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

2015年的《巴黎协定》再次肯定了国家在全球应对气候变化中的中心地位。虽然减少温室气体排放的全球合作得到了《巴黎协定》的支持，但减缓和适应气候变化的责任仍然落在各个国家身上。然而，部分由于在《巴黎协定》缔结之前国际和国内两级都没有采取行动，一个复杂的气候变化治理体系已经形成。硬性和软性法律、行为者网络的使用，以及完全在国家之外出现的新治理方法的出现，在气候变化方面几乎没有什么进展的情况下，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，以及它是否有能力通过向不愿自愿行动的行为者施加压力来促进行为变化，仍存在严重问题。我的论文旨在调查整个治理体系内各国采取的法律和监管方法，以检验其缓解气候变化的适宜性，以符合《巴黎协定》将全球气温上升控制在远低于2摄氏度的目标。尽管气候变化治理提供了一种涉及众多不同行为者的创新和可能全面的缓解方法，但这一问题需要在相对较短的时间内在全球范围内实现大规模的温室气体减排。因此，法律和监管是气候治理体系的重要组成部分，但由于涉及社会、政治和经济性质的国家的反补贴问题而受到破坏。企业对全球大量排放负有直接和间接责任；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、对其供应链排放责任的模棱两可、对国家的政治和经济影响以及该部门或个别公司掌握的政治和经济权力，这一问题变得复杂起来。我的论文将研究英国对与能源行业企业相关的温室气体排放的法律和监管方法。这将涉及调查直接监管干预以促进缓解，以及通过修订现有公司法和使用诉讼进行间接干预。英国是一个有趣的学习地点，原因有几个。作为欧盟目前的成员国，并因此受制于其减缓和适应气候变化的方法，它将提供一个机会来研究欧盟在这一领域的法律和政策。由于英国脱欧，这项研究还将提供一个独特的机会，在压倒一切的政治关注和经济不确定性的背景下，调查缓解气候变化的方法。对英国的这种关注将得到与其他司法管辖区方法的比较研究的补充，以便调查企业在跨境行动时面临的困难和机会。经验性研究将补充案例研究，使用政府和企业关于气候变化缓解政策和温室气体排放的声明，以及英国能源部门企业的战略和可持续发展报告，以确定监管方法的影响，并评估立法和监管在实践中的效果。

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.