Using the Law to Fix the Climate - A Mock COP Fringe Event
COP26andbeyond presented this MOCK COP fringe event for delegates on Nov 26th.
We looked at how laws are made, how they are enforced, and what you can do to use them to fix the climate.
The session will involved youth-led Italian think tank IARI and other young contributors alongside William Wilson - an expert environmental and energy lawyer who has worked on many key environmental laws in the UK and EU, Middle East and Far East, and recently presented climate change legislation workshops in Malaysia.
The session covered:
MAKING LAWS TO FIX THE CLIMATE
The UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement are international laws. As delegates to the MOCK COP, you are already taking action to help make them work! Other laws will be needed to put the conclusions of COP26 into practice. Will your country have its own climate legislation? Its own laws about the energy transition? Each of those laws is an opportunity for you to make a difference.
This section included a panel discussion with a fantastic range of leaders in youth engagement:
Barry McLaughlin - Ireland Climate Ambassador
Todd Murray – Welsh Youth Parliament
Manal Bidar – Moroccan Youth Parliament & Mock COP Delegate
Chiara Ferro & Giulia Longo – Parliamentary Assembly for the Mediterranean, IARI (Insituto Analizi Realizioni Internationali)
ENFORCING LAWS TO FIX THE CLIMATE
If laws are not enforced, they don’t mean anything. The Paris Agreement was a huge achievement. But if it was enough, then greenhouse gas emissions would be going down and COP26 would be a formality.
We looked at the need for effective enforcement of climate pledges, and what that demands.
Thank you!
Diolch!
Merci!
Grazie!
Gracias!
Thank you to all our speakers and to the delegates from 11 countries who attended! We hope you found the event interesting and engaging - the links shared in the chat during the event are all detailed below:
Follow us on Social Media
Find COP26 and beyond’s Guide to the Paris Agreement here in:
UNEP Environmental Rule of Law:
First Global Report 2019 https://www.www.unenvironment.org
Climate Change Laws and cases:
London School of Economics / Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change & the Environment: Climate-laws.org
Sabin Centre for Climate Change Law: Climate.law.columbia.edu
Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean
Interview with Barry McLaughlin on how to influence lawmakers
IARI
https://iari.site/environmental-personhood-should-natural-elements-have-legal-stance/
relazioniesterne.iari@europe.com
Welsh Youth Parliament
https://www.youthparliament.wales/get-involved/littering-and-plastic-waste
@Welshyouthparl - twitter/instagram/facebook
Upcoming EGU 2021 Conference
IYEA Handbook on Advocacy
Oceans Climate School
UN Grants and Funds
Reading suggestion
Unbowed by Wangari Maathai - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/201111.Unbowed