Study On The Performance Of International Legal Obligations Related To Climate Change In China

Since the Industrial Revolution,industrial activities carried out by mankind to promote economic growth have led to exacerbated global warming.Climate change has emerged as a global environmental issue,and the contradiction between economic development and environmental protection needs to be urgently reconciled.Since the 1990s,normative legal documents such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change（"UNFCCC"）,the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement have contributed to the establishment of the international climate change legal regime.In the meantime,the international climate change law.set international obligations such as reducing greenhouse gas（"GHG"）emissions and building adaptative capacity for the State Parties.Domestic practice of international legal obligations to address climate change in China consists of two steps.First,China should transform international climate change laws into domestic laws by amending existing environmental protection laws or enacting special and comprehensive climate change law;Second,China should implement legal obligations by formulating climate policies and implementing measures to achieve the goal of addressing climate change.Mitigation refers to the mitigation of climate change through,for example,the reduction of GHG emissions,and adaptation refers to enhancing the ability to adapt to climate change through national capacity building.In addition,carbon tax policies,carbon emissions trading system and carbon sink markets can promote the optimization and upgrading of the energy industry structure,achieving equilibrium between economic growth and GHG emissions,and eventually realizing win-win results among all stakeholders.As one of the largest emitters of GHG emissions,enterprise should undertake corporate social responsibility to reduce GHG emissions and to protect the environment.It is not realistic to fight alone to address climate change.Countries around the world should actively engage in international and regional inter-governmental cooperation,with developed countries providing financial and technological support for developing countries.At present,China is the world’s largest GHG emitter.In order to mitigate and adapt to climate change and achieve sustainable development,China must fulfil its legal obligations under the international climate change legal framework to reduce GHG emissions.Nevertheless,as a developing country,China is not historically or primarily responsible for GHG emissions.Furthermore,with economic and social development and poverty eradication as its priorities,China needs to balance reduction of GHG emissions with the need for economic development.China has been taking a proactive approach to addressing climate change.China has launched the legislation process to enact special climate change law.By reducing carbon sources,increasing carbon sinks,enhancing capacity building to mitigate and adapt to climate change,China pledges to achieve CO2 emissions peak before 2030,and carbon neutrality before 2060.By reviewing domestic legislation,policies and measures related to climate change in China,this article analyses how China fulfills its international legal obligations through domestic legislation,policies and measures,and evaluates the status quo of the implementation of international obligations related to climate change in China.This article is composed of four main chapters.Chapter One sorts out the development and main contents of international climate change law with a focus on the UNFCCC,the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement,and summarizes the legal obligations that China should undertake.Chapter Two analyzes the legal nature of international climate change law,and discusses the legal transformation of international climate change law in China from two perspectives,the existing legislation on environmental protection and the special legislation on climate change.Chapter Three focuses on the modes and current status of implementation of international climate change law in China from three aspects:mitigation and adaptation measures,market regulating instruments to address climate change,and international cooperation.Chapter Four introduces the representative initiatives taken by China after the entry into force of the three major legal instruments on climate change,and reviews China’s condition of implementation and the potential room for improvement in different compliance periods,and makes recommendations in light of China’s national conditions.