Int’l lawsuit could be used to break deadlock

Vulnerable nations affected by climate change could use international laws to break the prolonged deadlock in climate talks by taking rich, polluting nations to court, an environmental law group says.

The call comes as government officials from around the world met in Tianjin, China, this week for a final round of preparatory meetings before the climate change summit in Mexico, later this year.

“A large portion of relevant legal literature suggests that the main polluting nations can be held responsible under international laws for the harmful effects of their greenhouse gas emissions,” said Christoph Schwarte, an attorney from the London-based Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD).

The four-page document made available to The Jakarta Post recently outlined a potential legal vehicle to demand rich countries reduce their carbon emissions.

“As a result, affected countries may have a substantive right to demand the cessation of a certain amount of emissions. In selected cases they also have procedural means to pursue an inter-state litigation in an international judicial forum such as the International Court of Justice in The Hague,” Schwarte said.

Legal cases related to the effects of climate change had been filed against public and private entities in several jurisdictions, the paper said.

The governments of developing countries were understandably reluctant to challenge any of the big donor nations in an international court or tribunal, Schwarte said.

“But this may change once the impacts of climate change become even more visible and an adequate agreement remains wanting.”

The one-week meeting in Tianjin that began Monday is scheduled to discuss emissions cuts, climate change mitigation, adaptation, financing, technology transfer and the reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) scheme.

The outcomes of the Tianjin meeting will determine the likely direction of talks at the upcoming climate change summit in Mexico.

However, many have expressed pessimism at the outcomes of Tianjin, as rich nations have largely remained reluctant to agree on legally binding emissions cuts targets for when the Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment expires in 2012.

Since the failure of the Copenhagen summit in 2009 there has been limited progress in climate change negotiations. At the current rate of progress, a new legal framework and ambitious emissions reductions look unlikely for the near-term.

Harry Supriono, an environmental law expert based at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, hailed the FIELD proposal to take rich nations to court as one option to break the deadlock in the climate talks.

“It is possible, although it would involve lengthy procedures,” he told the Post.

The move would at least increase the bargaining position of developing and poor countries at the negotiation table, he said.

“The Indonesian delegation could work with other developing and poor countries to push rich nations to agree to legally binding targets,” he said.

So far, the progress made in climate change negotiations was nowhere near enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to safe levels, FIELD director Joy Hyvarinen said.

“Perhaps an international court case could help bring new momentum to the negotiations,” Hyva-rinen said.