Research On The Obligations Of Conduct Of Nationally Determined Contributions And Its Significance For Practice

Nationally Determined Contributions(NDCs)is an important system for promoting sovereign countries to reach international consensus and promote international climate cooperation.It reflects the evolution of the global climate governance model from “top-down”to “bottom-up”.The legal nature of nationally determined contributions has been an unresolved issue in climate negotiations and one of the most controversial issues in academic circles since its inception.As to whether the NDCs is legally binding or not and the nature of its obligation,there are views such as “no obligation”,“obligation of conduct” and“obligation of result”.It is theoretically and practically justified that national autonomous contribution should be characterized as an obligation of conduct rather than an obligation of result,which is also the view of most scholars,but there are shortcomings in the argumentation.By examining the concept of obligation of conduct in international law,it can be found that an obligation of conduct is an obligation to work toward a goal or result,which is characterized by means-determining,result-oriented and positive action.The connotation of national autonomous contribution,which emphasizes taking actions rather than achieving goals and requires Parties to perform diligently,is in line with the characteristics of an obligation of conduct,and the nature of national autonomous contribution as an obligation of conduct is reasonable and justified.Unlike the Kyoto Protocol’s quantified emission reduction mechanism,which is a mandatory constraint on the achievement of results,the NDCs reflect the nature of behavioral obligations,and each Party proposes its contribution target “from the top down” and pursues the achievement of its contribution target through domestic mitigation measures,but is not obliged to do so,which mobilizes Parties’ participation in addressing climate change.It helps to overcome the collectivist dilemma by mobilizing the initiative and enthusiasm of Parties to participate in addressing climate change.It serves as a glue between countries,bringing together the loosely-knit international community to form initial cooperation in addressing climate change,and also together promotes the transition from a single climate governance model dominated by state actors to a polycentric governance model in which state and non-state actors interact,which is conducive to building a diversified and multi-level climate governance system.However,this legal nature has also brought negative impacts.Obligations of conduct give parties more room for discretion,resulting in an overall lack of action by the international community to address climate change,which is not compatible with the long-term goal of temperature rise control and ultimately results in a thorny road to the long-term goal.In addition,the obligation to act emphasizes the active participation of all Parties in the joint efforts to address climate change,among which developing countries are much weaker than developed countries in terms of financial and technological capacity,and thus face greater challenges in the practice of implementing nationally owned contributions.As a developing country,China is the world’s largest emerging economy and the largest emitter of greenhouse gases,it is of great practical significance for China to clarify the legal nature of NDCs.To accurately grasp the legal nature of NDCs and correctly understand and apply the provisions on NDCs is conducive to reviewing and improving China’s practice of implementing NDCs,and ensuring that the implementation of NDCs meets the requirements of “diligence” and is realistic and feasible.China should further optimize the procedural and substantive elements of the NDCs.Procedurally,by improving the level of information processing and the quality of information communication in response to climate change,China should provide solid information support to fully reflect the strength and level of contribution.In terms of substance,the four dimensions of legislation,law enforcement,judiciary and law-abiding are used to create a strong rule of law guarantee for achieving the“double carbon” goal.Through the above paths,we will create a good internal and external environment for China to implement its climate commitments in a scientific and orderly manner,grasp more discourse in climate negotiations,deepen international climate cooperation,and promote the establishment of a fair and just global climate governance system with win-win cooperation.