Wood, Mary Christina

University of Oregon School of Law 1515 Agate St. Eugene, OR 97403-1221 E-mail: mwood@law.uoregon.edu

The world’s climate is currently facing a catastrophic threat caused by out of control carbon emissions. To address this “imminent peril” in an effective manner, governments across the world must be held accountable to ensure the global community’s safety into the future. In face of climate urgency, scientists and policymakers must ensure that scientific conclusions form the structure for policy responses on an international level. This paper develops a four-part framework to create a governmental obligation to respond to climate change and hold leaders accountable. 

First, governments must implement the “climate imperative” defined by the world’s leading climate scientists limiting further heating to 1°C. Second, government is held to a “trust obligation” to protect the atmosphere on behalf of citizen beneficiaries. Third, we can measure this duty of protection with a “climate prescription:” (1) cap emissions by 2010; (2) reduce by 4% each year thereafter; and (3) ultimately reduce to 80% below 2000 levels by 2050. Fourth, this fiduciary obligation and duty not to waste our atmospheric asset means that every level of government is accountable for its share of greenhouse gas reduction because the existence of “orphan shares” will defeat all other collective action. In conclusion, this structure can be used by industrialized governments of the world to define their carbon obligation.

Keywords: climate change, nature’s trust, global warming, carbon math