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Home > Student > Law Review > Vol. 41 (2019) > Iss. 3 (2019)

 

Abstract

The earth is at a “tipping point” for climate change, according to the world’s scientific community. Building on the basic structure of the Kyoto Protocol, reaffirmed at the December 2015 Paris Conference of the Parties, it remains unresolved how the framework of international law for both reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and addressing climate change will be implemented across 200 nations.

Approximately 40% of all CO2 emissions are attributable to the electric power sector. Currently, there is no international requirement that developed economies make any shift to zero-carbon or low-carbon renewable power, and the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) program has accomplished only modest renewable energy investment, to date, accounting for less than one-third of verified CDM credits.

In order to have the world population “buy in” to the new lowcarbon metric, unprecedented vigorous deployment of renewable energy generation alternatives will be required to contain runaway climate change. Even if all developed countries could achieve a dramatic reduction of 80% of their CO2 emissions by 2050, without similar vigorous participation by developing countries, this would not achieve the Kyoto Protocol or 2015 Paris Agreement climate change goals to hold climate warming below two degrees Celsius.

Innovative program models are required to fill this void. There is now a proven model. This model is adaptable to, and has been successfully demonstrated in, Asian nations with different forms of government and reliance on different primary forms of fuel for generation of electric power, ranging from market economies to communist countries. This new model is the key to arresting irreversible Anthropocenic disruption of climate and reconfigure energy markets.

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