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Unreliable Evidence

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Factual: Crime & Justice

Series exploring and analysing the legal issues of the day

Brian King

Koos van den Berg

Unreliable Evidence: The Law and Climate Change

27/09/2017

The Law and Climate Change

BBC Radio 4 - Unreliable Evidence, The Law and Climate Change

Clive Anderson and guests discuss the role the law can play in reducing climate change.

Can lawyers save the planet? In the wake of hurricane devastation in the Caribbean, Clive Anderson and guests discuss the role the law can play in reducing climate change.

Can lawyers save the planet? Clive Anderson and guests discuss the role the law can play in reducing global warming. 

The devastation caused in the Caribbean by Hurricane Irma is being blamed on global warming. The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Brown says the worldâ€TMs major emitters of greenhouse gasses should be held responsible. But what law or court could achieve that?

A new scientific study says 30 per cent of the impact of global warming can be traced to the activities of just 90 companies. But what law or court could hold them liable?

On June 1, 2017, Donald Trump announced that the US was withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation because it undermined his countryâ€TMs economy. Can lawyers force the US to rejoin?

In 2015 the Urgenda Foundation won a landmark court case which forced the Dutch government to increase its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Similar court battles have since been won elsewhere in the world, most recently in South Africa where judges ruled against government support for a new coal-fired power station.

Legal experts representing both environmental and commercial interests discuss the strengths and weakness of current laws and regulations controlling greenhouse gas emissions. Do we need a specialised International Court on the Environment with powers to force governments and individual businesses to reduce emissions? Does the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement undermine legal efforts to mitigate climate change? Can courts force companies to take measures which put them at a commercial disadvantage in the international market? How will Brexit affect climate change regulations in the UK? 

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