Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law 

About: Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law is an academic journal published by Wiley. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): European union & Environmental law. It has an ISSN identifier of 2050-0386. Over the lifetime, 299 publications have been published receiving 3051 citations. The journal is also known as: Review of European, comparative and international environmental law & RECIEL.

The Legal Character of the Paris Agreement

Abstract: From start to finish, the question of legal form or character was central to the Paris negotiations. The Paris Agreement is a treaty within the definition of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, but not every provision of the agreement creates a legal obligation. It contains a mix of mandatory and non-mandatory provisions relating to parties’ mitigation contributions, as well as to the other elements of the Durban Platform, including adaptation and finance. One cannot definitively say how much the legally binding character of the Paris Agreement matters. Making the agreement legally binding may provide a greater signal of commitment and greater assurance of compliance. But transparency, accountability and precision can also make a significant difference, and legal bindingness can be a double-edged sword if it leads States not to participate or to make less ambitious commitments. Thus, the issue of legal character, though important, is only one factor in assessing the significance of the Paris outcome.

Aligning Transnational Climate Action with International Climate Governance: The Road from Paris

Abstract: Transnational climate actions have come to constitute a distinguishable sphere of climate governance. Reflecting on the Paris outcome, this article discusses the role of non-State and subnational actors – especially on the road to the Paris climate change conference. It argues that the intergovernmental and transnational spheres of global climate governance could mutually reinforce each other by continuing mobilization efforts to engage non-State actors and by harnessing greater ambition, both from State and non-State actors. For such mutual reinforcement to take effect, however, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change should engage non-State actors consistently and systematically. The article also argues that the Paris outcome and, above all, the building blocks that are part of the decision on enhancing pre-2020 action, constitute the most comprehensive framework of non-State engagement yet, offering a promising basis for mutual reinforcement of the intergovernmental and transnational spheres of global climate governance.

Follow-up and Review of the Sustainable Development Goals: Alignment vs. Internalization

Abstract: Follow-up and review arrangements will play a critical role in ensuring that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are effectively implemented, much of which will need to happen at the national level. This article examines the nature of commitments that countries have made and if follow-up and review arrangements currently planned are consistent with those. In particular, we consider the need to encompass both the global SDG targets and the nationally defined targets foreseen. We also discuss the balance between following up and reviewing outcomes vis-a-vis behaviour to achieve those outcomes. Following a review of current plans for follow-up and review, we further draw lessons from principal–agent theory and from the two predecessors of the SDGs, Agenda 21 and the Millennium Development Goals. We conclude that increased attention and visibility of nationally defined and internalized targets is likely to enhance implementation effectiveness, and that they should therefore be accommodated in the follow-up and review systems.

Regulating Planned Obsolescence: A Review of Legal Approaches to Increase Product Durability and Reparability in Europe

Abstract: Improving product durability and reparability can save natural resources and money for consumers but may not always be in the best interest of all manufacturers. With the emergence of the circular economy as an important policy objective in the European Union (EU), there is renewed interest in policies to promote durability and address planned obsolescence. Different legislative approaches are currently used to provide incentives for design for durability and reparability at the EU and Member State levels. The EU has started to regulate durability through the Ecodesign Directive, whereas Member States have made use of other legal approaches such as longer consumer warranties, the criminalization of planned obsolescence and measures to incentivize the availability of spare parts. In this contribution, we review some of the legislation in place and discuss benefits and disadvantages of different legal approaches.

Loss, Damage and Responsibility after COP21: All Options Open for the Paris Agreement

Abstract: The issue of ‘loss and damage’ has proven to be a legally and politically challenging one within the international climate change regime. This article presents a brief history of the issue, and reviews related Paris outcomes, focusing on the issues of compensation and liability, governance, financial support, insurance and displacement. It concludes that despite paragraph 51 of Decision 1/CP.21 adopting the Paris Agreement, all options remain open for the development of a system under the climate regime that can address the underlying concerns raised by small island developing States and others in calling for a system of compensation and liability. In the context of the 1.5 °C temperature limit and increasing climate impacts, this article also highlights the need for the Warsaw International Mechanism to play an active role in quantifying the scale of loss and damage that is projected from human-induced climate change in different regions and in different national contexts, over different time frames and at different emission pathways, and in sharing developments in attribution science, to help in the design of approaches to address loss and damage that are suited to assisting the most vulnerable developing country parties and to underscore the need for urgent emission reductions.