The Oxford Handbook of International Climate Change Law

Climate change presents one of the greatest challenges of our time, and has become one of the defining issues of the twenty-first century. The radical changes which both developed and developing countries will need to make, in economic and in legal terms, to respond to climate change are unprecedented. International law, including treaty regimes, institutions, and customary international law, needs to address the myriad challenges and consequences of climate change, including variations in the weather patterns, sea level rise, and the resulting migration of peoples.

The Oxford Handbook of International Climate Change Law provides an unprecedented and authoritative overview of all aspects of international climate change law as it currently stands, with guidance for how it should develop in the future. Over forty leading scholars and practitioners set out a comprehensive understanding of the legal issues that surround this vitally important but still emerging area of international law. This book addresses the major legal dimensions of the problems caused by climate change: not only in the content and nature of the international legal frameworks, which need implementation at the national level, but also the development of carbon trading systems as a means of reducing the costs of meeting emission reduction targets. After an introduction to the field, the Handbook assesses the relevant institutions, the key applicable principles of international law, the international mitigation regime and its consequences, and climate change litigation, before providing perspectives focused upon specific countries or regions.

The Handbook will be an invaluable resource for scholars, students, and practitioners of international climate change law. It provides readers with diverse perspectives, bringing together interpretations from different disciplines, countries, and cultures.

Kevin R. Gray, Senior Policy Analyst, Environment Canada,Richard Tarasofsky,Head of the Sustainable Development Programme, Chatham House,Cinnamon P. Carlarne,Associate Professor of Law, Moritz College of Law, Ohio State University

Kevin R. Gray, LL.M. is a Senior Policy Analyst at Environment Canada in the Trade and Environment Branch. He is an international lawyer and academic, having taught at the London School of Economics and the School of Oriental and African Studies. He has also been a research fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law.

Richard Tarasofsky is the Head of the Sustainable Development Programme at at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in London in the UK. The Programme is one of the world's leading interdisciplinary research centres for a wide range of major international environmental, business, and energy policy issues. Prior to joining Chatham House in January 2004, Mr. Tarasofsky worked in private practice as an international lawyer specialising in sustainable development, working with governments, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations around the world. His areas of expertise include the sustainable development aspects of globalization, global governance, intellectual property rights, biodiversity, forests, marine environment - at both international and European levels. Mr. Tarasofsky also worked from 1993-1998 as a Legal Officer at the Environmental Law Centre of IUCN - The World Conservation Union.

Cinnamon Pinon Carlarne is Associate Professor of Law at Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University. Prior to joining the Moritz Faculty, she was an Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law. From 2006-2008, Professor Carlarne was the Harold Woods Research Fellow in Environmental Law at Wadham College, Oxford, where she was a member of the law faculty and the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies. She previously taught at the University of Cincinnati Center for Environmental Studies. Prior to joining the University of Cincinnati, she was an associate attorney in the Energy, Land Use, and Environment section at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington, D.C. Her scholarship focuses on the evolution of system of domestic and international environmental governance.