The Paris Agreement Implementation Blueprint: A Practical Guide to Bridging the Gap between Actions and Goal and Closing the Accountability Deficit (Part 1)

Abstract

Using the basic proposition that all people have equal rights to the Earth’s atmosphere the Blueprint advances a coherent, integrated framework which, if adopted, would:

(i) help quantify the rights of historically low emitting countries to financial support;

(ii) provide a reference point for determining legal liability for climate change and its adverse consequences;

(iii) provide a clear and rational basis for the apportionment of damages resulting from historic emissions (including the costs of adaptation), and

(iv) limit anthropogenic emissions of CO2 to a total consistent, according to the ‘best available science’, with the 1.5C/‘well below’ 2C temperature goal.

By providing an accessible, science-based framework for navigating the complexity of carbon budgets and climate finance it facilitates objective, mutually consistent decision-making in both climate policy and litigation.

Keywords: Climate Change, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Paris Agreement, Climate Law, Climate Liability, Climate Litigation, Common but Differentiated Responsibilities, Right to Development, Climate Mitigation, Climate Adaptation, Climate Justice

JEL Classification: Q54, Q51, Q56, Q57, H23, D63, F63, O19, K32, K33, K42