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Navigating Net Zero Via the Law  

Union of Concerned Scientists

Our study, which examined net-zero legislation and litigation in Brazil, China, Germany, and the United States, will become even more pertinent as nations grapple with implementing their commitments under the Paris Agreement from 2015 and the more recent consensus reached in Dubai.

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Germany’s Role in Climate Policy

Legal Planet

Climate law makes emission targets legally binding 2019. German parliament adopts a law to end coal use by 2038 at the latest. Amendments to the Climate Action Law are adopted, setting a binding 2045 date for carbon neutrality, with a 2031 target of a 65% emissions reduction compared with 1990. Renewables are 42% of electricity.

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Swiss Women Lead the Way in Historic Climate Justice Victory

Union of Concerned Scientists

This victory sets a precedent for future climate litigation, affirming that climate action is a legal duty of states under human rights law. They sought to hold Portugal and 32 other countries accountable for not meeting the emissions reduction targets set under the 2015 Paris climate accord.

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California’s Climate Leadership: A Timeline

Legal Planet

The Golden State has adopted a slew of climate change laws over the past twenty years, and an even greater number of regulations. 2015 SB350. That would be even more obvious if the timeline included the host of less notable, but still significant, laws passed during the same time period. 2002 SB1078. AB 1493 (Pavley Act).

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What do U.S. states do at a COP, anyway?

Legal Planet

Photo credit Alexandra Gay, member of the UCLA Law delegation that year. Under international law, only countries can be parties to these instruments, not U.S. They are often left to deal with climate effects on the ground, from wildfires to sea level rise to drought, and they can provide a political bulwark of sorts even as U.S.

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Brazil Advances in Climate Change Litigation

Legal Planet

The movement follows a worldwide upsurge in climate change-related cases, which have more than doubled since 2015. Treaties on environmental law are a type of human rights treaty, and, for that reason, enjoy supranational status. This “supranational status” means that these treaties are above the “regular” laws in the legal hierarchy.

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Pope Francis’ 2015 Encyclical: The Environmental Reader’s Digest Version

Vermont Law

On May 24, 2015 Pope Francis used his. as a vehicle to call for a sweeping transformation of politics, economics, and lifestyles to tackle environmental degradation and climate change. there is an urgent need for politics and economics to enter into a frank dialogue in the service of life, especially human life.” encyclical.

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