International Law and Climate Change

Tim Stephens

Of all areas of law relevant to and affected by climate change it is public international law that is most central given climate change is a global crisis. In an effort to address climate change the international community adopted the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and subsequent treaties under this framework, most notably the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

This chapter considers how the climate treaties are essential for addressing the climate crisis, but how they are also beset by limitations, some of which are a product of the nature of the international legal order. The climate treaties are not the only body of international law relevant to addressing the causes and consequences of climate change. Multiple other areas of the law have some application, especially those dealing with other environmental issues such as the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity.

The chapter begins with an overview of the structure and organising principles underlying international law and its relevance for Australian law, before turning to assess the content of the climate treaties and other complementary rules and principles of international law. The chapter then considers future potential trajectories for this area of the law and highlights some key issues that need to be addressed to respond effectively to the climate crisis.