Just in the past few months, a series of documents such as reports and op-eds proposing an Indian climate law, and a private member’s bill (listed for introduction to parliament) and a draft law on climate change have begun to make the rounds.1 This rush for a climate law has in many instances led to a direct jump to solutions and even, as mentioned above, the drafting stage of the legislative pro. [...] The first essay in this series contended with the first question, namely the principles and larger objectives of a climate change law.2 This second essay will study the features of various climate change laws of the world to assess what structures and mechanisms should be considered best practices and might be apt for the Indian context. [...] Federalism: By the federal arrangement of the law is meant the distribution of power and responsibility with respect to the larger climate goals of the act between the centre, states, and local governments. [...] The questions to explore here are the ideal composition and functions of the climate body, and the virtues of attaching the body to an executive versus granting it legal independence. [...] Given India’s unusual situation as a major present and historically minor emitter of GHGs, and its extreme vulnerability to climate change, the issues to explore are the optimum ways to balance and design the adaptation and mitigation functions of the law.
- Pages
- 7
- Published in
- India
