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Arctic Climate Law Project – Analytical Framework |
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“Law”, for the purpose of this project, emanates from the international legal order, the national legal regime and a constellation of local laws and customs. In order to uncover the contribution of “law” or legal norms to the process of adaptation to climate change in the North, the projects are grouped into themes that fall into one or the other ends of this spectrum. That is, projects will have as their primary reference point either international legal norms or local adaptation strategies. Within these categories, several specific themes are identified. Each of the themes identified below considers a particular configuration or cluster of legal norms, such as human rights norms, or land claim agreements, and evaluates the contribution of these legal norms to the development of adaptation strategies for the North at all levels. International Legal Order The CISDL has identified three sources of international legal norms that are pertinent to the questions being pursued by this research. These include international human rights law, in particular the existing international human rights institutions, complaint and judicial mechanisms; international environmental law, in particular the multilateral treaties addressing climate change specifically, such as the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol; and international economic law, in particular existing international trade and investment treaties. In recent decades we have witnessed a remarkable willingness on the part of nations to seek global solutions to trans-boundary problems. Climate change is one of the areas of highest need and, in spite of frequent setbacks, the most progress. Nations have taken on specific time-bound commitments at the international level to reduce their domestic production of greenhouse gas emissions. Nations are also bound by international obligations to respect various basic human rights, such as the right to freedom of expression or freedom of religion, and nations can also be argued to have emerging obligations to protect social and economic rights such as the right to a healthy environment, a right to housing, or the right to carry on a traditional way of life. In addition, nations have committed to new economic and financial mechanisms at the international level which may give rise to norms and opportunities relevant to the issue of climate change adaptation in the North. These international legal norms emerge from, and are part of, a complex set of local, national and regional norms and commitments for cooperation that are governed by diverse mechanisms, rules and agreements, whether explicit or implied.
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