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The article discusses the role of the journal Climate Policy in addressing the challenges of climate change. The new editors-in-chief and editor emphasize three areas of attention: blurring the boundaries between climate policy and other decision-making spheres, engaging with diverse perspectives from the Global South, and thinking beyond incrementalism. The article acknowledges both progress and limitations in addressing climate change, highlighting the need for deeper engagement and critical thinking on emergent issues. The editors also express their commitment to expanding the scope of the journal, including perspectives from and on the Global South, and exploring disruptive approaches to climate policy. [Extracted from the article]

The global climate crisis demands that all branches of government play a role in tackling climate change, including the judiciary. One important mechanism is climate litigation. In the adjudication of climate litigation, courts can advance the protection of human rights, promote environmental values, assist in developing climate change law and policy, and uphold the rule of law. However, some Latin American countries are facing several constitutional and legal barriers to adequately protecting environmental and human rights enshrined in their constitutions. Through analysis of the Chilean and Ecuadorian contexts, this note identifies obstacles and barriers that might prevent human rights' protection in each jurisdiction when adjudicating climate cases and proposes reforms that may strengthen courts' performance. Among the options are strengthening existing environmental and human rights provisions, developing new legal frameworks addressing climate change, and enhancing the capacity of courts to hear and decide climate change cases. Furthermore, these reforms must be accompanied by adequate resources, training, and support for the judiciary effectively to advance climate justice through human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chilean Climate Change Law excludes tree monocultures as a solution to the climate crisis, offering an opportunity for resilience and climate mitigation in Latin America. The Chilean experience with mega-fires in extensive, homogeneous forest plantations provides important lessons that could inform climate policies in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Last Chance Tourism. 500 Places to See Before They Disappear. 100 Places to Go Before They Disappear. As these (real) book titles attest, climate change, often in combination with loss of biodiversity, has created a new kind of ecotourism, which we term eco-necrotourism--the desire to see natural wonders and rare species before they are lost or transformed forever. As a scholarly topic, eco-necrotourism is a small facet of an emerging necessity for climate change law and policy: the need for planners, managers, lawmakers, and policy writers to consider human psychological responses to climate change and its impacts. However, those responses will be place- and culture-specific, making this new component of climate change adaptation law as varied and complex as climate change adaptation itself. This Article offers a manageable starting place for theorists, managers, and policymakers: the potential impacts of human psychological responses to climate impacts on management of the world's nature parks. Eco-necrotourism emerges from the intersection of two separately observed phenomena: the long-acknowledged promotion of last chance tourism and the relatively recent naming and explorations of ecological grief. While these two phenomena have become active topics of discussion in other disciplines, this Article is the first, we believe, to discuss their intersection and the emergence of eco-necrotourism as legal problems. Thus, this Article's first contribution to the legal literature is to demonstrate to readers--most importantly public lands managers--that eco-necrotourism is both real (at least for certain public natural wonders) and important for nature park managers who must increasing deal with climate change and its impacts, including the psychological responses of former, existing, and future visitors. The exact implications of eco-necrotourism for managers will, of course, vary according to the impacts that a nature park is experiencing, how tourism intersects with those impacts, and the legal authorities governing management of the protected area. Nevertheless, eco-necrotourism surfaces at least four novel and significant considerations for management: cognizing visitor psychological responses in adaptation planning; the need to reconceptualize use and access; preparing for the last visitor problem; and interrogating the meaning and methods of achieving intergenerational equity. More generally, however, this Article provides the first concrete example of how subjective human psychological responses may complicate climate change adaptation planning. Specifically, instead of merely assessing likely climate change impacts and mapping scenarios--with, of course, input from the relevant communities, individuals, and interest groups--managers and governments will increasingly need to acknowledge that building capacity to address psychological reactions to climate change impacts is a crucial part of climate change adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a global issue that affects every country, a pressing issue that requires global response. Nigeria is one of the countries that are most affected by climate change. The Nigerian government has recognized the impact of climate change on the country's economy, health, and environment, and has put in place laws and policies to address the issue. However, the question remains whether these laws and policies are effective in mitigating the impact of climate change or if they are simply symbolic gestures with no real impact on the ground. This paper examines the Nigerian climate change laws and policies to determine whether they are contributing to progress or stagnation. The paper provides an overview of the Nigerian climate change laws and policies, including the Climate Change Policy and Response