IN SEARCH OF 'CLIMATE CHANGE LAW': PUBLIC GOODS AND PRIVATE ACTORS IN THE AGE OF REGULATORY GOVERNANCE

2015年《巴黎协定》重申了国家在全球应对气候变化中的中心地位。虽然《巴黎协定》加强了减少温室气体排放的全球合作，但减缓和适应气候变化的责任仍然属于各国。然而，部分由于国际和国内在签署《巴黎协定》之前的严重不作为，已经形成了一个复杂的气候变化治理体系。硬法和软法的运用、行动者网络以及完全在国家之外的治理新方法的出现，为应对气候变化提供了动力。尽管出现了气候变化治理，但它是否适合当前的问题，以及它是否能够通过向不愿自愿采取行动的行为体施加压力来促进行为改变，都存在严重的问题。我的论文旨在调查各国在整个治理体系中采取的法律和监管方法，以检验其是否适合根据《巴黎协定》将全球气温上升保持在“远低于2摄氏度”的目标来减缓气候变化。虽然气候变化治理为涉及各种不同行为者的缓解提供了一种创新的、可能是全面的办法，但这一问题要求在全球范围内在相对较短的时间内大量减少温室气体排放。因此，法律和法规是气候治理体系的重要组成部分，但却因社会、政治和经济性质的国家进口的反补贴问题而受到损害。企业对大量的全球排放负有直接和间接的责任；为了限制全球气温上升，企业必须减少排放。然而，由于许多温室气体密集型排放者的跨境活动、其供应链排放责任的模糊性、对国家的政治和经济影响，以及该行业或个别公司所掌握的政治和经济权力，这一问题变得更加复杂。我的论文将调查英国的法律和监管方法，以温室气体排放有关的企业在能源部门。这将涉及调查旨在促进缓解的直接管制干预和通过修正现有公司立法和利用诉讼进行的间接干预。英国是一个有趣的研究地点，有几个原因。作为欧盟的现有成员，并受制于其减缓和适应气候变化的办法，它将提供一个机会来调查欧盟在这一领域的法律和政策。由于英国脱欧，该研究还将提供一个独特的机会，在压倒一切的政治当务之急和经济不确定性的背景下，研究减缓气候变化的方法。对英国的关注将辅以与其他司法管辖区方法的比较研究，从而调查企业在跨境经营时面临的困难和机遇。实证研究将补充案例研究，利用政府和企业关于减缓气候变化政策和温室气体排放的声明，以及联合王国能源部门企业的战略和可持续性报告，确定监管方法的效果，并评估立法和监管在实践中如何发挥作用。

The Paris Agreement 2015 re-affirmed the centrality of the state in the global response to climate change. While global cooperation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has been bolstered by the Paris Agreement, responsibility for climate change mitigation and adaptation remains vested with the individual state. Nevertheless, and in part due to significant inaction at the international and domestic level prior to the conclusion of the Paris Agreement, a complex system of climate change governance has evolved. The use of hard and soft law, networks of actors, and the emergence of new methods of governance wholly outside of the state, has provided momentum on climate change when little was forthcoming. Despite the emergence of climate change governance there are serious questions regarding its appropriateness for the problem at hand and its ability to promote behavioural changes by mobilising pressure on actors unwilling to act voluntarily.My thesis aims to investigate the legal and regulatory approaches taken by states within the overall governance system to examine its appropriateness for climate change mitigation in line with the Paris Agreement's target to keep global temperature increases "well-below 2 degrees Celsius". While the governance of climate change provides an innovative and potentially holistic approach to mitigation involving a large variety of different actors, nonetheless, the problem requires large greenhouse gas emissions reductions to occur over a relatively short period of time across the globe. Therefore, law and regulation are vital components of the climate governance system yet are undermined by countervailing issues of import to states of a social, political and economic nature. Corporations are responsible both directly and indirectly for a large volume of global emissions; to limit global temperature increases corporate emissions must be reduced. However, this is complicated by the cross-border activity of many greenhouse gas intensive emitters, the ambiguity regarding responsibility for the emissions of their supply chains, the political and economic ramifications for the state, and the political and economic power wielded by the sector or individual corporation. My thesis will investigate the UK's legal and regulatory approaches to greenhouse gas emissions relating to corporations in the energy sector. This will involve an investigation of direct regulatory intervention to promote mitigation and indirect interventions though the amendment of existing corporate legislation and the use of litigation. The UK is an interesting site of study for several reasons. As a current member of the EU and as such subject to its climate change mitigation and adaptation approaches, it will provide an opportunity to investigate EU law and policy in this area. Due to Brexit, the study will also provide a unique opportunity to investigate an approach to climate change mitigation in the context of overriding political preoccupation and economic uncertainty. This focus on the UK will be supplemented by comparative studies with approaches from other jurisdictions allowing an investigation into the difficulties and opportunities facing corporations when acting across borders.Empirical research will supplement the case studies, using both Governmental and corporate statements on climate change mitigation policy and greenhouse gas emissions, and the strategic and sustainability reports of corporations in the energy sectors of the UK to identify the effect of regulatory approaches and evaluate how legislation and regulation works in practice.