29 March 2017

Mr Seth Osafo, a Ghanaian lawyer, has been appointed as a new Trustee of the LRI Board. Mr Osafo brings to the Board a deep knowledge of climate change law and policy and a wealth of experience of the international process, having worked at a number of UN agencies since the early 1990s including as senior legal adviser to the UNFCCC secretariat as well as UNEP. Mr Osafo was also the Head of the Legal Division of the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary General for the Future Status of Kosovo, HE. Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland. Since 2009 he has been a consultant to the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), UNITAR and the African Development Bank providing legal advice to African negotiators at the UN climate Negotiations.

On his appointment Seth stated that “ I look forward to joining an organization whose work on the legal issues arising from the climate change negotiations has greatly benefitted African negotiators”.

Kate Cook, LRI Chair, commented that Seth will “bring invaluable insight into the perspectives of developing country negotiators at the climate change negotiations, and in particular those who are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, as we develop our capacity to provide assistance with national implementation of the Paris Agreement.”

14 November 2016

A team of LRI lawyers is attending the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the UNFCCC in Marrakesh. To get in touch please email: liaisonofficers@legalresponse.org

In collaboration with UN Environment (UNEP), LRI also organised a round-table discussion on legal preparedness for the Paris Agreement as part of the Law and Governance Day. The event built on a climate legislation workshop previously held in London exploring the different approaches and ideas for supporting developing countries in their legislative efforts to respond to climate change and implement their commitments under the new Paris climate agreement (the report is available online).

The COP22 Law and Governance Day is aimed at sharing, strengthening, and generating new legal and institutional innovations in the law and policy reform elements of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the Paris Agreement.

Alina Averchenkova of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (at LSE) presented some findings of a study on climate legislation worldwide. The research indicates that at present only four jurisdictions are fully prepared to implement the commitments contained in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs). A summary of the key trends is already available at: http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/publication/2015-global-climate-legislation-study/ – the final report will be released on November 17.

Stephen Minas of the Dickson Poon School of Law at King’s College highlighted that legislation may not always be necessary but can send important signals to investors of climate solutions (that require legal certainty). Likewise, regulatory interventions need to consider domestic particularities and are also an opportunity for joint approaches in developing legislation and domestic capacity building.

Robert Ondhowe of the UNEP’s Law Division provided insights on how the Programme is supporting developing countries with respect to legal preparedness. During the following discussion participants brought up other areas of relevant research (e.g. on NDCs in the Maghreb region) and debated on how climate relevant laws may be defined and aligned with (future) requirements under the Paris Agreement.

2 October 2016

In collaboration with the Climate & Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), LRI has been hosting a two-day event in London to develop approaches and ideas for supporting developing countries in their legislative efforts to respond to climate change and implement their commitments under the new Paris climate agreement.

A public panel discussion took place at PricewaterhouseCoopers on 27 September to assess the post-Paris needs and challenges for effective climate change action in developing countries. This led to a vibrant discussion between development organisations, donor agencies, legal professionals and representatives of foreign missions based in London. Moderated by Edward King of Climate Home, the event also marked the launch of a new initiative by the legal community and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), offering expert legal advice to vulnerable countries to translate international climate ambition into action.

Key issues raised were considered further at an expert workshop on the following day at Simmons & Simmons. Around 40 participants from private practice, academia and intergovernmental organisations presented their work on legal drafting, comparing existing legislation, stakeholder engagement and other areas that should inform the development of climate or climate relevant legislation in the future. Some of them had travelled to London from Germany, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and the US.

The workshop discussion focused on the different approaches necessary in developing complex climate legislation. Participants made suggestions on, for example, how to assess and improve legal frameworks, create a network for support and capacity building, and balance climate change objectives with or societal concerns. The findings will be captured in a concise report and could be further developed into a tool for legal drafters in developing countries in the review and development of legislation in different thematic areas.

Workshop presentations on (1) Analyzing climate change legislation, a (2) Brief typology on national climate change legislation and (4) Legislative drafting are available here and (3) Consistency of national efforts with the PA at https://legalresponse.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Climate-legislation-3.pdf

26 September 2016

The last in the series of European Capacity Building Initiative (ecbi) regional workshops took place in Dar-es-Salaam on 14th and 15th September. Ecbi organises three workshops annually for junior developing country negotiators from Asian, East and West African countries.

The workshop was attended by over 40 participants from 20 countries, many of them LDCs. Most were government officials and non-lawyers, and totally new to the UNFCCC process, whilst a few had previously attended some negotiation sessions. The training combined formal presentations on a number of thematic areas relevant to the climate negotiations post-Paris with practical interactive exercises, such as mock negotiation sessions, a session on technical and legal language and one on how to develop a group position scenario.

LRI, who is one of ecbi lead organisations, presented on mitigation, INDCs and Review Mechanisms, and helped facilitating the mock negotiation sessions.

The last ecbi training event this year will be a pre-COP training workshop for LDC negotiators.

11 June 2016

This week LRI lawyer and executive director Christoph Schwarte is in Thailand to support government and civil society in analysing the content and implications of the new Paris Agreement on climate change. On Tuesday, he gave a presentation at a workshop hosted by the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation, GIZ and the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning of the Thai Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment.

The workshop concluded a one-year project to provide legal and technical analysis and support to the delegation of the government of Thailand in the international climate negotiations. During the course of 2015, in the lead-up to the Paris conference, LRI prepared various briefing papers and met regularly with delegates from Thailand during UNFCCC sessions. The workshop in Bangkok focused on the Paris outcomes and the resulting next steps in the climate negotiations.

In addition, Christoph also took part in the first ever climate justice expert meeting for Asia, in Khao Yai on Thursday and Friday. The meeting was organized by the Climate Justice Programme and the Heinrich Böll Foundation to develop legal strategies, particularly in light of research that quantifies the cumulative historic greenhouse gas emissions and the proportionate responsibility of large fossil industry, at the national, regional and global level. Participants discussed ongoing cases and developed new initiatives to strengthen coalitions of lawyers and advocacy organizations in Asia and the Pacific.