Strategy (2012) and the National Climate Change Policy (2013). It1 also examines the legal framework for climate change in Nigeria, including the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) and the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (1992). The paper then analyses the effectiveness of Nigeria's climate change laws and policies, especially the 2021 Act. The analysis is based on a review of relevant literature, as well as interviews with key stakeholders in Nigeria's climate change sector. The analysis reveals that while Nigeria has made some progress in addressing climate change, there are still significant challenges to be overcome. These challenges include a lack of funding, limited public awareness and understanding of climate change, and weak institutional frameworks. It concludes by recommending measures that can be taken to improve Nigeria's climate change laws and policies. Overall, the paper suggests that while Nigeria has made some progress in addressing climate change, there is still much work to be done to ensure that the country is better prepared to tackle this critical issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When taking an active part in international climate governance, the Chinese government places emphasis in the legislation on addressing climate change, which is the key process to make climate change policy propelled actively. This article aims to explore how to establish China's climate change legislation system in the post-Paris era, to achieve China's goal of "carbon peak and carbon neutralization," and better fulfill the emission reduction obligations under the Paris Agreement. Drawing on approaches suggested by the Dawes Matrix, to explain a climate law system which is based on "three integrated layers" in China, this article proposes the core layer of policy-oriented integrated climate change law, the most significant layer for the legislation on mitigation and adaptation, the supportive layer involving safeguard system related to various administration regulations, department measures and local legislation, as well as relevant guide policies of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, climate citizens' assemblies – randomly selected representative citizens gathered to make policy recommendations on greenhouse gas emissions targets – have gained in popularity as a potential innovative solution to the failure of governments to design and adopt ambitious climate change laws and policies. This article appraises the process and outcomes of three climate citizens' assemblies held at the national level – in Ireland, France and the United Kingdom – and evaluates their contributions to the making of climate law and policy. In doing so, it first looks at whether citizens' assemblies have the ability to improve the substance of climate law and suggests that they face difficulties in providing an integrated, holistic response to the climate problem. It then explores how citizens' assemblies have fed into subsequent legislative processes to show their positive influence and draws lessons for our understanding of the role of citizens' assemblies in climate lawmaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution considers the climate change law and policy positions in South Africa and Mauritius, and examnies the national strategies employed by these two African jurisdictions in adaptation to climate change and mitigation of climate change in terms of the Paris Agreement and with reference to the principle of common but differentiated responsibility. In addition, the nationally determined contributions of both countries, with regard to adaptation and mitigation, are considered and the related legislative and policy developments in South Africa and Mauritius are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resolutions and other key documents adopted in the last few years by the international community provide that greater coherence and integration between law and policies on climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) can lead to more efficient use of available resources, and more effective action in reducing human vulnerabilities and exposure to climate and disaster risks. Moving from the analytical background provided by the 'informal international law' theory (IN-LAW), the purpose of this study is to evaluate how the combination of formal and informal law-making processes affects the coherent implementation of different normative instruments defining the current global agenda on climate risk governance. Normative developments in three different institutional contexts (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction – 'Sendai system'; and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement) will be assessed, in light of recent developments on the drafting, endorsement and implementation of relevant normative instruments. The analysis will be corroborated by references to the effects that greater synergies between these frameworks can generate at the regional and domestic levels, as demonstrated by evidence collected in three different countries (Fiji, the Philippines, and Dominica) between 2019 and 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A substantial literature explains the adoption of climate change acts and their impact on climate policy once adopted. In contrast, we know very little about the processes leading to the non-adoption of climate change acts and the subsequent consequences for climate policymaking. This contribution aims at filling this gap by analysing the non-adoption of the Belgian bill for a climate change law. Proposed in February 2019, the Belgian bill for a climate change law was debated but then rejected very soon after, at the end of March 2019. Taking the non-adoption of the Belgian bill on climate change as an enlightening case study, this contribution investigates the impact of climate change act non-adoption on climate policies by: (i) questioning how climate change acts are drafted, and the role of academic experts for such a task in a context of climate emergency; (ii) analysing the reception and discussion of the bill on climate action, including within civil society; and (iii) tracing the