JJUA14119U Climate Change and the Law

The objective of the course is to provide students with a basic understanding of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol; the European regime on climate change; the interrelation between Energy Law and Climate Change; and negotiations on post 2012 commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol.

The course is divided in three parts.

The first part of the course covers the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol and its flexibility mechanisms. Focus is put on developments, principles, competences and right and duties of the parties. Included are also the negotiations on post 2012 commitments, and to familiarise the students with various options for further developments the course will include a negotiation exercise to be executed by the end of the course.

The second part of the course will focus on the European regime on climate change. It will cover the the EU regime on climate change, with a special focus on the European Union Emission Trading Scheme, its relevant regulation and case law and the relationship with other environmental legislation.

The third part will focus on the energy law aspects connected to climate change. Energy consumption is one of the main causes of green house gasses emissions. This part of the course will cover legal challenges posed by the need to substitute fossil fuels with alternative sources, the need for energy savings, and the potential to render traditional carbon based consumption ‘clean’ by extracting CO2 for storage.

On the first day of the course a detailed course description will be distributed in hard copy and uploaded on Absalon