During the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on 7 December 2018 in Katowice, Poland, Prof Barbara Mikolajczyk of the University of Silesia and University of Waterloo SEED Professor Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, chaired the international law symposium Advancing Law & Governance Contributions to Climate Action under the Paris Agreement.
As the 4th annual Climate Law and Governance Day (CLGD), this high-level academic event drew an audience of over 200 government officials, general counsel of international organizations, law and policy practitioners, law deans, professors and students. University of Waterloo masters graduates Ashoke Mohanraj, Blaine Lyons, Korey Mckay, Basak Topcu, Sajida Sultana and Paula Przybylski participated in several of the events, and were sponsored to participate in the symposium the global climate change negotiations. Fortunately, these negotiations were successful, resulting in the ‘Katowice Rulebook’, a series of modalities and guidelines to facilitate implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change. During the symposium, University of Cambridge Law Lecturer Dr Markus Gehring and Lic Miguel Saldivia, doctoral candidate, hosted an international experts roundtable on
Innovative Instruments for a Sustainable Energy Transition. Building on their work through the International Law Association’s experts commission on the role of international law in sustainable management of natural resources for development, the session focused on how to implement the new Sustainable Development Mechanism under Art 6.4 of the Paris Agreement in order to promote new sustainable energy projects. It examined what can be learned from a comparison of new regulations promoting renewables, such as feed-in tariffs, quota systems and net metering, and considered legal and economic reforms to encourage innovations such as Negative Emissions Technologies (NETS), Bioenergy with Carbon Capture & Storage (BECCS) or Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). Speakers also considered how to address fossil fuel subsidies through reform, repeal or swaps, and the options for future UK-EU efforts on this front. With partners from the European Climate Foundation, the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) and the University of Cambridge Centre for Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Governance (CEENRG), it was a fascinating discussion leading to new research initiatives and recommendations.
The international climate law and governance symposium during UNFCCC CoP24 provided an opportunity to share ideas, debate trends and advances, and build legal momentum for climate action and to facilitate dialogue among Party and Non-Party stakeholders, including government negotiators, judges, practitioners and the academic law and governance community. Principal themes focused on key international legal challenges and innovations related to climate change, including legal incentives scaling up for investment in Paris Agreement implementation; rule of law contributions to advancing climate justice and sustainable development agenda;
legal pathways to low greenhouse gas emissions development strategies; and means for advancing transparency, compliance and engagement in the Paris Agreement. Other legal expert speakers and session chairs included Silvia Maciunas, Deputy Director of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI); Ayman Cherkaoui, Special Advisor, UNFCCC COP22 Presidency, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact in Morocco, and Lead Counsel for Climate Change of the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL); Professor Christina Voigt, from University of Oslo who advises the Norwegian delegation; and Professor Alexandra Harrington, Fulbright Fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA). The symposium was part of a series of activities hosted by Climate Law and Governance Initiative (CLGI), a coalition of different members of the Climate Law and Governance community including universities, institutes, international organisations, law associations and others. Other activities of SEED faculty and graduates during UNFCCC CoP24 included holding consultations and advisory exchanges with key negotiators; co-hosting a Climate Law and Governance specialisation course with the UN FCCCC Secretariat, CISDL, the United Nations University and other partners which trained over 40 government officials, legal practitioners, senior leaders of institutions and students in international law and policy on climate change; and hosting an international legal experts panel as an official side-event at the CoP24, where government officials, SEED faculty and graduates exchanged views on recent climate change related legal reforms among federal countries such as the UK, Canada and Germany.
The events built on the success of CLGD 2015 at La Sorbonne Law School during UNFCCC COP21 in Paris, France; CLGD 2016 at the Université Privée de Marrakech and Hassan I University during UNFCCC COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco and CLGD 2017 with the University of the South Pacific and the University of Bonn during UNFCCC COP23 in Bonn, Germany.