follow-up actions undertaken in the wake of the bill's non-adoption. The research relies on documentary analysis (climate change act drafts and final text, parliamentary discussions, non-governmental organizations' archives), interviews with key actors and an exploratory questionnaire with climate activists. Although it was not adopted, we argue that the climate change act project has opened new opportunities to rethink expertise and climate mobilization in Belgium. Key Policy Insights Even when climate change bills fail, they can still have important political or policy effects in the future by raising awareness for the impacts of climate change. When proposing new laws, academic experts should be well informed about the timing and conditions of the political agenda. Consultations with civil society on climate change law projects would increase public awareness and pressure for adoption. Including other important societal causes related to social, economic, decolonial and gender issues, would be key to broadening the impact of the climate movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, Mexican climate policy has captured worldwide attention for its ambition and level of commitment to international goals. Mexico was one of the first countries to adopt a climate change act, the 2012 General Law on Climate Change (referred to as the Mexican Climate Act, MCA). However, Mexico has been unable to fulfil its self-imposed climate goals and the innovative national climate legislation has only produced limited results. By assessing the functioning of the Inter-Ministerial Commission on Climate Change (CICC) and the National System on Climate Change (SINACC), this article analyses how and why climate policy fragmentation occurs during MCA implementation. This paper argues that the lack of integration observed in the Mexican case is the result of a dynamic process characterized by multi-level paralysis, which is caused by three interconnected factors: (1) weakness of the Mexican federal system affecting vertical integration of climate policy (CPI); (2) ambiguities in MCA mandates impeding horizontal CPI; and (3) uneven leadership in Mexican climate policy that generates a breach between promises made abroad and actual domestic implementation capacities. The empirical findings of this paper are based upon quantitative and qualitative content analyses applied to the minutes of meetings of both the CICC and the SINACC, together with 22 elite-interviews with officers close to the policy process. This paper concludes that if there is a blueprint for organizing the Mexican administrative system, it has to start with rethinking the role of climate federalism. Key policy insights Mexican climate policy suffers from policy fragmentation and administrative instruments conceived for integration are not functioning properly. A reform of both is needed. Three interconnected factors generate policy fragmentation in Mexico: weakness of the Mexican federal system affecting collaboration across levels of government (vertical CPI); ambiguities in MCA mandates impeding coordination (horizontal CPI); and uneven leadership that generates a breach between the promises made abroad and actual domestic implementation capacities. Mexico has to rethink the role of climate federalism. The country adopted a model not suitable to its political and administrative culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution aims to examine EU policies and law on climate change, in order to understand the role the Union plays in the fight against this phenomenon and the relationship between the actions to combat it, the provisions set to protect fundamental rights and the achievement of the sustainable development goals set out in the 2030 Agenda. To this end, the analysis addresses the issue of the existence of an internal and external EU competence in this area, and it focuses on the role of the European institutions in defining climate policy and relevant legislation, in particular with regard to the European Green Deal, as well as with regard to international negotiations in which the EU participated, most recently Cop-26. Finally, in the light of recent ECJ case law, particular attention is paid to the problematic aspects inherent to access to climate justice in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims at reconstructing the history - since its inception until today - of climate change policy and legislation developed at a central/federal level in the European Union and the United States. The comparative-historical approach shows how the EU and US domestic climate change policy and law are intertwined with the development of the international climate change regime and how their actions as well as their omissions are strongly affecting the international arena. Despite the EU and US are now only two of the many actors seating at a global negotiation table they are still able to continue shaping the framework of this paramount debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable portfolio standard (RPS) laws are among the most important climate change policies, requiring a minimum percentage of electricity from clean energy sources. From 2015–2022 in the U.S., eleven states enacted 100 % RPS laws and seven others strengthened their targets. This study examines the issue framing behind these recent RPS laws, which reflects and affects the political context surrounding the policies, people's views, and support among stakeholders. Through coding of policy documents, the study evaluates how policymakers have framed the policies, differences in framing between states with 100 % and non-100 % RPS targets, and variation in framing connected with political party and partisan votes. Surprisingly, given recommendations in the literature to downplay climate issues and emphasize economics, lawmakers predominantly framed 100 % clean energy laws based on climate change. Policymakers that adopted non-100 % RPS laws utilized less climate framing and garnered more Republican Party legislator votes. The results indicate a distinction in framing between more modest and ambitious climate policies, raising a question about the applicability of recommendations urging