PhD student: Mrs N.L. Dobson

Promotor: Prof C.M. Ryngaert

Duration: 1/2/2014 - 31/1/2018

PhD defence: Utrecht, 5/6/2018

Abstract:

While the importance of the global climate has been well recognised in international law, States are yet to agree on an effective multilateral approach to protecting it. Economically speaking, climate change prevention can be characterised as a global public good, chronically undersupplied on the market due to the collective inaction of international policy makers. Meanwhile, certain States, particularly the EU, are unilaterally pursuing their own policies, sometimes with extraterritorial effects. This research seeks to determine to what extent such policies are permitted under international law, and evaluate the legitimacy of the current legal framework in the fast globalising world.