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The International Law Framework Of Tackling Global Warming And The Principle Of Common But Differentiated Responsibility

Posted on:2009-07-16Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:Y J XieFull Text:PDF
GTID:2166360272490463Subject:Law
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Nowadays global warming is an extremely serious and challenging issue that the world faces. This issue is so important that it affects the survival of human beings. Decades of research has proven that global warming is mainly caused by greenhouse gas accumulation produced by human activity. So how to control the emission of greenhouse gas has become the focus of international climate negotiation and environment policy making. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol are two important legal documents made by international community in order to deal with climate change.UNFCCC contains an important principle for international negotiation of climate change-the Principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibility (the CDR principle). Because we are sharing with a common ecology system, every country bears corporate responsibility for protecting environment. It is the economically developed countries that have generated the most greenhouse gas since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, and they have thereby benefited from using the global atmosphere as a sink for the harmful by-products of their economic development. So developed countries are disproportionately responsible for historical greenhouse gas emissions and have the greatest capacity to act. Although the CDR principle doesn't constitute a customary norm of international law, it obtains a foundation of becoming customary law by emphasized and operated in the international climate regime.Based on analyzing the international legal documents for taking up with global warming and the CDR principle, this article researches the practice, difficulties and future role of the CDR principle in the international law for climate change.This thesis consists of three chapters in addition to Preface and Conclusion.Chapter One is about the international law framework of tackling global warming. First this chapter shows it is absolutely necessary for international community to constitute international law for global warming. Then the chapter analyses the conflict and dispute during the negotiation, main content and effect of UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol, and generalizes the characteristics of post-Kyoto climate negotiation. Chapter Two is about the principle of common but differentiated responsibility. This chapter studies the CDR principle from three angles—the development process, implication and basis in the international law.Chapter Three is mainly about the application of the CDR principle to global warming issue. First, this chapter discuses the great pushing effect of CDR principle on the international law about climate change, then argues some difficulties of the CDR principle applying to global wanning and explores the reason ,lastly tries to show some new prospects for the issue of global warming from international law.Finally, the author makes the following conclusion: facing the global warming problem, interest conflict between countries is unavoidable, but the CDR principle provides a good platform for future negotiation and a large growing space can be expected. Every country should follow the principle as the basic of fulfilling UNFCCC and joining international climate negotiation.
Keywords/Search Tags:Global Warming, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol, the Principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibility
PDF Full Text Request
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