A Study On Framework Convention On Climate Change

Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) is the most important legal achievement made by international community for the purpose of protecting global climate system and addressing climate change. This dissertation mainly makes a study on FCCC and other international legal documents derived from FCCC. In the same time, the dissertation also analyses climate change policies and legislations in foreign countries, and investigates China's climate change policies and laws.The dissertation consists of three parts, nine chapters.The introduction discusses the implications of the dissertation, summarizes the state of research, the purposes of research and the methods of research.Chapter 1 firstly defines some important concepts from the perspectivce of environmental science, such as weather, climate, climate system, greenhouse gas and greenhouse effect. Secondly, the basis conditions and general trends of climate change in China and the whole world are introduced. In the meantime, the harm of global warming is analyzed.Chapter 2 defines international climate change law, and analyzes the trends of development and the basic framework of international climate change law. The dissertation holds: FCCC laid foundation for further development of international climate change law and the improvement of the framework of international climate change law. It has made international climate change law form a basic framework that aims at protecting ozone layer, addressing global warming and preventing transnational air pollution.Chapter 3 analyzes the negotiation and development of FCCC.Section 1 gives a short survey of the negotiation process of FCCC. The dissertation holds that the international community has established FCCC and formed international legal regime of addressing climate change on the basis of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. This principle will be an important guideline of other international legal documents derived from FCCC, it will also become an important basis of performing FCCC in different countries.Based on the negotiation of COP1—COP9, section 2 discusses the process of negotiation of other international legal documents derived from FCCC in detail. The dissertation points out that, in effect, the core issue of climate change negotiation isthat whether the developing countries and the developed countries should address climate change on the basis of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities as well as how to address climate change based on this principle. Both FCCC and the Kyoto Protocol have stipulated core contents on the basis of common but differentiated responsibilities. It shows that the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities has become the basis of performing FCCC and the Kyoto Protocol for all contracting parties. No doubt, China should also abide by this principle in the course of performing FCCC.Chapter 4 discussed the impacts of FCCC, the Kyoto Protocol and other typical international legal documents on the development of international law.Section 1 introduces and analyzes the content, the character and the limitations of FCCC as well as its impacts on international law. The dissertation concludes that FCCC is one of the milestones in the historical development of international environmental law. It has formed legal regime of addressing climate change and established the basis of international cooperation of addressing climate change on the basis of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. The policies, legislations and legal systems of performing FCCC established by China should be on the light of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities accordingly.Section 2 makes a study on the content, the historical implications, the characters and the deficiencies of the Kyoto Protocol as well as the causes for the deficiencies. The impacts of the Kyoto Protocol on international politics and economy are also discussed. The dissertation holds: the Kyoto Protocol has provided detailed targets of reducing GHG emissions for industrialized countries on the basis of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, the developing countries bears no responsibilities of reducing GHG emissions. The corn content of the Kyoto Protocol shows that the developed countries should be primarily responsible for climate change, and in the meantime, the basic mission of the developing countries is to carry out the policy of economic development and poverty elimination. Furthermore, climate change policies and legislations based on the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities are important approaches to addressing climate change.Section 3 and section 4 make a brief comment on the Declaration of Marrakesh and Delhi Declaration of Climate Change and Sustainable Development. The dissertation holds that both these two declarations have embodied the basic requirements of the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities.Section 5 analyzes the impacts of FCCC and the Kyoto Protocol on international law from the holistic perspective. The dissertation holds that the impacts of FCCC and the Kyoto Protocol on international law are as follows: the basic situation of the development of international environmental relationship is embodied; the immaturity of international environmental law is verified; the development of international environmental law is indicated; the essence of international environmental law is reflected; the evolvement trend of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities is manifest; the rational restriction of national sovereignty is gradually increased; the content of the principle of equality of national sovereignty is enriched.Chapter 5 deals with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.Section 1 holds out that the FCCC has stipulated a lot of principles of international environmental law. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities is the core clue of climate change negotiations. It should also be the basic guiding principle for China in the course of decision-making of climate change negotiations.Section 2 mainly discusses the historical development, basic connotation, legal status and the main reasons for establishing this principle, as well as the realistic implications of the principle. The dissertation holds: the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities is a principle with the character of practice. Especially since 1990s, the establishment of FCCC and the Kyoto Protocol indicates that this principle is likely to become an international custom. The basic requirement of this principle is that the developed countries should be primarily responsible for global environmental problems. Therefore, it is logically necessary for the developed countries to provide more funds and technologies for the developing countries. The developing countries should establish the climate change policies and legislations on the basis of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. It is so with China.Chapter 6 analyzes relevant legal mechanism provided by FCCC and the Kyoto Protocol.Section 1 explores national information communication. The dissertation holds that the developed