Sustainable energy democracy: What is it and why does it matter?
By Kaisa Huhta, Senior Lecturer in EU law at the CCEEL Photo by Flash Dantz on Unsplash Sustainable energy democracy is a concept that has been used to understand new citizen-centred phenomena emerging in the energy transition. This blog post briefly explores the concept of sustainable energy democracy from a legal perspective, based on a […]
Sámi Council resistance to a solar radiation management experiment highlights the complex questions surrounding climate geoengineering and consent
By Aaron Cooper. Aaron Cooper is a PhD researcher in Law at the CCEEL of the University of Eastern Finland, and lecturer in Law at Coventry University. This blog post is based on an original analysis piece posted on the Arctic Institute website. Photo by Timo Horstschaefer on Unsplash In a recent Reddit ‘Ask Me […]
Will the new EU taxonomy bring stricter ecological requirements for hydropower?
By Suvi-Tuuli Puharinen & Antti Belinskij. Puharinen is a PhD researcher and Belinskij is Professor of Environmental Law at the Center for Climate Change, Energy and Environmental Law of the University of Eastern Finland. Both contribute to the SUSHYDRO -project financed by the Academy of Finland. This blog post is based on the Finnish language […]
Taking stock of EU climate governance: key challenges
By Sebastian Oberthür. Photo by Giovanni Bianchi on Unsplash. EU climate governance has made significant progress over the past years, including an acceleration under the European Commission’s European Green Deal launched in 2019. Nevertheless, the European Union still has a long way to go to realise the climate and sustainability transition, which will require perseverance […]
Opening the black box of transparency in multilateral climate governance
by Harro van Asselt and Ellycia Harrould-Kolieb. Photo by Nuno Silva on Unsplash. Transparency has become a buzzword of the 21st century, including in the context of global governance. International regimes governing a wide array of societal challenges, from arms control to trade, and human rights to the environment, have created formal and informal processes […]
Using the Paris Agreement to strengthen action on methane
by Veera Pekkarinen. This article was first published in IISD/SDG Knowledge Hub on 13 January 2021. Photo by veeterzy on Unsplash. Methane can be characterized as a “super-pollutant”. While it stays in the atmosphere only for 12 years, it is up to 86 times more powerful in warming the climate in the short term than the most […]
Realizing the promise of Paris: Three ways of strengthening non-state and subnational climate action
By Harro van Asselt, Sander Chan, Idil Boran, Thomas Hale, Lukas Hermwille, Charles Roger. 11 December 2020. Global Governance. Harro van Asselt, Sander Chan, Idil Boran, Thomas Hale, Lukas Hermwille, Charles Roger examine opportunities to strengthen climate action by non-state and subnational actors. Article was first published on the Global Policy website on 11 December […]
Urgenda Ratkaisu – Ilamsto-Oikeudenkäynnit ja tuomioistuinten rooli ilmastonmuutoksen torjunnassa?
Pekka Niemelä, tutkijatohtori, UEF Law School 2020-2022. Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash. Hollannin korkein antoi joulukuussa 2019 uraauurtavan Urgenda-ratkaisun, jonka mukaan ilmastonmuutos uhkaa Euroopan ihmisoikeussopimuksessa (EIS) turvattuja oikeuksia, kuten oikeutta elämään. Se velvoitti Hollannin hallituksen kiristämään toimia ilmastonmuutoksen torjumiseksi ja nostamaan päästövähennystavoitteen kunnianhimoa 25:een prosenttiin vuoden 2020 loppuun mennessä perusteella, ettei maan aiempi tavoite vähentää päästöjä 20 prosentilla […]
Vapaaehtoisten päästöhyvitysten sääntelyyn tarvitaan selkeyttä
Hanna-Mari Ahonen, Kari Hämekoski, Matti Kahra, Kati Kulovesi, Anna Laine ja Maija Saijonmaa. Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash. Kasvava huoli ilmastonmuutoksesta on lisännyt kasvihuonekaasupäästöjen vapaaehtoisen hyvittämisen eli päästökompensaation suosiota. Julkisuuteenkin nousseet ongelmat osoittavat, että toiminnan sääntely laahaa jäljessä. Nostamme tässä kirjoituksessa esiin kaksi tärkeintä ongelmaa peräänkuuluttaen sekä selkeyttä kompensaatiomarkkinoiden toimintaympäristöön että päästökompensaatioiden laadun riittävää […]
Saving the world’s forests: What’s (international) law got to do with it?
Eugenia Recio. Photo by Vista Wei on Unsplash. Natural forests, particularly in tropical regions, are essential for life. They are pools of biodiversity, contribute to combating climate change by storing carbon, and sustain the livelihoods of many indigenous and local communities across the world. In the past weeks, however, worrying images of record-breaking fires destroying […]