Civil Liability and the Challenges of Climate Change: A Functional Analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Hinteregger
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Civil Liability ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Tort Law ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Legal Difficulties ◽  
Narrow Concept ◽  
The Right ◽  
Liability Claims

AbstractThe most recent efforts under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to seek redress for loss and damage associated with climate change impacts has triggered the interest in tort law remedies for climate change damage. This article analyses the relevance of tort law for climate change damage from a civil liability perspective. It indicates the positive features of tort law for the protection from climate change (generally available instrument for compensation of losses with considerable preventive effects), but it shows also that civil actions against the emitters of greenhouse gases for the remediation of climate change damage encounter major legal difficulties: choice of jurisdiction, enforcement of claims and some basic shortcomings of substantive tort law (narrow concept of damage, establishment of causation and fault). In order to make tort law an effective instrument for climate protection it must be adjusted to the characteristics of climate change damage. This concerns the attribution of legal standing, especially with respect to pure economic loss, a considerable extension of the right to bring collective action and, in order to solve the problem of the establishment of causation, the comprehensive recognition of proportional liability by national tort laws.The article also shows that tort liability already plays an important role for the remediation of climate change damage. This concerns liability claims against persons or institutions who are legally obliged to protect individuals or objects from harm caused by climate change (public authorities, providers of building services) and against sellers of products or providers of services who do not meet mandatory emission or energy consumption standards. Liability claims against such defendants do not encounter any of the specific problems associated with climate change damage and can serve to prevent climate change related harm.

Climate Change Glossary

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaavya Pradeep Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Open Access ◽  
General Public ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Comprehensive List ◽  
The Right ◽  
Complex Subject

Climate change is a complex subject with terms and definitions that can seem overwhelming to non-specialists. What is ‘albedo’? What does ‘radiative forcing’ mean? What does ‘geoengineering’ entail? As climate change impacts grow more frequent and intense, it is critical that journalists, in particular, are equipped with the right information when they report. This set of open-access multilingual glossaries aim to bridge the gap between research and the general public by compiling this comprehensive list of most frequently-used terms related to climate change. A majority of these terms have been sourced from the different IPCC reports as well as public platforms such as the BBC and the Climate Reality Project.

scholarly journals Will Climate Change Exacerbate the Economic Damage of Flood to Agricultural Production? A Case Study of Rice in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pham Quy Giang ◽  
Tran Trung Vy
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Baseline Period ◽  
Rice Production ◽  
Generalized Extreme Value Distribution ◽  
Economic Damage

In developing countries in general and in Vietnam in particular, flood induced economic loss of agriculture is a serious concern since the livelihood of large populations depends on agricultural production. The objective of this study was to examine if climate change would exacerbate flood damage to agricultural production with a case study of rice production in Huong Son District of Ha Tinh Province, North-central Vietnam. The study applied a modeling approach for the prediction. Extreme precipitation and its return periods were calculated by the Generalized Extreme Value distribution method using historical daily observations and output of the MRI-CGCM3 climate model. The projected extreme precipitation data was then employed as an input of the Mike Flood model for flood modeling. Finally, an integrated approach employing flood depth and duration and crop calendar was used for the prediction of potential economic loss of rice production. Results of the study show that in comparison with the baseline period, an increase of 49.14% in the intensity of extreme precipitation was expected, while the frequency would increase 5 times by 2050s. As a result, the seriousness of floods would increase under climate change impacts as they would become more intensified, deeper and longer, and consequently the economic loss of rice production would increase significantly. While the level of peak flow was projected to rise nearly 1 m, leading the area of rice inundated to increase by 12.61%, the value of damage would rise by over 21% by 2050s compared to the baseline period. The findings of the present study are useful for long-term agricultural and infrastructural planning in order to tackle potential flooding threats to agricultural production under climate change impacts.