countries bear more and greater responsibilities of information communication than that of the developing countries. In other words, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities has been well implemented in the mechanism of national information communication.Section 2 covers the basic operational rules and institutions of joint implementation mechanism, clean development mechanism and emission trading mechanism. The relationships among these three flexibility mechanisms are also analyzed. The dissertation holds that these mechanisms also reflect the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in different extent. These mechanisms are industrialized countries' overseas measures to reduce GHG emissions, not the developing countries' measure. It shows that the developing countries should bear more and greater responsibilities of reducing GHG emissions. It is the basic requirement of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.Section 3 introduces funding mechanism. The dissertation holds: the creation of special climate change fund, the least developed countries fund and the adaptation fund marks new breakthrough of the funding mechanism. It also shows that the funding mechanism of FCCC is based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. No doubt, there are a lot of contradictions between the developing countries and the developed countries in the course of funding mechanism negotiation. The essence of the contradiction is that most developed countries are not really willing to provide funds for the developing countries according to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. They always try to evade their primary responsibilities in the course of global environmental protection actions. In the future, it will still be an arduous task to make the funding mechanism fully embody the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.Section 4 covers the compliance mechanism based on Non-Compliance Procedure (NCP) of the Kyoto Protocol. The dissertation discusses the cause of establishing NCP, the process of development, the main contents and characters of NCP. The dissertation points out: As a new dispute settlement mechanism, NCP is a product of newly created internal cooperation mechanism. It represents that the trend of international environmental protection mechanism is cooperation not confrontation. At the same time, NCP reflects the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. This character also shows that the developed countries should bear more and greater responsibilities of addressing climate change.Finally, the dissertation holds: All the mechanisms established by FCCC and the Kyoto Protocol have embodied the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities to some extent. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities is likely to become an international custom in the future.Chapter 7 discusses the basic values embodied in FCCC and other international legal documents.Section 1 expounds the necessities of value analysis.Section 2 expounds the relationships among the value of fairness, efficiency and order. The dissertation holds: FCCC and other international legal documents should give priority to fairness and take into account the need of efficiency. Fairness is the base of order, order value is an indispensable pre-condition to realize fairness. In a word, the values embodied in FCCC and the Kyoto Protocol should be transformed into specific and effective measures of addressing climate change as soon as possible.Chapter 8 gives a comparative analysis of climate change policies and legislations in European Union, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, America, Japan, Australia, South Africa and India. Based on the analysis, the dissertation has summarized several common senses: 1) the basic goal of climate change policies and legislations should combine with the needs of development. 2) Climate change policies and legislations should pay greater attention to diversified methods of reducing GHG emissions. 3) Climate change policies and legislations should cover all kinds of GHG and stakeholders. 4) Integrated legal systems of reducing GHG emissions should be provided in climate change policies and legislations. 5) Climate change policies and legislations should greatly promote the development of renewable energies.The conclusion of this chapter is: China should learn experiences from climate change polices and legislations in foreign countries. As the largest developing country in the world, China should also bear the responsibilities of reducing GHG emissions. But the responsibilities should conform to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. China's climate change policies and legislations should abide by the basic requirement.Chapter 9 explores China's climate change policies and legislations.Section 1 introduces current situation of GHG emissions in China, and analyzes the main causes. The dissertation holds: though China's GHG emissions will gradually increase in the future, the nature of China's GHG emissions is based on subsistence and development.Section 2 elaborates the situation of the performance of FCCC and the Kyoto Protocol in China. The dissertation holds: although China doesn't promise to reduce GHG emissions, China has actually taken a lot of material measures to reduce GHGemissions. China has performed the obligations stipulated by FCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, undoubtedly, China is a responsible country.Section 3 makes a study on China's climate change polices. The dissertation holds: as the fairness value embodied in FCCC has acknowledged that climate change policies should give priority to the right of subsistence and development of developing countries, the primary task of China's climate change policies is to ensure economic develoment and poverty elimination.Section 4 probes into China's laws and legal systems of addressing climate change.The conclusion of the chapter is: China is a responsible country. Most of China's climate change policies and laws have learned experiences from foreign countries. In the meantime, legal requirements of FCCC and the Kyoto Protocol have been incorporated into china's climate change policies and laws. Taking a long view, China should further improve climate change policies and laws on the basis of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, so as to make greater contribution to addressing climate change.The conclusion of the dissertation is: FCCC has not only established basic framework of legal systems with a view to addressing climate change, it has but also stipulated the basic principles that legal systems should abide by. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities is the most important legal principle, because it is based on the fairness value of the developing countries. FCCC has a deep and positive bearing on the development of international law and climate change policies and legislations in different countries. To taking a long view, China should perform FCCC and improve its policies and laws of addressing climate change in compliance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. This principle should also be the basis of future negotiation of climate change.