We are excited to announce that this volume has been awarded the 2018 Certificate of Merit in a Specialized Area of International Law by The American Society of International Law. Find below a short excerpt from the note accompanying the award:

“In a foreword to this book, the authors remark that “international climate change law presents a moving target.” Indeed, a field buffeted by sharp political controversies, entrenched economic interests, complex evolving science, global inequalities, and urgent advancing deadlines presents a formidable area of study. The authors rise to the challenge, bringing their many collective decades of experience to bear in developing a remarkably clear and cohesive overview of the field. Indeed, the authors develop the parameters of the field as they review it,offering an account of its origins; analysis of the key conventions of the climate change regime (specifically the Framework Convention on Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement), and their corresponding institutions; as well as private, sub-national, and polycentric climate change governance regimes; and intersections between climate change and areas like trade, human rights law, and migration. We were particularly struck by the authors’ capacity to weave both authoritative analysis of legal rules and a nuanced understanding of practical and political factors into a comprehensive and eminently accessible account. The elements add up to a timely and extraordinarily useful guide that will be relevant for scholars, practitioners, students, and legal architects alike.”

The CPR Initiative on Climate, Energy and Environment is pleased to announce the publication of International Climate Change Law, co-authored by Professor Lavanya Rajamani, which provides a comprehensive overview of international climate change law. Climate change is one of the fundamental challenges facing the world today, and is the cause of significant international concern. In response, states have created an international climate regime. The treaties that comprise the regime – the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the 2015 Paris Agreement establish a system of governance to address climate change and its impacts. This tome authored by Daniel Bodansky, Jutta Brunnée, and Lavanya Rajamani provides a clear analytical guide to the climate regime, as well as other relevant international legal rules.

The book locates international climate change law within the broader context of international law and international environmental law. It considers the evolution of the international climate change regime, and the process of law-making that has led to it. It examines the key provisions of the Framework Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. It analyses the principles and obligations that underpin the climate regime, as well as the elaborate institutional and governance architecture that has been created at successive international conferences to develop commitments and promote transparency and compliance. Further, it address the polycentric nature of international climate change law, as well as the intersections of international climate change law with other areas of international regulation.

This book is an essential introduction to international climate change law for students, scholars and negotiators.

Catherine Redgwell, Chichele Professor of Public International Law, University of Oxford, writes in her review of the book, “This book is a comprehensive and authoritative account of international climate change law by three towering figures in the field… The authors have brought their unique blend of academic expertise and practical experience of the climate regime to produce the definitive work on international climate change law, and what will surely be viewed as an instant classic.”

Philippe Sands, Q C, Professor of Law, University College London in his review writes that “On the ‘defining issue of our age’, Bodansky, Brunnée and Rajamani offer the definitive guide to the history, process and substance of international law’s effort to address climate change – and the prospects we face. Measured, authoritative and readable, to the Paris Agreement and, hopefully, beyond.”

Jacob Werksman, Principal Advisor, DG Climate Action, European Commission writes “I can think of no better team of “academic practitioners” to bring a balanced insight to this surprisingly complex and subtle area of international law. I am sure even those involved in these negotiations will find new nuance and insight in this book.”

Further information about the book can be found here. More detail on Dr. Rajamani’s work can be found here.