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the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference in the
climate system.”375 Thus:
Recalling also that States have, in accordance with the Charter of
the United Nations and the principles of international law … the
responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or
control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of
areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.376
The 1997 Kyoto Protocol, despite having had limited impact on global emissions,377
was a milestone in climate action because it was the first legally binding step toward
implementing the UNFCCC’s principles and goals.378
On 1 March 2015, international legal experts adopted the Oslo Principles on Global
Climate Obligations (Oslo Principles).379 The Oslo Principles established specific
obligations for States and businesses to combat climate change, the most noteworthy of
which being the commitment to ensure that the rise in average world temperature does
not exceed 2 degrees Celsius,380 and that “the measures required … should be adopted
without regard to the cost, unless that cost is completely disproportionate to the reduction
in emissions that will be brought about by expending it.”381 The obligations elaborated in
the Oslo Principles, like the UNGP-BHR, are codifications of well-established principles
of international environmental law, international human rights law, and, to some extent,
tort law.382
375
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate, Preamble.
376
Id.
377
Stavins R., J. Zou, T. Brewer, M. Conte Grand, M. den Elzen, M. Finus, J. Gupta, N. Höhne, M.K. Lee, A. Michaelowa, M. Paterson, K. Ramakrishna, G. Wen, J. Wiener, and H. Winkler, 2014:
International Cooperation: Agreements and Instruments. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation
of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E.
Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J.
Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, available at https://www.ipcc.ch/site/
assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_chapter13.pdf (last accessed Mar. 18, 2021).
378
Peter Jackson, From Stockholm to Kyoto: A Brief History of Climate Change, Green Our World!,
No. 2 Vol. XLIV, 2007, available at https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/stockholm-kyoto-briefhistory-climate-change (last accessed Mar. 18, 2021).
379
Expert Group on Global Climate Obligations, Oslo Principles on Global Climate Obligations (2015)
[hereinafter Oslo Principles].
380
Id. princ. 6.
381
Id. princ. 1.
382
Id.
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