Liability of the State and Public Authorities in Israel and South Africa

2013 ◽  
pp. 1-47
Author(s):  
Max Loubser ◽  
Tamar Gidron
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Tort Law ◽  
Public Authority ◽  
The South ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Pure Economic Loss ◽  
The Law

Both the Israeli and the South African legal systems are classified as mixed legal systems, or mixed jurisdictions. In Israel, tort law was originally pure English common law, adopted by legislation and later developed judicially. In South Africa, the law of delict (tort) was originally Roman-Dutch but was later strongly influenced by the English common law. Under both systems, tort law is characterized by open-ended norms allowing extensive judicial development. This paper traces and compares the structural basis, methodology, policy, and trends of the judicial development of state and public-authority liability in the Israeli and South African jurisdictions. Specific factors that have impacted the development of state- and public-authority liability are: (1) constitutional values, (2) the courts’ recognition of the need for expanded protection of fundamental human rights and activism towards achieving such protection, (3) the multicultural nature of the societies, (4) problems of crime and security, and (5) worldwide trends, linked to consumerism, toward the widening of liability of the state and public authorities.Within essentially similar conceptual structures the South African courts have been much more conservative in their approach to state liability for pure economic loss than their Israeli counterparts. This can perhaps be attributed to a sense of priorities. In a developing country with huge disparities in wealth, the courts would naturally be inclined to prioritize safety and security of persons above pure economic loss. The South African courts have been similarly more conservative in cases involving administrative negligence and evidential loss.The development of the law on state and public-authority liability in Israel and South Africa is also the product of factors such as the levels of education, the effectiveness of the public service, and the history and pervasiveness of constitutional ordering. Despite important differences, the law in the two jurisdictions has developed from a broadly similar mixed background; the courts have adopted broadly similar methods and reasoning; and the outcomes show broadly similar trends.

Policy Orientation in Public Authority Liability: a Comparative Law Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-15
Author(s):  
Anne LM Keirse
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Law ◽  
Tort Law ◽  
Public Authority ◽  
Historical Evolution ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Special Position ◽  
Policy Orientation ◽  
Ius Commune ◽  
The Right

AbstractTurning the spotlight on the historical evolution of public authority liability in Europe shows us a movement from immunity to liability of increasing extent but, at the same time, opposite tendencies can be observed as well. Public authority liability evolves in waves, not always going in the same direction and, more than once, recurring to old solutions. These motions are partway prompted by policy considerations, interrelated with the special position of the state. This paper aims to set the right tone for answering the main question of the Ius Commune Workshop, entitled ‘Public Authorities and Tort Law: a Difficult Marriage?’. Using a comparative perspective, this paper sets out to illustrate how policy orientation has an impact on public authority liability in Europe without giving a constant and lasting direction towards either expanding or limiting this liability.

Food Systems at Risk: Transformative Adaptation for Long-Term Food Security

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Carter ◽  
Namrata Ginoya ◽  
Richard Choularton ◽  
Tyler Ferdinand ◽  
Helen Ding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
The Right ◽  
Transformative Adaptation

This report examines how climate change is impacting agriculture and threatening national and global food systems, particularly in climate hotspots, and how these trends are projected to intensify over the coming decades. The report defines and details transformative adaptation for agriculture and why such longer-term, systemic approaches are needed to protect the lives and livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers and herders. Transformative adaptation in agriculture promotes long-term resilience by continually shifting the geographical locations where specific types of crops and livestock are produced, aligning agricultural production with changing landscapes and ecosystems, and/or introducing resilience-building production methods and technologies across value chains. The report presents evidence to support a call for urgent action by: Agricultural research organizations, to build and share knowledge regarding transformative approaches; Governments, to integrate this knowledge into plans and policies by establishing and implementing transformative pathways; and Funding entities, to increase financial support for agricultural adaptation and design sustainable financing mechanisms with the right incentives and disincentives to support transformative adaptation. Strategic investments in resilient food systems are crucial to manage intensifying climate change impacts and feed a global population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. Planning for transformative adaptation should center on inclusive, participatory processes that engage a diverse range of stakeholders who may otherwise be marginalized in decision-making, such as women, youth and Indigenous peoples.