minimization of climate messaging to transformative climate and clean energy policy efforts. Depending on political conditions, climate framing may be effective for ambitious energy approaches. • Study finds a distinction in issue framing between more modest and ambitious policies. • Climate framing behind 100 % RPS laws, economics behind more modest policies. • Recommendations to downplay climate framing may not apply to ambitious policy efforts. • Non-climate framing likely has a policy ceiling for justifying clean energy actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ways in which climate adaptation is understood in the European Union is examined via three key policy documents: the Strategy on adaptation and the Green and White Papers that preceded it. Drawing on Poststructuralist Discourse Theory, light is shed on the implicit values and assumptions that underpin this recent policy initiative. The findings demonstrate a tension between the declared ambition to act on adaptation and implicit suggestions that nothing really has to change, and the challenge can be addressed by market and technological innovations, and by mainstreaming adaptation into existing sectoral policies. The policy discourse effectively serves to depoliticize choices societies make in response to climate change, presenting adaptation as a non-political issue. Insight into European adaptation discourse enables deeper understanding of recent policy developments and opens up possible entry points for critique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate cost-effective climate policy instruments for bioenergy and timber, adapted to the impacts on interdependent forest carbon pools, and applied in the EU climate policy to 2050. We develop a discrete time dynamic model including forest carbon pools in biomass, soil, and products, as well as fossil fuel consumption. The analytical results show that the optimal taxes on forest products depend on the growth in the respective carbon pool. The application to the EU 2050 climate policy for emission trading shows that total costs for target achievement can be reduced by 33 percent if all carbon pools are included, and the carbon tax on fossil fuel can be reduced by 50 percent. Optimal taxes on forest products differ among countries and over time depending on the potential for increased carbon sequestration over the planning period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the role of the China as a leader in the global climate change mitigation following the withdrawal of U.S. President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris Climate Conference in 2017. Topics include the effects of China to position itself as the leader in fighting global warming, the evolution of its climate change policies and its emission reduction targets by 2030.

The recent changes in environmental laws of such Asian countries like China, Thailand, and Vietnam provide their courts with the extensive powers to protect the environment. The judiciary within the national political institutions of many Asian countries now has sufficient legal powers to apply the general principles of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) when interpreting and enforcing their domestic laws. The recent developments of judicial policies in a number of Asian countries indicate that the courts are more willing to take general environmental considerations seriously. However, these powers have not been used so far to control greenhouse gas emissions due to a number of political and cultural influences. The paper will examine the challenges which stand before the courts in a number of Asian countries to enforce international law on Climate Change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of democracy on governments’ choice of environmental policies has attracted significant academic attention in recent years. However, less attention has been devoted to the role of the social cognitive capital of the national population. Does society's cognitive capital matter in governmental choice regarding environmental policies, if at all? This study addresses this question through a large-N analysis of 94 countries accounting for the role of both political regimes and social capital in governmental choice of climate change policies. We find that higher social cognitive capital within a democratic state radically increases that state's commitment to adopt environmental policies. More specifically, a 1-point increase in the democracy index is associated with nearly 5 points increase in the adoption of the Climate Laws, Institutions and Measures Index (CLIMI). In a similar vein, a 10 points increase in social cognitive capital is associated with a nearly 16 points increase in CLIMI. The findings presented in this study aim to contribute to the ongoing debate on the impact of democracy and the cognitive capital of society on international environmentalism. The findings will also be interesting for scholars working on the impact of political institutional factors and the role of society in environmental policy choices made at the international level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International climate change law is at a critical juncture. Two decades of international treaty negotiations have delivered rising greenhouse gas emissions and minimal adaptation funding. The pattern of negotiations suggests that key States will often only make significant commitments that are aligned with their material interests and reciprocated by their competitors. This 'logic of reciprocity' in international climate negotiations has limited ambition such that vulnerable States are facing existential threats from sea level rise, storm surge and salt-water inundation. We consider whether the international legal system offers any alternative logics that might found a duty on emitters to reduce their emissions in a timelier fashion and respond to climate-change-induced forced migration. We therefore focus on the foundational principle of the self-determination of peoples, a collective human right which has supported movements towards decolonization and the emancipation of oppressed peoples. We argue that self-determination might offer