In this briefing note, we set out: to what extent the draft adaptation text of 18 December 2009 and the adaptation provisions of the Copenhagen Accord contain actionable provisions, arrangements or commitments as opposed to mere statements of intent or vague announcements; to what extent these provisions are a step up from existing provisions under …

What are the legal implications of the Adaptation Fund becoming an Operational Entity under the Financial Mechanism of the Convention? Summary: Two different sets of legal implications would arise from accrediting the Adaptation Fund (AF) as an Operating Entity (OE) of the Financial Mechanism (FM) under UNFCCC Article 11. The first consequences are …

1. If the Adaptation Fund Board (currently a body under the Kyoto Protocol) was designated as an operating entity under the (Financial Mechanism of the) UNFCCC would this affect the legal personality conferred under German law (by an act of parliament)? 2. How and to what degree does the act of parliament conferring legal personality […]

1. In the context of the Adaptation Fund Board being under the authority of the CMP pursuant to Decision 1/CMP.3 and the guidelines for the Adaptation Fund in Annex IV of Decision 1/CMP.4, is it possible to say that there is a legally binding agreement by the CMP that the funding for adaptation projects should be […]

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’ …