Climate Engineering Under the Paris Agreement a Legal and Policy Primer
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SPECIAL REPORT Climate Engineering under the Paris Agreement A Legal and Policy Primer A. Neil Craik and William C.G. Burns SPECIAL REPORT Climate Engineering under the Paris Agreement A Legal and Policy Primer A. Neil Craik and William C.G. Burns CIGI Masthead Executive President Rohinton P. Medhora Director of Finance Shelley Boettger Director of the International Law Research Program Oonagh Fitzgerald Director of the Global Security & Politics Program Fen Osler Hampson Director of Human Resources Susan Hirst Director of the Global Economy Program Domenico Lombardi Chief of Staff and General Counsel Aaron Shull Director of Communications and Digital Media Spencer Tripp Publications Publisher Carol Bonnett Senior Publications Editor Jennifer Goyder Publications Editor Patricia Holmes Publications Editor Nicole Langlois Publications Editor Sharon McCartney Publications Editor Lynn Schellenberg Graphic Designer Sara Moore Graphic Designer Melodie Wakefield For publications enquiries, please contact [email protected]. Communications For media enquiries, please contact [email protected]. Copyright © 2016 by the Centre for International Governance Innovation The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Centre for International Governance Innovation or its Board of Directors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution — Non-commercial — No Derivatives License. To view this license, visit (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). For re-use or distribution, please include this copyright notice. Printed in Canada on paper containing 10% post-consumer fiber and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. Centre for International Governance Innovation and CIGI are registered trademarks. 67 Erb Street West Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 6C2 www.cigionline.org Table of Contents vi About the Authors vii About the International Law Research Program vii Acronyms and Abbreviations 1 Executive Summary 1 Introduction 2 Climate Engineering Technologies 4 The Paris Agreement and Climate Engineering 12 The Paris Institutions 13 Conclusions 14 About CIGI / À propos du CIGI About the Authors A. Neil Craik is a CIGI senior fellow with the ILRP. William C.G. Burns is a CIGI senior fellow with He is an associate professor at the University the ILRP. Until recently, he served as director of of Waterloo with appointments to the Balsillie the Energy Policy & Climate Program at Johns School of International Affairs and the School Hopkins University, and now serves as co-director of Environment, Enterprise and Development, of the Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment, where he teaches and researches in the fields of a scholarly initiative of the School of International international and Canadian environmental law. Service at American University in Washington, DC. He also serves as the co-chair of the International Neil’s current research examines the role of Environmental Law Committee of the American procedural obligations in governance structures Branch of the International Law Association. addressing transboundary and global commons environmental issues. He has particular interests William is the former president of the Association in the intersection of international and domestic for Environmental Studies and Sciences, as well environmental policy, climate and geoengineering as co-chair of the International Environmental governance and environmental impact assessment. Law interest group of the American Society of International Law. Prior to becoming an academic, Neil is the author of several books, including William served as assistant secretary of state Climate Change Policy in North America: Designing for public affairs for the State of Wisconsin and Integration (University of Toronto Press, 2013), worked in the non-governmental sector for 20 and The International Law of Environmental years, including as executive director of the Pacific Impact Assessment: Process, Substance and Center for International Studies, a think tank Integration (Cambridge University Press, 2008), in that focused on implementation of international addition to numerous book chapters and journal wildlife treaty regimes, including the Convention articles. Since 2011, Neil has served as director on Biological Diversity and the International of the School of Environment, Enterprise and Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. William Development at the University of Waterloo. holds a Ph.D. in international environmental law from the University of Wales-Cardiff School of Law. vi Special Report • A. Neil Craik and William C.G. Burns About the International Acronyms and Law Research Program Abbreviations The International Law Research Program (ILRP) BECCS bioenergy with carbon capture at CIGI is an integrated multidisciplinary and storage research program that provides leading academics, government and private sector CBD Convention on Biological Diversity legal experts, as well as students from Canada CDR carbon dioxide removal and abroad, with the opportunity to contribute to advancements in international law. CMA Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to The ILRP strives to be the world’s leading the Paris Agreement international law research program, with recognized impact on how international law COP Conference of the Parties is brought to bear on significant global issues. The program’s mission is to connect knowledge, EuTRACE European Transdisciplinary policy and practice to build the international law Assessment of Climate Engineering framework — the globalized rule of law — to support international governance of the future. GHGs greenhouse gases Its founding belief is that better international GtC gigatons of carbon governance, including a strengthened international law framework, can improve the lives of people IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on everywhere, increase prosperity, ensure global Climate Change sustainability, address inequality, safeguard human rights and promote a more secure world. NAS National Academy of Sciences The ILRP focuses on the areas of international NDCs nationally determined contributions law that are most important to global innovation, prosperity and sustainability: NETs negative emissions technologies international economic law, international ppm parts per million intellectual property law and international environmental law. In its research, the ILRP SRM solar radiation management is attentive to the emerging interactions between international and transnational law, UNFCCC United Nations Framework indigenous law and constitutional law. Convention on Climate Change Climate Engineering under the Paris Agreement: A Legal and Policy Primer vii implementation of carbon removal technologies.2 Consequently, even though the Paris Agreement Executive Summary does not address climate engineering directly, the 2°C goal that anchors the agreement has necessary While the Paris Agreement does not address the implications for climate engineering technologies. issue of climate engineering expressly, the target of limiting global average temperature rise to no In light of the increased salience of climate more than 2°C (a goal that appears unlikely to be engineering in ongoing negotiations over climate achieved in the absence of significant amounts change measures, this report analyzes the of carbon removal) raises questions with respect individual provisions of the Paris Agreement to to how the issue of carbon dioxide removal assess which elements of the agreement may (CDR) and solar radiation management (SRM) influence future debates associated with climate technologies may be addressed under the Paris engineering options. This report’s intention is not Agreement. This report examines the specific to present an argument in favour of or against the provisions of the Paris Agreement with a view incorporation of climate engineering regulation to identifying where legal and policy questions within the UNFCCC framework. Rather, this in relation to climate engineering are likely to report seeks to provide an understanding of the arise. Inclusion of CDR technologies as part of intersection of the key legal and governance a state’s nationally determined contributions debates in relation to climate engineering with the (NDCs) is permissible under article 4 of the central commitments and institutions under the Paris Agreement, but will likely trigger concerns Paris Agreement. By doing so, the report seeks to respecting technological readiness and equity. draw attention to areas of potential future legal SRM technologies would appear to have little and policy debate, as well as possible avenues entry room within the Paris Agreement, but the for improved cooperation and coherence. process mechanism of the agreement provides opportunities to satisfy SRM research governance demands for transparency and public deliberation. Introduction The Paris Agreement supplies a new architecture for international cooperation on global climate change that relies on bottom-up national mitigation and adaptation plans, combined with 2 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Adoption of the Paris Agreement, 12 December 2015, Dec CP.21, 21st Sess, more rigorous procedural safeguards to promote UN Doc FCCC/CP/2015/L.9 [Paris Agreement]. The emissions reduction accountability and more ambitious targets over pledges made by the parties to the UNFCCC to date put the globe on time.1 At the