Recognizing the need to address the growing global plastics crisis, the international community has begun the process of developing an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, which has the potential to impact domestic activities surrounding plastic production. Up until now, however, there has been a notable lack of information on the role that Small …
Plastic—one of the world’s most ubiquitous materials—currently poses one of the greatest threats to the environment, human health, and livelihoods. However, the impacts of plastic pollution are neither distributed nor experienced equally by all countries; while plastic pollution affects many countries across the globe, small island developing states (SIDS) have been disproportionately affected by this …
This paper examines the Global Climate Action Agenda (GCAA) and discusses options to improve sub‐ and non‐state involvement in post‐2020 climate governance. A framework that stimulates sub‐ and non‐state action is a necessary complement to national governmental action, as the latter falls short of achieving low‐carbon and climate‐resilient development as envisaged in the Paris Agreement. …
Climate Ambition and Sustainable Development for a New Decade: A Catalytic Framework Read More »
The world’s fisheries are governed by a vast, and largely ineffective, set of international and regional institutions. If we are to preserve and manage what remains of the oceans’ fisheries, bolder solutions are needed. In this paper, we present a new approach: closing the high seas to fishing through the use of regulatory “clubs” – …
Closing the High Seas to Fishing: A Club Approach Read More »
Plastics present a relatively new and significant threat to the marine environment. Production and use of plastics has increased globally in the past decades, and much of it ends up adrift in the ocean. The impact of this marine plastic pollution is far-reaching. Plastic in the ocean does not biodegrade; rather, it breaks down again and …
Ocean Plastic Pollution: A Survey of Existing Global Agreements and Proposals for Reform Read More »
The Caribbean hurricanes of 2017 made clear that many of the islands’ power systems are woefully unprepared to withstand the increasingly severe weather events that climate change is generating. Perhaps no island exemplified this inadequacy better than Puerto Rico; one month after hurricane Maria barreled into the island, approximately eighty percent of its population was …
The Paris Agreement cemented a new framework for global climate policy based on the voluntary and non-legally binding emission reduction actions by both developed and developing countries. The building blocks strategy for climate action discussed in this Special Issue is well adapted to and strongly complements this new structure. Building blocks focus on multiple transnational …
Building Blocks: A Strategy for Near-Term Climate Action Read More »
Since the adoption of the utility business model in the early 20th century, governments have relied on extending their national transmission grids to supply electricity to remote populations. Many countries in Latin America have followed this model. In the few cases where grids were not extended, electrification has been achieved by installing local diesel generation. …
The Promise of Renewable Energy Microgrids for Rural Latin America Read More »
For many Small Island Developing States (SIDS) the cost of producing electricity from imported fossil fuels is so high and the cost of renewable energy technology has fallen so significantly that transitioning towards renewable energy is likely to produce cost savings. A recent workshop at NYU School of Law, which brought together SIDS utility representatives …
The likely future global climate regime, based on nationally determined, non-legally binding commitments, is not by itself likely to produce emissions reductions sufficient to prevent dangerous climate change. There is, however, already significant mitigation occurring outside the context of the UNFCCC that could potentially be scaled up to fill the gap. This chapter, expanding on earlier work, proposes a …
A Building Blocks Strategy for Global Climate Change Read More »