an alternative logic of duty on high-emitting States to the plight of populations who find their territory (and potentially their nationhood) under threat from anthropogenic climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change represents, perhaps, the greatest challenge of the twenty-first century. As temperatures and sea levels rise, governments around the world will face massive and unprecedented human displacement that international law currently has no mechanism to address. While estimates vary, the scope of the migration crisis that the world will face in the coming decades is startling. In addition to losing their homes, climate change migrants, under current law, will encounter a refugee system governed by a decades-old Refugee Convention that offers neither protection nor the right to resettle in a more habitable place. Armed with the most recent developments in international climate change law following the December 2015 Paris climate conference (COP21), this Note considers which of the existing bodies in the United Nations is best equipped to address forced migration caused by climate change. Inspired by the negotiations leading up to the Paris Conference, this Note advocates for a Climate Change Displacement Coordination Facility, housed within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to protect the rights of displaced persons. Finally, this Note maps out an institutional architecture and a long-term vision for a Displacement Coordination Facility. As opposed to an amendment of the 1951 Refugee Convention or a new rights-based treaty for climate migration, a Facility housed within the UNFCCC provides the greatest possible flexibility, autonomy, and cultural retention for climate change migrants while still protecting their essential human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Durban Platform for Enhanced Action negotiations are likely to lead to a Paris outcome that embodies a hybrid climate policy architecture, combining top-down elements, such as for monitoring, reporting, and verification, with bottom-up elements, including ‘Intended Nationally Determined Contributions’ from participating countries, detailing plans to reduce emissions, based on national circumstances. For such a system to be cost-effective – and thus more likely to embody greater ambition – a key feature will be linkages among regional, national, and sub-national climate policies. By linkage, we mean formal recognition by a mitigation programme in one jurisdiction of emission reductions undertaken in another jurisdiction for the purposes of complying with the first jurisdiction's requirements. The Paris outcome could play at least four different roles with respect to linkage of heterogeneous policy instruments. First, it could discourage linkage, either by not allowing countries to count international transfers toward their mitigation contributions, or by limiting the number or types of transferred units that can be counted for compliance purposes. Second, it could be silent on the topic of linkage, creating legal and regulatory uncertainty about whether international transfers are allowed. Third, it could expressly authorize linkage but not provide any further details about how linkage should occur, leaving it to future United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiating sessions to work out the details or to national governments to develop bilateral or multilateral linkage arrangements. Finally, the Paris outcome could establish institutional arrangements and rules that facilitate and promote linkage. We examine how a future international policy architecture could help facilitate the growth and operation of a robust system of international linkages. Several design elements merit serious consideration for inclusion in the Paris outcome, either in the core agreement or by establishing a process for subsequent international elaboration. At the same time, including detailed linkage rules in the core agreement is not desirable because this could make it difficult for rules to evolve in light of experience. Policy relevance These findings have implications for the efficient and effective design of an international climate policy architecture by detailing the role that linkage can play in supporting heterogeneous climate policies at the regional, national, and sub-national levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The OECD countries are failing to fulfil their obligation towards the implementation of the objectives of SDG 7 and SDG 13. The failure of OECD countries is major constraint concerning global progress on curbing GHG emissions and mitigation of climatic changes as it provides rationale for developing countries to avoid their commitments. Therefore, the major focus of COP26 was to explore policy options for sustainable transition of energy from fossil fuel to clean renewables. This study analyzes the impact of innovation in environmental technology along with various policy regimes on energy transition in OECD countries from 2000 to 2019. The driving factors of energy transition in OECD countries are analyzed, under moderation of environmental governance regimes. This objective is realized by constructing an Energy Transition Index that accounts for the movement along the energy ladder. This index is developed using the Energy Ladder Hypothesis. Using two-step system-GMM and segregating the sample across level of emissions, the results show that the regional authority augments the energy transition, while enforecement of the climate change laws shows mixed results. Based on the study outcomes, a policy framework is recommended for attaining the SDG objectives by realigning the climate change adaptation and mitigation policies. • Study aims at analyzing the energy transition drivers in the OECD countries. • Moderation of environmental governance is analyzed. • Energy Transition Index is developed. • Climate change adaptation policies are less effective than mitigation policies. • An SDG-oriented policy framework is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case 'American Electric Power Co. inc. v. Connecticut' in which the court restricts plaintiff options for climate change litigation.

