Researching Climate Change

1. Researching Climate Change In vino veritas? Researching International Environmental Law with a Clear Head in the Hazy Era of Climate Change Marylin Johnson Raisch International and Foreign Law Librarian Bora Laskin Law Library, University of Toronto CALL Annual Meeting, Niagara-on-the-Lake, May 26, 2003

2. Building a Knowledge Base • How would an information specialist approach creating a resource on the web which would integrate on- and off-line materials, legal research, scientific data gathering and analysis (reports), and policy information?

3. Approaches to Complex Research • Narrative, contextual approach • Annotated links approach • The former provides a richer experience for learning; the latter will eventually become a set of bookmarks, some of which may rarely be used.

4. Narrative Approach • Tell the story of climate change: the issues, the treaties, the efforts at compliance, new or amended treaties • The story will unfold chronologically but in different locations:UN conferences, EU meetings, the US political scene, Canadian Parliament and ministries • Highlight the major documents which emerge from the process in each venue

5. The story: UN FCCC adopted 9 May 1992, New York Berlin Mandate, Decision 1/CP.1: The Berlin Mandate: Review of the adequacy of Article 4, paragraph 2(a) and (b), of the Convention, including proposals related to a protocol and decisions on follow-upFCCC/CP/1995/7 :earliest doc at site (COP 1) Geneva Ministerial Declaration FCCC/CP/1996/15/Add.1(not adopted) The documents: Text pamphlet pdf at http://unfcc.int; may be Googled with strong title words, http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdfand A/CONF.151/26/REV.1(VOL.I) (Rio Earth Summit) , 13 I.L.M. 851 (1992) Official documents search page- keywords Berlin, Geneva; limit to COPs; earliest two years should be selected Framework Convention on Climate Change 1992

6. The story: The Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC Buenos Aires Plan of Action, 1/CP.4 1998 Bonn implementation of above, COP 6 Part II, 25 September 2001 Marrakesh Accords, 21 January 2002 Canada ratifies 17 December 2002 The documents: Treaty text http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf at site or via Google, strong words; citation for actual UN doc., FCCC/CP/1997/7/Add.1 Buenos Aires Plan of Action at FCCC official doc site; UN Doc. FCCC/CP/1998/16/Add.1 Bonn, FCCC/CP/2001/5 Marrakesh Accords, U.N. Doc. FCCC/CP/2001/13 (report) and Add.1-3 Kyoto Protocol to UNFCCC 1997

7. UNFCCC and Kyoto Travaux and Commentary • ;“Travaux” including Kyoto, www.unfccc.int/resource/process/guideprocess-p.pdf • Commentary, including Kyoto, www.unfccc.int/resource/guideconvkp-p.pdf • Oberthür, Sebastian and Hermann E. Ott, The Kyoto Protocol: International Climate Policy for the 21st Century. Berlin: Springer, 1999. Chronology of the climate change regime, citations to travaux préparatoires, and article-based commentary. • Climate Change “for dummies” (Beginner’s guide at the FCCC site): http://unfccc.int/resource/beginner.html • Do not forget to look at UNFCCC text. Example: Dispute settlement: Art. 19 Kyoto incorporates FCCC Art. 14 in many respects and Art. 33 of UN Charter (peaceful negotiations  ICJ or arbitration

8. Compliance System and “Kyoto Mechanisms” • Compliance Committee: See http://unfccc.int/issues/comp.html • Facilitative branch • Enforcement branch • Emissions reduction and trading: 1) joint implementation, art. 6 2) clean development mechanism (CDM), art. 12 and 3) emissions trading, art. 17. See http://unfccc.int/issues/mechanisms.html • Industrialized or Annex I countries http://unfccc.int/resource/kpstats.pdf -marked by * • Developing countries

9. European Union and its European Community • Created first “bubble” with collective fulfillment of commitments under art. 3, para.1 and art. 4 • Activities and legal texts across the institutions (Council, Parliament, etc.), http://europa.eu.int/pol/env/index_en.htm • European Commission “green portal” http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/index_en.htm with Climate Change home page, http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/climat/home_en.htm and European Climate Change Programme (ECCP), http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/climat/eccp.htm

10. United States • Pace Law School Global Warming Central, http://www.law.pace.edu/globalwarming/US.html helps “cut to the chase” in a complex policy arena, myriad Congressional and executive documents, US federal and state developments • Climate Change Activities in the United States, June, 2002 http://www.pewclimate.org/projects/us_activities.pdf Pew Center on Global Climate Change

11. Canada • Climate Change Plan for Canada, Nov. 21, 2002, Environment Canada http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/plan_for_canada/plan/index.html (English version) • Government of Canada Climate Change Web Site, http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/plan_for_canada/plan/index.html

12. NGOs, Databases: Advocacy, Policy, and Science • NGOs: list of admitted organizations under FCCC art. 7, http://unfccc.int/resource/ngo/index.html • National Communications, http://unfccc.int/resource/natcom/nctable.html • Science: • GHG inventory database, http://ghg.unfccc.int/; • Atlas of Population & Environment, American Association for the Advancement of Science, http://atlas.aaas.org/index.php • Focus on Climate Change, Global Sustainable Development and International Law at Bora Laskin Law Library, University of Toronto, http://www.law-lib.utoronto.ca/resguide/global/index.htm

13. Can’t stand the heat (from global warming)?Get out of the kitchen, but don’t forget… • Bubbles-group of countries with joint emission reduction plan • Baskets-single obligation to reduce all GHGs • COP/MOP- Conference of the Parties sits as Meeting of Parties • PAMs-policies and measures, art. 2 • COW-Committee of the Whole • Alphabet soup: SBI, SBSTA-Subsidiary Body :for Implementation, for Scientific and Technological Advice