. Are these two inseparable fortresses or communicating worlds? As always the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Hereby attached are some take-home message from our insightful conversation! The bottom line is that we need more sustainability experts - hybrid actors who are able to ask the right question, knowing that climate scientists’ answer will have figures and graphs, while climate lawyers might respond with a ten-page dissertation. The existence of a middle man would thereby facilitate and accelerate the ongoing transformation of climate law and climate science from two separate fortresses into communicating worlds. During this year I worked hard to become one of them!

📣Are you considering a PhD and intrigued by the legal myriad related to the blue consequences of the green transition? 💡The quest to ensure a resilient, fossil-free energy supply in order to achieve the 2050 Net Zero Carbon Goals stands as one of the most critical endeavors of our time in combating the climate crisis. Mitigating the biodiversity crises may be even more daunting. On top of that, we have only dipped toes into the larger pool of understanding more deeply how these crises interrelate 🌬️🌿🌎. ➡️One place to start is by recognizing the inherent link between stable climate systems and healthy marine ecosystems as intertwined factors, wherein individual alterations are mutually impactful. 🌊The imminent large-scale deployment of off-shore wind farms presents both risks and opportunities for marine biodiversity 🪸🦀, though the broader implications remain largely unchartered territory. Navigating the legal frameworks governing climate, energy, oceans, and biodiversity poses its own set of challenges. If this resonates with you, I would highly recommend applying for this PhD position focused on ‘Reconciling the Development of Offshore Wind Energy and the Protection of the Oceans in the EU’. This position is a collaborative effort between the Copenhagen based thinktank the Ocean Institute Tænketanken Hav and CLIMA - Centre for Climate Change Law and Governance at the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen Det Juridiske Fakultet, Københavns Universitet. I look very much forward to following the groundbreaking work that will emerge from this crucial and timely focus ✨ ❗The closing date for applications is 1st of May 2024, 23:59 CET. Beatriz Martinez Romera Liselotte Hohwy Stokholm Henriette Selck Karen Panum Quedens Schaarup https://lnkd.in/deWe9dKX