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Module Specifications

Archived Version 2014 - 2015

Module Title
Module Code
School

Online Module Resources

NFQ level 8 Credit Rating 5
Pre-requisite None
Co-requisite None
Compatibles None
Incompatibles None
Description

This module aims to: - Examine how international, regional and domestic legal systems are evolving in response to concern about global warming and climate change; highlight the political-economy and other factors shaping the content and pace of climate change legal response; detail specific legal regimes, such as the UN and EU Climate Regimes; illustrate how pre-existing international and domestic laws (public and private) are being applied to climate change; examine Irish legal and regulatory controls over sector-specific emissions (industrial, agricultural, transport etc.); and explore the legal underpinnings of flexible and market mechanism responses to climate change.

Learning Outcomes

1. Understand the evolution of legal response to a transboundary/global-scale threat
2. Identify the sources and scope of international climate change law and its core principles and content
3. Understand the interaction and interdependence of climate change regimes at international, regional and domestic levels
4. Appreciate how climate change legal response is influenced by a variety of international and national political-economy factors
5. Identify and analyse connections between climate change law and other legal systems such as trade law, human rights and biodiversity law
6. Understand the limits of direct greenhouse gas regulation and the role of flexible and market mechanisms such as trading schemes and their legal basis



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Lecture24No Description
Independent Study101No Description
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Recommended Book Resources
Watchman (ed.) 2008, Climate Change: A Guide to a Carbon Law and Practice, Globe Law and Business, London Yamin and Depledge 2004, The International Climate Change Regime: A Guide to Rules, Institutions and Procedures, Cambridge University Press Gillespie 2006, Climate Change, Ozone Depletion and Air Pollution: Legal Commentaries with Policy and Science Considerations, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Netherlands Lord, Goldberg, Rajamani and Brunnée (eds.) 2012, Climate Change Liability: Transnational Law and Practice, Cambridge University Press Smith and Shearman 2006, Climate Change Litigation, Presidian Legal Publications, Australia Burns and Osofsky (eds.) 2009, Adjudicating Climate Change: State, National and International Approaches, Cambridge University Press Christianson 1999, Greenhouse: The 200–Year Story of Global Warming, Penguin Books Dow and Downing 2006, The Atlas of Climate Change: Mapping the World’s Greatest Challenge, Earthscan, U.K. Dessler and Parson 2006, The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate, Cambridge University Press Lomborg 2007, Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Hughes 2009, An Environmental History of the World: Humankind’s Changing Role in the Community of Life, 2nd Ed., Routledge, Oxon Kramer 2012, EU Environmental Law, 7th Ed., Sweet and Maxwell, London Sands and Peel 2012, Principles of International Environmental Law, 3rd Ed., Cambridge University Press Bodansky, Brunnée and Hey (eds.) 2007, The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law, Oxford University Press Birnie, Boyle and Redgwell 2009, International Law and the Environment, 3rd Ed., Oxford University Press Helm and Hepburn (eds.) 2009, The Economics and Politics of Climate Change, Oxford University Press Baylis, Smith and Owens 2011, The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations, 5th Ed., Oxford University Press Connelly and Smith 2003, Politics and the Environment: From Theory from to Practice, 2nd Ed., Routledge, London Ellerman Convery and de Perthuis 2012, Pricing Carbon: The European Union Emission’s Trading Scheme, Cambridge University Press Coyle and Morrow 2004, The Philosophical Foundations of Environmental Law: Property, Rights and Nature, Harte Publishing, Oxford Gardiner, Caney, Jamieson and Shue 2010, Climate Ethics: Essential Readings, Oxford University Press Belshaw 2001, Environmental Philosophy: Reason, Nature and Human Concern, McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal Hay 2002, A Companion to Environmental Thought, Edinburgh University Press

Other Resources
Reports: Eur. Commission Green Paper (March 2013), A 2030 Framework for Climate and Energy Policies; National Economic and Social Council (NESC) Reports, (June and Dec. 2012) to Government on Ireland’s climate policies; GLOBE International’s 3rd Climate Legislation Study; The Stern Review (“The Economics of Climate Change” – HM Treasury, 2006); Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 4th Assessment Report, 2007 (AR4) and 5th Assessment Report, 2013/2014 (AR5); International Council on Human Rights Policy Report “Climate Change and Human Rights” (2008).

Electronic Sources
Electronic Sources: www.unfccc.int, www.unep.org/climatechange/, www.ec.europa.eu/dgs/clima, www.epa.ie/climate/, www.ipcc.ch, www.environ.ie/en/Environment/Atmosphere/climatechange/

Relevant Journals
Carbon and Climate Law Review; Irish Planning and Environmental Law Journal; European Energy and Environmental Law Review; Journal of Environmental Law and Management; and Environmental Liability Journal.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment% Examination Weight%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
Reassessment Requirement
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories;
1 = A resit is available for all components of the module
2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module
3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
Unavailable
Indicative Reading List

    Other Resources

    None
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