New ideas or false hopes? : International, European, and Irish climate change law and policy after the Paris Agreement

Abstract

This article is an overview and summary of recent developments in international, European and Irish climate change law and policy. It places the recently-concluded Paris Agreement in the context of the US-China Deal on climate, announced in late 2014, which indicate that while bilateral and small-scale agreements are still important, the large multilateral United Nations treaty track is by no means as moribund as some commentators have thought. It also considers present and future European Union measures on climate, particularly the so-called ‘20/20/20’ target, the ‘2030 Framework’, and the action plan for 2050. It discusses the first dedicated Irish legislation on climate change, the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Act 2015, outlining its main provisions and highlighting its weaknesses. Finally, it surveys climate change litigation globally, focusing on the Dutch Urgenda case and the Pakistani Leghari case, concluding by assessing the likelihood and desirability of similar litigation in Ireland.