CBS LAW
Climate Law and Economics
The present group members are
Associate Professor Henrik Andersen
Associate Professor Marie-Louise Holle
Assistant Professor Sarah Maria Denta
Coming Phd-student in September 2020 – will be updated
The purpose of the climate law and economics research group
The purpose of the research group is to establish a strong group of researchers that can provide research in climate law in a Danish, EU, international and economic perspective.
CBS LAW is a significant legal environment for combining business law and economics and has several researchers within this field. This group of researchers has previously focussed on public private law, EU law, international law and WTO in an economic perspective. The starting point of the climate research to be conducted is how collaboration between the public sector and the private industry can provide relevant and innovative solutions to the climate change and global warming.
Climate law and economics events
The CBS LAW climate law and economics research group will present online climate law and economics seminars during the fall 2020 and plan on hosting a climate law and economic conference in 2021.
The researchers of the CBS LAW climate law and economics group have written the following papers and articles on climate law and economics and more is to come during the next months.
Climate law arises from the UN conventions, protocols and agreements.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change entered into force on 21 March 1994 and 197 countries that have ratified the Convention. The UNFCCC is known as the “Rio Convention”, negotiated at the “Rio Earth Summit” in 1992. Two other UN conventions were negotiated at the same summit; the UN Convention on Biological Diversity; and the Convention to Combat Desertification. Legislation is the key instrument in the Rio Convention (UNFCCC) as stated in the preamble. The countries should ”enact effective environmental legislation, that environmental standards, management objectives and priorities should reflect the environmental and developmental context to which they apply, and that standards applied by some countries may be inappropriate and of unwarranted economic and social cost to other countries, in particular developing countries”. Consequently, legal studies on climate law are of high significance.
The Kyoto Protocol was adopted on 11 December 1997 and entered into force in 2005. Currently, there are 192 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol which makes the Kyoto Protocol key legal instrument worldwide. The purpose of the Kyoto Protocol is to operationalizes the principles from UNFCCC by committing industrialized countries to limit and reduce greenhouse gases emissions in accordance with agreed individual targets. Hence, the Kyoto Protocol is based on the principles of the UNFCCC. It binds the developed countries with the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities.” The Kyoto Protocol introduced a flexible market mechanism, building on the trade of emissions permits which means that the countries must meet their targets through either national measures or through 1) International Emissions Trading; 2) The Clean Development Mechanism, or 3) Joint Implementation.
At COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015, the countries of the UNFCCC agreed to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low-carbon future. The Paris Agreement builds upon the UNFCCC and provides common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, and to assist developing countries. 187 countries have ratified the agreement. The Paris Agreement entered into force in 2016. Legislation is a key element in the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement itself does not consist of binding legislation but in the preamble the importance of the engagements of all levels of government and various actors, in accordance with respective national legislations in addressing climate change is emphasised. The Paris Agreement’s key purpose is stated in article 2 due to which, the aims of the Paris Agreement is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty. The purpose should due to article 2 be followed by:
Holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change; (b) Increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development, in a manner that does not threaten food production; and (c) Making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.
The Paris Agreement does not provide negotiated binding national targets and common legislation. All measures and provisions regulating the effort are on a national legal level.
Further climate law research is necessary
The CBS LAW climate law and economics research group will provide relevant legal research on an international, EU, and national level and will provide relevant knowledge on how to establish and develop collaboration among public and private parties. The law, the economics and collaboration will be key elements in the future climate change development and thus CBS LAW will contribute to the future global climate research environment.
See the selected research from the group members
(Will be updated in the fall 2020)
Tvarnø, Christina D., Regulating the Climate (February 27, 2020). Copenhagen Business School, CBS LAW Research Paper No. 20-01. Available at SSRN or here
Tvarnø, Christina D., EU Climate Law and Public Private Partnerships (April 29, 2020). Copenhagen Business School, CBS LAW Research Paper No. 20-06. Available at SSRN
Holle, Marie-Louise, & Amalie Bang, 'Making Legal History: State Liability for Negligence in Climate Change', (2020), 26, European Public Law, Issue 1, pp. 45-58. Available here
See also SSRN: Bang, Amalie and Holle, Marie-Louise, Making Legal History: State Liability for Negligence in Climate Change (February 24, 2019). Copenhagen Business School, CBS LAW Research Paper 19-11, Available at SSRN or here
Andersen, Henrik, WTO Jurisprudence on Protection of Marine Living Resources: Policy Considerations for the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (May 16, 2019). Copenhagen Business School, CBS LAW Research Paper No. 19-20. Available at SSRN or here