Management of Carbon emission and International Environmental Law- An analysis

Management of Carbon emissions and International Environmental Law- An analysis

Written By: Sreshta Satpathy

Introduction

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in awareness of the threats to the international environment, and a wide range of environmental issues are now the subject of major international concern. This encompasses pollution in the atmosphere, the sea, global warming, and ozone depletion. In obvious ways, such issues have an international dimension. To begin with, pollution generated within a single state frequently has a significant impact on other countries.

Second, it is clearly clear that governments acting alone will not be able to solve environmental issues. As a result, a collaboration between the polluting and polluted states is required. However, the problem becomes more complicated when it is impossible to determine which country is responsible for a particular type of pollution. This is true, for example, in the case of ozone depletion. Pollution’s international aspect, both in terms of its creation and the damage it causes, is now widely acknowledged as necessitating a worldwide response.

Understanding Carbon Emissions

Carbon is an element in its most basic form. It is, in fact, the most prevalent ingredient for life on the planet! Carbon is literally the cornerstone for life, from the air we breathe to the food we grow and the chemical makeup of our own bodies. The release of carbon into the atmosphere is referred to as carbon emission. Carbon emissions are simply greenhouse gas emissions, which are the primary contributors to climate change.

When addressing global warming or the greenhouse effect, greenhouse gas emissions are frequently referred to as “carbon emissions” since they are often quantified as carbon dioxide equivalents. Carbon dioxide emissions come from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Ocean release, and respiration, decomposition are all-natural sources. Human causes include cement manufacturing, deforestation, and the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas.

International Points Regarding Carbon Emission

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was established in 1992 with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. The Convention established several principles for how the international community would address climate change, including the idea that developed countries, who had previously contributed the most to global warming, had a responsibility to lead in mitigating climate change’s adverse effects, also known as “common but differentiated responsibilities.”

The Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC was signed in December 1997, and it established a binding commitment by 37 industrialized nations and the European Community to cut GHG emissions by an average of 5% below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. These industrialized countries agreed to cut their GHG emissions by meeting nation-specific targets.

Before the Kyoto Protocol was agreed to, the US Senate passed a resolution against any pact that did not put similar obligations on both developing and developed countries in the summer of 1997. Despite this, Bill Clinton, the president of the United States, signed the Protocol. The Protocol, however, was never presented to the Senate for ratification. The Protocol entered into force in the ratifying countries on February 16, 2005.

After China and the United States, India is presently the world’s third greatest emitter of greenhouse gases. Between 1990 and 2009, India’s annual emissions nearly quadrupled, from less than 600 metric tonnes to more than 1700 metric tonnes.

Between 2008 and 2035, India’s yearly carbon dioxide emissions are expected to increase by over 2.5 times. The Indian Constitution is one of the few in the world that includes environmental concerns. The national commitment to safeguard and improve the environment is specifically stated in the Directive Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Duties chapters.

A few of them are; Article 48A requires that “the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.” Article 51A establishes that “it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures.”

Conclusion

Carbon dioxide levels have reached their greatest point in six hundred thousand years. At current emissions rates, the world is on track for a 40-degree rise by the end of the century, which may signal doom for wild animals and sea creatures while also putting a strain on everything from human health to livelihood security and economic development. To put it another way, our lives, our very existence, maybe in jeopardy.

There is a great deal that can be done. Small, medium and large activities are all needed to combat climate change. We have the ability to act in all of our roles – as employees, students, customers, investors, educators, entrepreneurs, and citizens. And we have the ability to act in all of our domains of influence, including our homes, schools, workplaces, and public life. We can all work together to spread the word that climate change is real, it is occurring, and we must act immediately to solve it.