Climate Law and Governance Day 2017

Background
 

Legal and institutional transformations are needed to support global and local efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and to foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development, and to make finance flows consistent with a pathway towards such development. Indeed, over 160 countries have stressed the importance of legal and institutional reforms in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) submitted to deliver on the Paris Agreement, with more than 50 of these countries specifically stressing the need for climate legal and institutional capacity-building to be able to achieve their objectives. The many delegates and experts who gathered for COP23 included many leading climate law and governance experts of the world presenting a unique opportunity to share ideas, debate trends and advances, and build legal momentum for climate action.

Download and read the full proceedings report here. CLGD 2017 Proceedings Report. The latest version of the programme for the day is available here. You can also click here to download biographies of the speakers and chairs.

CLGD 2017 welcomed over 270 jurists, legal researchers, IGO officers, parliamentarians, delegates, legal professionals, students, and professors, to discuss the research and capacity building obstacles and opportunities to addressing these legal and institutional challenges. The Day drew from the expertise of more than 100 expert speakers to catalyse discussion amongst this diverse audience over fourteen plenary, roundtable and workshop sessions. These discussions built on key preparatory events held this year, especially Islands Rising to the Climate Challenge: The 2017 Pacific Climate Law and Governance Symposium on the 20th of October 2017 at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji, following the Pre-COP23 Climate Change Conference in Fiji.

The Day was chaired by co-hosts Prof. Dr. Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger of CISDL, Prof.Dr. Wolfgang Durner of Univeristy of Bonn, and Prof. Wesley Morgan of the University of the South Pacific. It opened with keynote addresses from The Hon Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Attorney-General & Minister Responsible for Climate Change, Fiji as well as leading climate law practitioners Dr. Martijn Wilder (Senior Partner, Baker & McKenzie LLP) & Dr. Dörte Fouquet (Senior Counsel, BBH).

Sessions held during the day

The discussions and sessions during the day were guided by four main themes. The guiding themes explored questions such as: What are the principal legal challenges and innovations for climate mitigation and adaptation on national and other levels? How  law and governance enable a greener economy, scale up climate finance and investment, and promote low-carbon trade and investment.? How can law and governance contribute to climate resilience, integrating human rights and addressing loss and damage, migration and other challenges? How are Paris Agreement Implementation Guidelines discussions advancing? How does the treaty and other key accords deliver on the world’s climate ambition?

The first theme of the day Innovating to Achieve NDCs under the Paris Agreement was at the core of four sessions co-hosted by nine different organisations. The debates focused on the following topics

• The session on Strengthening the Paris Agreement through Innovation in Open Government co-hosted by WRI and Transparency International explored the role of law in co-creating (innovative) climate policies and how the implementation guidelines for the Paris Agreement further promote the implementation of participatory and transparent actions at the national level
• The UNFCCC Secretariat, UN Environment and the Commonwealth Secretariat introduced the newly developed Law and Climate Change Toolkit during a session titled Supporting Paris Agreement Implementation through a Law & Climate Change Toolkit
• GIZ and WRI co-hosted a session on Implementing the Paris Agreement Sub-Nationally – Legal Barriers & Instruments for Improving Multi-Level Climate Governance. The participatory workshop considered on-going and needed innovative reforms and instruments in the area of multi-level governance
• During the session Legal Innovations in Highly Climate Vulnerable Countries for Climate Resilience & Food Security, which was co-hosted by GoDAN and CISDL the question on how law and policy reforms and new developments including on climate-smart agriculture, open data, and improved information and knowledge exchange can be combined to contribute to achieving the objectives in the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goal 2.

Three sessions hosted by four CLGI partners primarily focused on the theme Enabling Climate Finance and Engaging the Private Sector:

• A session co-hosted by EBRD and CISDL on Fostering Climate Adaptation Investments – Contributions of Public & Private Governance. During the discussions, experts explored how carefully crafted national laws and institutions can create a favorable investment climate to support climate adaptation using examples from  countries such as Morocco, Kazakhstan and Jordan promote climate action on adaptation.
• The session Governing Disruptive Technologies, co-hosted by CIGI and Greentrack Strategies, considered how to face the wicked threats and limitless opportunities of digital and low carbon economy convergences, new governance models and unstable financial systems. The discussions considered how to organize essential tools of technologies, practice, metrics, exchange mechanisms and finance and contemplated how to design to standards and clear incentives for climate adaptation.
• Transforming Economies for Sustainability – Incentivizing Low-Carbon Investment Featuring BIICL, EBRD, IDB, GCF, this plenary session drew on multilateral development bank and academic expertise to discuss how private and public investment can be catalyzed towards low carbon pathways.

Four different sessions involving ten different organisations centred on the theme Advancing Climate Resilience and Climate Justice:

• MIT, Carbon Climate Law Review and the Schulich School of Law explored Promoting Climate Justice through Legal Reform & Litigation.
• Operationalizing Linkages between Human Rights and Climate Change was at the centre of a session co-hosted by CIEL, UN-OHCHR and the German National Institute for Human Rights
• Profiling the Pivotal Players – Pacific Islands in Global & Regional Climate Regimes was jointly hosted by the University of South South Pacific, United Nations University and the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat
• Climate Change, Human Rights & Forced Displacement was hosted by the Law Department and  Global Refugee Studies of the Institute for Culture & Global Studies at Aalborg University. In exploring the nexus between these topics it among others examined the extent to which international law and governance prepared to integrate human rights and climate change and to protect displaced people. It further considered linkages between forced displacement and adaptation and the mechanism of loss and damage under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement and contemplated the feasibility and merits of a Protocol to the UNFCCC based on adaptation.

Two sessions co-hosted by four session hosts focused primarily on Operationalizing the Paris Agreement and this theme was a major thread throughout the day.

• The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) hosted a session on Advancing Transparency & Accountability under the Paris Agreement – A Research Agenda.
• Strengthening Global Climate Law Capacity & Compliance was co-hosted by CISDL, International Law Association and the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge. It both considered the compliance and capacity building and legal education required to deliver legal and governance instruments that deliver higher ambition.

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For more information and images from the day visit our twitter profile where we and our partners have shared information throughout the day.

Download and read the full proceedings report here. CLGD 2017 Proceedings Report. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to keep up to date with our announcements.