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Publish date: January 17, 2010
Written by: Veronica Webster
News
The case has the potential to set a new precedent in international law as countries more exposed to climate change begin to seek redress in international forums, and unilateral nation energy decisions can be challenged from across the globe.
The Federated States of Micronesia is a small island state in the Pacific Ocean composed of 607 islands, of which 65 are populated and most of which are low lying atolls. As a result, it is a country deeply exposed to various effects of global climate change including rapid sea level rises, freak weather events or acute water insecurity. The Federated States of Micronesia lay to the west of the Marshall Islands and east of the Philippines.
Photo: wikimedia commons
A spokeswoman for the Czech environment ministry said it received the request late into the assessment process but would take into account Micronesia’s concerns.
The outcome of the challenge posed by Micronesia to CEZ and the Czech authorities remains to be seen, however, and perhaps more importantly, what has been made clear is that decisions made unilaterally by one nation that contribute to a rise in global CO2 emission levels may be increasingly influenced by other countries.
According to UNEP, Pacific island states have contributed just 0.06 per cent to global GHG emissions, yet are experiencing the effects of climate change faster than most other nations in the world.
Legal tools such as the Transboundary EIA could be used by developing nations and environmental advocates to make polluters accountable, in an effort to mitigate the current and future impact of climate change.
Recent attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant "mark the beginning of a new and gravely dangerous front of the war," the UN atomic agency's director general said last week.
After years of inaction, Germany is working on its Carbon Management Strategy to resolve how CCS can play a role in climate action in industry. At the end of February, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action published first key points and a proposal to amend the law Kohlenstoffdioxid Speicherungsgesetz (KSpG). Bellona Deutschland, who was actively involved in the previous stakeholder dialogue submitted a statement in the association hearing.
In the midst of a global discussion on whether natural gas should be used as a transitional fuel and whether emissions from its extraction, production, transport and use are significantly less than those from other fossil fuels, Russia has developed ambitious plans to increase its own production of liquified natural gas (LNG) in the Arctic – a region with 75% of proven gas reserves in Russia – to raise its share in the international gas trade.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our main focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution risks and climate change.