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6.4.2.2 International Climate Regime
The international climate regime addresses climate change and its impacts and,
therefore, is the overarching legal discipline that connects the effects of increasing
global energy consumption—and associated greenhouse gas emissions—to the
availability of and access to food and water. The United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) entered into force on 21 March 1994
(see Chap. 11).
Global warming is leading to loss of Arctic sea ice. As a result, new shipping
channels are opening up, resulting in more opportunities for fishing and navigation.
In addition, opportunities are opening up for oil and gas drilling. However, given the
challenging conditions, concerns are mounting about how to address hazards of
more people, more ships, and more industrial activity in the region. Recent rescue
operations of grounded ships off both the coasts of Alaska and Norway highlighted
the challenging of even rescuing people, let alone cleaning up an oil spill. The risk
of an oil spill is to local areas but also to global fishing stocks.
The global move towards the decarbonization of the energy sector raises new
issues in connection with the nexus, such as ensuring a balance between biofuels,
food production and water use or between sufficient hydropower production and the
protection of surrounding ecosystems. For example, following the approval of two
small hydropower plants on the Schwartz Sulm River in Austria, the European
Commission filed a case with the European Court of Justice. The Commission
argued that the projects violated Austria’s obligations under the EU Water
Framework Directive to “prevent deterioration of the status of all bodies of surface
water.” In 2016, the Court ruled that sufficient environmental study had taken place
to fulfill the obligations of the Directive (see C-346/14 European Commission v
Republic of Austria 2016).
This connection between climate, energy and food was most recently addressed
in the Paris Agreement, which entered into force in late 2016, but the matter had
already been acknowledged in the 1994 United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change. Article 2 of the Paris Agreement, for example, aims to strengthen
the global response to climate change by, among other things, increasing the ability
to adapt to climate change, foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development in a manner that does not threaten food production (Article 4 of
the UNFCCC).
6.5 International Food Law
6.5.1 Main Characteristics
Food is one of the most heavily regulated social and economic sectors. Much of this
regulation falls under the areas of international trade law and human rights law (see
Sect. 6.2.4 above). Food production, especially livestock farming, is a very intensive
6 International Governance
6.4.2.2 International Climate Regime
The international climate regime addresses climate change and its impacts and,
therefore, is the overarching legal discipline that connects the effects of increasing
global energy consumption—and associated greenhouse gas emissions—to the
availability of and access to food and water. The United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) entered into force on 21 March 1994
(see Chap. 11).
Global warming is leading to loss of Arctic sea ice. As a result, new shipping
channels are opening up, resulting in more opportunities for fishing and navigation.
In addition, opportunities are opening up for oil and gas drilling. However, given the
challenging conditions, concerns are mounting about how to address hazards of
more people, more ships, and more industrial activity in the region. Recent rescue
operations of grounded ships off both the coasts of Alaska and Norway highlighted
the challenging of even rescuing people, let alone cleaning up an oil spill. The risk
of an oil spill is to local areas but also to global fishing stocks.
The global move towards the decarbonization of the energy sector raises new
issues in connection with the nexus, such as ensuring a balance between biofuels,
food production and water use or between sufficient hydropower production and the
protection of surrounding ecosystems. For example, following the approval of two
small hydropower plants on the Schwartz Sulm River in Austria, the European
Commission filed a case with the European Court of Justice. The Commission
argued that the projects violated Austria’s obligations under the EU Water
Framework Directive to “prevent deterioration of the status of all bodies of surface
water.” In 2016, the Court ruled that sufficient environmental study had taken place
to fulfill the obligations of the Directive (see C-346/14 European Commission v
Republic of Austria 2016).
This connection between climate, energy and food was most recently addressed
in the Paris Agreement, which entered into force in late 2016, but the matter had
already been acknowledged in the 1994 United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change. Article 2 of the Paris Agreement, for example, aims to strengthen
the global response to climate change by, among other things, increasing the ability
to adapt to climate change, foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development in a manner that does not threaten food production (Article 4 of
the UNFCCC).
6.5 International Food Law
6.5.1 Main Characteristics
Food is one of the most heavily regulated social and economic sectors. Much of this
regulation falls under the areas of international trade law and human rights law (see
Sect. 6.2.4 above). Food production, especially livestock farming, is a very intensive
6 International Governance