The Role Of Law In Climate Change Mitigation And Adaptation
- IJLLR Journal
- Mar 14
- 2 min read
Tonu Kalwala, Modern Law College, Pune
ABSTRACT
Climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges of the 21st century, with far-reaching implications for ecosystems, economies, and societies. The role of law in addressing climate change is pivotal, as legal frameworks establish the rules, obligations, and mechanisms for both mitigation and adaptation efforts. This article explores the significance of law in combating climate change, highlighting international agreements, national policies, and the importance of environmental justice. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale. The Report goes on to highlight how climate change is not just a future scenario rather there is overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards irreversible ecological catastrophe (UNDP, 2008). In response to a series of highly publicized climatic and environmental events in the 1960s and 1970s, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in associated with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) convened the First World Climate Conference (FWCC), which was held on 12-23 February 1979 in Geneva. This was a landmark event as it was the very first major international meeting on climate change. Attended by scientists from a wide range of disciplines, the purpose of the conference was to assess the state of knowledge of climate and to consider the effects of climate variability and change on human society.
Following the FWCC, the World Climate Programme and the World Climate Research Programme were established with the aim of developing fundamental scientific understanding of the physical climate system and the extent of human influence on climate.
In 1988, the WMO and UNEP created the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). A scientific intergovernmental body, the IPCC aims to assess scientific information relevant to human-induced climate change, the impacts of human-induced climate change, and options for adaptation and mitigation.
