Climate Change Legal Roadmap

Constitutional Authority over Climate Change In Canada, the authority of the federal and provincial governments to make laws is dictated by the Constitution.2 Sections 91 and 92 of the constitution list the subject matters over which the federal and provincial governments have jurisdictional authority, respectively. [...] In its challenge, Syncrude argued that the dominant purpose of the impugned provision was to regulate non-renewable resources and promote the economic benefits of protecting the environment and to create a demand for biofuels in the Canadian marketplace. [...] The evil of global climate change and the apprehension of harm resulting from the enabling of climate change through the combustion of fossil fuels has been widely discussed and debated by leaders on the international stage. [...] The ultimate objective of the UNFCCC and related legal instruments is the "stabilization of [GHG] concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system".59 Key elements of the UNFCCC include a statement of principles,60 a statement of commitments, 61. [...] The COP performs several functions including examination of the obligations of the parties under the UNFCC, promotion and facilitation of information exchange on measures adopted by the parties, and facilitation of the coordination of measures taken by two or more parties.