1. What is the procedural and legal difference of the word “requests” vis-à-vis “decides” and “urges”? 2. What is the difference between “shall be established” and “is hereby established”? Does the former necessarily imply future action, or can it mean “is established”? Are there specific examples of …

1. Has ‘vulnerability’ been defined anywhere in international law? 2. Has ‘vulnerability’ been defined anywhere in the UNFCCC? 3. How have states chosen to define vulnerability? 1. ‘Vulnerability’ has not been explicitly defined in any international law instrument. Nevertheless, an insight into how the term ‘vulnerability’ …

1. Is there a general definition of “force majeure” in international law? If not, what would it normally cover (in the event it is not defined further)?  2. Which drafting would limit, to a large degree, the instances in which “force majeure” could be applied under the Annex to the COP decision in both Option A […]

1. What is “MRV”? 2. How does MRV differ from compliance and enforcement? 3. What is ICA? How does ICA relate to MRV? 4. How does MRV function under the Kyoto Protocol, and what elements are involved?  5. To what issues in the UNFCCC negotiations does MRV relate? Are there already provisions for MRV in […]

1. Is there a precedent for having ‘gentleman’s agreements’ made on issues that might normally comprise COP decisions? 2. What is the actual form of a Gentleman’s agreement?  For example, would they be ‘decision’ type language with placeholders in brackets? 3. Are there any dis/advantages to this approach compared to COP decisions? …