scholarly journals Sustainable Distribution of Responsibility for Climate Change Adaptation

Challenges ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Åsa Knaggård ◽  
Erik Persson ◽  
Kerstin Eriksson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Value Theory ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Practical Implications

To gain legitimacy for climate change adaptation decisions, the distribution of responsibility for these decisions and their implementation needs to be grounded in theories of just distribution and what those affected by decisions see as just. The purpose of this project is to contribute to sustainable spatial planning and the ability of local and regional public authorities to make well-informed and sustainable adaptation decisions, based on knowledge about both climate change impacts and the perceptions of residents and civil servants on what constitutes a sustainable distribution of responsibility. Our aims are: (1) a better understanding of the practical implications of theories about just distribution of responsibility for the choice of local and regional climate adaptation measures; (2) knowledge about what residents and civil servants consider a sustainable distribution of responsibility for climate adaptation measures; and (3) a better understanding of conflicts concerning the distribution of responsibilities and systematic knowledge about the possibilities to manage them. In this interdisciplinary project, we study six municipalities and their residents, and two county administrative boards, all in Sweden, using mixed methods: value theory, document studies, interviews, focus groups, and surveys.

Briefly Noted

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 888-889
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Right To Life ◽  
The Right

In January 2020, the UN Human Rights Committee ruled that states cannot deport people who face “climate change-induced conditions that violate the right to life.” According to a UN press release, the complaint in this case was filed by Ioane Teitiota who was denied asylum in New Zealand and deported with his family to his native Kiribati. Following his deportation, he filed a complaint with the Human Rights Committee, alleging that his deportation violated his right to life and that the rise of the sea level and other climate change impacts rendered Kiribati uninhabitable. Though the Committee determined that, on the facts, Mr. Teitiota's right to life was not violated, the Committee specifically indicated that “"this ruling sets forth new standards that could facilitate the success of future climate change-related asylum claims.” In particular, the Committee determined that asylum seekers need not demonstrate that they would face imminent harm if returned to their home states because the negative effects of climate change can occur suddenly and more slowly, over the longer-term.

scholarly journals Migrants’ remittances

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-196
Author(s):  
Issah Justice Musah-Surugu ◽  
Albert Ahenkan ◽  
Justice Nyigmah Bawole ◽  
Samuel Antwi Darkwah
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Infrastructure ◽  
Money Transfers ◽  
The Right

Purpose The much-trumpeted Green Climate Fund and several other official financial mechanisms for financing adaptation to climate change under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change have fallen short in meeting adaptation needs. Many poorer people are still grappling with the scourge of climate change impacts. Consequently, there has been a dominant research focus on climate change financing emanating from official development assistance (ODA), Adaptation Fund, public expenditure and private sector support. However, there has been little attempt to examine how migrants’ remittances can close adaptation financing gaps at the local level, ostensibly creating a large research gap. This paper aims to argue that migrants’ remittances provide a unique complementary opportunity for financing adaptation and have a wider impact on those who are extremely vulnerable to climate change. Design/methodology/approach The paper is aligned to the qualitative research approach. Both secondary and primary data acquired through interviews and focus group discussions were used for the study. Multiple sampling methods were also used to select the respondents. Findings The findings show that remittances are used to finance both incremental costs of households’ infrastructure and consumption needs, as well as additional investment needs to be occasioned by ongoing or expected changes in climate. Originality/value In the wake of dwindling government/public revenue, ODA and poor commitment of Annex II countries to fulfil their financial obligations, the study makes the following recommendations: First, the financial infrastructure underpinning money transfers in both sending and recipient countries should be improved to make transfers attractive. Second, significant steps should be taken to reduce the fees on remittance services, especially for the small transfers typically made by poor migrants. Finally, adequate climatic information should be made available to local people to ensure that remittances are applied to the right adaptation option to avoid maladaptation.

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