Disaster Law and Climate Change

Abstract

This chapter describes the international legal regimes that address natural disaster and that address climate change. It also identifies a gap in program coverage and examines how the global community is wrestling with the issue. Consider a serious disaster risk that is amplified by climate change. What legal program should kick in? Should we call on policies intended for disaster-risk reduction (DRR) or for climate-change adaptation (CCA)? Or do we need something new and distinct? The border between DRR and CAA is, as we will see, contested. Where one draws the line depends on science, economic interests, and social values. This chapter begins by examining some facts about disasters, climate change, and the relationship between the two. It then describes the legal regimes that address DRR and climate change (including CCA). Finally, this chapter investigates the current debate about how climate-related disasters should be understood and addressed.

Keywords: Climate change adaptation, Climate impacts, Disaster risk reduction, Human rights, ‘Loss and damage’