Recently, Kadir Has University Faculty of Law has established Climate Change and Law Laboratory (CCLLAB). CCLLAB organized a launching event as. Part of their Climate Change and Law Laboratory Seminars which took place in October 18th, 2021. The guest of this seminar was Prof. Dr. Christina Voigt from University of Oslo, Department of Public and International Law. She is one of the key persons in this field as the chair of IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law.
At the beginning of her lecture on “Current Issues of International Climate Law”, Professor Voigt developed a general legal framework by touching upon UN Climate Treaties, the Paris Agreement and expectations from COP26, Human Rights Law, Investment Law and Trade Law, UNCLOS, Customary Law and International Trade Law, peace and security and scientific background of climate change.
Professor Voigt gave information about the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was established to evaluate current scientific studies on climate change. The IPCC publishes an intelligence report every 5 to 7 years. The first part of the report deals with the physical facts behind climate change. The second and third parts, which will be published next year, will be about the effects of climate change and the measures that need to be taken. The report establishes five scenarios as to what the emission trajectories will look like, and according to Prof. Voigt, all five scenarios are realistic, all five are possible, and really, just depend on the choices we make today.
Prof. Voigt also mentioned UN Climate Treaties, which are three international agreements in force, and they are legally binding on the parties. These are the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol, and of course, its successor, the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement currently has 191 parties and is almost universal. It contains legally binding provisions but can be withdrawn by the parties. For example, the United States withdrawn from the Agreement in 2020, but then re-joined the Paris agreement in February this year. Also, Turkey ratified the Agreement this year and it entered into force on November 10th.
The audience was informed about the answer to the question of “How the Paris Agreement Works”. First, the goals of the Paris Agreement were explained. One of its goals is to keep the global rise in temperature well below 2 degrees or 1.5 degrees, if possible. The second is the adaptation goal, which speaks of increasing the ability to adapt the prospected adverse effects of climate change and promoting climate resilience. And finally, the third is the finance target for low greenhouse gas emissions and climate resilient development.
Later in her lecture, Prof. Voigt gave information on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). According to Art. 4.2 “each Party shall prepare, communicate, and maintain successive nationally determined contributions (NDCs) that it intends to achieve”. Art. 4.9 also stipulates that “each Party shall communicate a nationally determined contribution every five years”. So, parties are required to put forward an NDC every five years, and this will show progress on climate change measures. Parties must apply the Paris Agreement to their national legal systems and national legal frameworks. The Paris Agreement has a crucial impact on the interpretation and legal implementation of laws. It also recognizes the link between human rights and climate issues.
Professor Voigt then touched on the problems about trade and investment law. Passing climate or energy legislation can sometimes interfere with investor protection. For example, in countries that really want to withdraw from oil or coal, such as Germany or the Netherlands, investors and large companies seek compensation based on energy regulation for their lost investments in the domestic oil sector. How to balance the need for investment protection and strong climate regulation is a hot topic.
The relationship between climate law and other branches of law was also pointed out. Prof. Voigt talked about the concept of "ecocide" and the idea that "ecocide" should be defined as a fifth offense by the international criminal court. The prohibition of transboundary harm under customary law is a pillar of international environmental law. This situation raises the questions of "How can this principle be applied; can it be applied in the context of climate change damage; can states demand compensation from each other for this?" Another discussion on this subject is related to the non-refoulement principle. Climate change migrants currently do not enjoy any protection under international refugee law and applicability of non-refoulement principle to climate migrants is still disputed.
Professor Voigt also briefly touched upon the problems of the oceans. For example, the maritime zones and economic zones of small islands are adversely affected by sea level rise. These issues are coming up (and luckily, we will be able to listen to these issues from Dr. Nilüfer Oral on the second session of our Climate Change and Law Seminars).
Professor Christina Voigt ended her speech with the following words: ''Each of these topics contains fascinating legal questions. These questions do not have an answer yet because we don’t have authoritative judgment internationally or we don’t have a treaty addressing the particular topic of climate change. There is certainly a lot of work to be done and many fascinating topics to be discussed at CCLLAB's future seminars.”
Before attending this conference, I was unaware that climate change had been affecting our lives so much. Thanks to Christina Voigt's deep knowledge, I am now able to examine this issue from a broader perspective. For example, I had never thought about its negative impact on investors and international trade. I also think the impact of sea level rise on island nations is interesting. Reflecting on the unanswered legal questions of the effects of climate change on different fields is really interesting and encourages me to research the issue.
We are thankful for her participation and look forward to CCLLAB's upcoming seminars!