The article presents an analysis of the British national climate and energy governance framework, which is most prominently articulated in national law under the terms of the Climate Change Act (CCA) 2008 and its supporting legislation. Topics include provisions of CCA 2008, key aspects of the complex constitutional environment in which the CCA 2008 operates, and manner and extent to which the legislation has endeavored to structure relationships across the British tiers of governance.

This paper suggests how the regulation of Solar Radiation Management (SRM) field research in Europe could be designed to maximise the possibility of securing legitimacy. It argues that legitimacy is maximised when regulatory frameworks are legal, and also responsive, flexible, deliberative and inclusive. By adopting an 'incorporated' approach to assessing the risk of Solar Radiation Management (SRM) field research, the EU can import elements of 'directly deliberative polyarchy' into its otherwise orthodox constitutional regulatory approach thereby maximising legitimacy. The argument is new in so far as it juxtaposes two conceptions of procedural legitimacy - one institutional and the other functional - in the context of significant scientific uncertainty in the technocratic regulatory paradigm of the EU. The significance of the work is that it draws on these conceptions of legitimacy to advance a pragmatic model of institutional design which comprises procedures that maximise legitimacy with minimal disruption to the EU's institutional balance of powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate engineering in general and solar radiationmanagement (SRM) in particular raise profound and complex political, legal, social, and ethical questions that go well beyond technicalfeasibility issues. We consider three such questions. First, can existing EU decision-making processes accommodate sufficient public engagement to ensure legitimate decisions on SRM? Second, does politics influence the choice of legislative procedure for SRM regulation? Third, does the choice of legislative procedure influence the likelihood of SRMimplementation? Three main conclusions emerge from our analysis. First, existing EU decision-making processes can - given certain conditions - accommodate considerable public engagement and hence ensure legitimate decisions on SRM. Second, politics matters; indeed, the EU's choice of legislative procedure concerning SRM may well become subject to political negotiations. Finally, the choice of legislative procedure may substantially influence the likelihood of SRM implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the prospects for the European Union (EU) to develop a coherent policy regarding climate engineering (CE). It discusses significant legal parameters derived from EU law from which such a future EU policy would have to arise. . It is opined that climate engineering carries risks unlike any of the previous policy responses to climate change.

This brief opinion piece draws upon behavioural and cognitive research to argue that the Paris Agreement's goal of keeping global temperature change below 2 degrees Celsius sets a psychologically powerful baseline against which future policy failures can be measured. When international law successfully triggers perception of a baseline, it can lead decisionmakers to perceive deviations from that baseline as "losses." This implicates loss aversion, which provides an additional motivation to achieve international norms. The psychological impacts of this new status quo may end up being more powerful and more durable than either the unusual structure of the document or the domestic implementation questions that have already attracted so much scholarly debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's views on the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. It is opined that the definitions of climate change under the Paris Agreement's policy and science sphere are inconsistent and apocryphal, which impedes the scientific enterprise of climate research. It is stated that climate science is policy-led instead of climate policy being science-led, as the Paris Agreement seems to require.

The article presents the author's views on the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, concluded at COP-21 in December 2015. It is opined that the Paris Agreement would appear to be a procedural framework for future, flexible climate policy- making by the parties, dressed up with some non-binding language that emphasizes ambition and progression.

The article presents the author's views on how agriculture and food security issues are related to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. It is opined that it is difficult to measure emissions at the individual farm level since a variety of factors determine the amount of emissions. It is stated that agriculture is among the sectors that will be badly affected by climate change.

