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Principles of International Law and the Adoption of a Market-Based Mechanism for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Shipping: New Sabin Center White Paper

Law Columbia

Achieving the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting warming to “well below” 2°C above pre-industrial levels requires urgent and serious steps to reduce greenhouse gas. Shipping currently makes up nearly 3% of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHG) released worldwide, and those emissions are on track to increase.

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Sea level in the IPCC 6th assessment report (AR6)

Real Climate

The IPCC has introduced a new high-end risk scenario, stating that a global rise “approaching 2 m by 2100 and 5 m by 2150 under a very high greenhouse gas emissions scenario cannot be ruled out due to deep uncertainty in ice sheet processes.”. The IPCC gives more consideration to the large long-term sea-level rise beyond the year 2100.

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Navigating the Intersection of Climate Change and the Law of the Sea: Exploring the ITLOS Advisory Opinion’s Substantive Content

Law Columbia

The first part asks the Court to unpack the State Parties’ obligations to prevent, reduce, and control pollution of the marine environment “caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.” The question is divided into two parts.

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The Rights of Nature — Can an Ecosystem Bear Legal Rights?

Law Columbia

As part of its consideration, the court emphasized the need for the government to uphold the precautionary principle of protecting the rights to life, sustainability, and dignity of communities surrounding the project areas. Can we reach this goal? That remains to be seen.

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Guest Commentary: An Unexpected Success for Czech Climate Litigation

Law Columbia

The applicants asked the court to order the defendants to take necessary and proportionate measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to climate change within six months. The court argued that each country could be held accountable for its share of emissions and noted the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

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Guest commentary: A ground-breaking judgment in Germany

Law Columbia

On April 29, 2021 the German Constitutional Court (the Bundesverfassungsgericht, or GCC) rendered a ground-breaking judgment, requiring the German government to establish specific plans to achieve its mid-century greenhouse gas emissions goal. (An An English press release is available here. Germany seemingly still aims (hopes?)

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Environmental Law: Government and Public Policy Towards the Environment

Environmental Science

For example, the ongoing debate over the impact of certain pesticides in agriculture , greenhouse gas emissions are often a battle between the science and industry's attempts to muddy the science and government lobbying to roll back legislation (2). Typically used in conjunction with “greenhouse gas” but some emissions are not GHGs.