COOLING CONFLICT: CLIMATE CHANGE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Climate change is a priority item on political and business agendas across the globe. Severe, pervasive and potentially irreversible, if left unchecked it portends the gravest implications for the entirety of humanity, increasing the likelihood of floods and extreme rainfall, heatwaves and wildfires, threatening humans, animals and the environment.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) most up-to-date figures: (i) the global average temperature in 2019 was 1.1 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial period; (ii) the last 10 years has seen exceptional global heat, retreating ice and record sea levels driven by greenhouse gases produced by human activities; (iii) average temperatures for the five-year (2015-2019) period are the highest on record; and (iv) climate polluting emissions are on track to reach 56 gigatons of CO2e by 2030, over twice what they should be.
Further underlining the seriousness of the issue is the plethora of projects, initiatives and programmes – such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol and the International Carbon Action Partnership – tasked with facilitating international agreement on limiting carbon emissions, deforestation, soil erosion, overfishing, CO2 build-up in the atmosphere, and so on.
“Climate change is often referred to as one of the biggest challenges of our time, particularly in the past five years,” says Maria Petzsch, an associate and solicitor advocate at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP. “Businesses stand to benefit from engaging now with this material financial risk to remain ahead of the game, or risk significant legal, reputational and financial consequences.”
Apr-Jun 2021 issue
Fraser Tennant