Decision-making is framed as the response to scientific findings, where uncertainties are deep rooted in both climate change itself and the implementation of policy. However, responses to the challenge of communicating uncertainty to policy makers clearly and simply are insufficient, and this situation is being exploited to undermine the implementation of policy and crisis preparedness for climate change impacts. Although expert knowledge using high-resolution projection is particularly useful for community-based adaptation, these data are fraught with uncertainty, and are not freely available to be used in local decision-making processes. This paper has several aims: 1) to promote a web platform for accessible climate projection services so vital in support of local adaptation decision-making and stakeholder participation, especially in depopulated/undeveloped areas; 2) to propose a visualization approach to articulating a clear understanding of the confidence intervals in high resolution (5-km resolution) projections, for the implementation of valid adaptation strategies and reliable actionable planning; and 3) to provide an appropriate and simple method of adjusting bias and quantifying the uncertainty in future outcomes, so that regional climate projections may be transcribed into useful forms for a wide variety of different users. Our discussion focuses on capitalizing on the 5-km resolution projections for application in community-based adaptation planning in Japan, so that communities can take appropriate and effective actions themselves via the web platform. This methodology (climate projection services) could be transferred to developing countries to assist in the creation of plans for the adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can economic development and the fight against climate change be integrated successfully'? What role, if any, does international investment law play in global climate governance? Can foreign direct investments (FDI) be tools in the struggle against climate change? What types of claims have foreign investors brought with regard to climate change-related regulatory measures before investment treaty arbitral tribunals? This Article examines the specific question as to whether foreign direct investments can mitigate and/or aggravate climate change. The interplay between climate change and foreign direct investments is largely underexplored and in need of systematization. To map this nexus, this Article proceeds as follows. First, it examines the conceptualization of climate as a global public good. Second, it considers it as an environmental issue. Third, it scrutinizes its conceptualization as a human rights issue. Fourth, it explores critical legal issues raised by the complex interplay between climate change and foreign direct investments. Fifth, it critically assesses several current case studies. Sixth, the Article will present some legal tools to achieve a balance between the different interests at stake. The conclusion will then sum up the key findings of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is now a major aspect of public policy. There are almost 500 identified climate change laws in the world’s leading economies. This paper reviews the main domestic factors that drive this legislation. The analysis is based on a unique dataset of climate legislation in 66 national jurisdictions for the period 1990–2013. We find that the passage of new climate laws is influenced by several factors. One important factor is the quantity and quality of previous legislation: the propensity to pass more laws decreases non-linearly with the stock of existing legislation, but increases in the presence of a strategic “flagship law” that sets an overall framework for climate policy. Contrary to widespread belief, political orientation is not a decisive factor. We find no significant difference in the number of laws passed by left-wing and right-wing governments, except perhaps in Anglo-Saxon countries. However, left-leaning governments are more inclined to pass laws in difficult economic times. Despite these elements of bipartisanship, political economy factors still matter: In democracies climate laws are less likely to be passed immediately before an election and legislation is aided by a strong executive that can take on vested interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change poses governance challenges at diverse scales and across the dimensions of risk and responsibility. Local governments are central to the delivery of action on both decarbonisation and adapting to the risks of climate change. Yet there are likely to be significant differences across local governments in terms of their capacity to act on climate change. This research documents and explains differences in the capacity to act within response spaces to risks to transport infrastructure and systems. We examine 80 Transport Plans across local governments in England, specifically their efforts to incorporate climate change adaptation. Data are generated from content analysis of the 80 documents and key informant interviews in a sample of 15% of authorities. The results show significant disparities across authorities. We explain differential outcomes as dependent on internal coordination, local prioritisation processes and political opposition. The results highlight that there are significant governance barriers associated with differential response capacity in the face of climate change risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information about the United Nation (UN) Climate Summit hosted by Ban Ki-Moon in New York on September 23, 2014. Topics discussed include role of the UN summit in producing effective climatic agreement, aim of the summit to regulate climatic changes, and the aims of regulating the challenges of deforestation.

The article presents the author's views on climate change with specific reference to the policy of European Union (EU) in this regard. It is informed that the Commission has adopted very aggressive targets for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, and intends to allocate 20 percent of the EU's budget for climate-related activities. It mentions that Europe was at the forefront in crafting the new Paris climate agreement.

A correction to the article "What drives national support for multilateral climate finance? International and domestic influences on Australia's shifting stance" is presented.