Order Description

Chapters 2 and 3 of my Dissertation of the above topic.
Chapter 2- Chapter two will address international climate change regime considering things such as forestry schemes and other things, noting their impact on climate change
Chapter 3-Chapter three approaches a more ethical-legal approach which considers things such as the use of a vegetarian or vegan diet is assisting with combating against climate change

Thesis: International law is insufficient in addressing animal agriculture as an influence on climate change.
Title: An examination of the effectiveness of international regulation on climate change, the impact of agriculture and other significant factors.
This dissertation will explore whether international law is effective in regulating against climate change, considering agriculture and other significant factors. As it is not something that is generally accepted as an influence to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions internationally. President of the United Nations Ban-Ki Moon has defined climate change as the ‘’moral challenge of our generation.’’ Therefore, the responsibility is on the public and policy makers alike to make a difference, but theoretically this is not possible without all the correct information. The impact of industries such as transport, industry and fossil fuels are accounted for, however my research has indicated agriculture is downplayed in current policy and this affects the perception of the impact of agriculture. Throughout the dissertation I will refer to agriculture and to the other impacting factors which will enable me to address the thesis ‘International law is insufficient in addressing animal agriculture as an influence on climate change.’ I plan on doing this within five chapters which will include an introduction and conclusion. The first chapter will address general environmental implications of climate change to create a background on the issue. Along with this I will identify the generic inputs and impacts of climate change, noting the influence of agriculture. This shall enable me to show statistically which factors affect climate change more despite legislature and understanding.
Chapter two will address international climate change regime considering things such as forestry schemes noting their impact on climate change. This will help with the thesis as forestry schemes are in place because of deforestation. Chapter three approaches a more ethical-legal approach which considers things such as the use of a vegetarian or vegan diet is assisting with combating against climate change. This will offer alternative mechanisms for dealing with agriculture in climate change and will offer a perspective that does not yet seem to have been explored within current international policy from the research I have conducted thus far. To assist me with answering my thesis I will predominately be using secondary sources which is mostly previous academic work such as journal articles, research papers and books. Throughout my dissertation I want to examine the United Nations protocol and agreements and the effect they have had on climate change and regarding agriculture. From my preliminary research, it seems that International Law will participate enormously alongside research articles
I will closely analyse the assessment ‘Livestock’s Long Shadow’ which was initiated by the Steering Committee of the Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) which was co-ordinated by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Animal Production and Health Division who lead international efforts to defeat hunger. The assessment was carried out by members of the LEAD team at FAO and the char of LEAD .The assessment was not only supported by the United Nations (UN), researchers working for them conducted the research. However, it expressly states that the opinions expressed are not those of the UN. This is interesting as it poses a question of whether other influences are preventing the UN from legislating, for example upsetting international countries. Especially as this is an assessment which could hold the answers of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As a collective, the authors of this document examine how anthropogenic processes are influencing climate change and the role of livestock in those processes. It also examines in depth the different components that make up a collective of greenhouse gases which are the bulk of animal agriculture influence on climate change, these components include: Carbon Dioxide (Co2), Methane (CH4) and Nitrous Oxide (N20) . The different chapters of this document identify different areas, chapter 6 for example highlights policy changes and options. This section of the document will offer a discussion on where legislation should be heading but also offers reasoning why it has not already been carried out, especially as it concludes that’s the agricultural sector needs to be a priority for policy making urgently. For example, it notes a lack of understanding, regarding the extent of agricultures impact on the environment among producers, consumers and policy makers alike which could somewhat explain the reluctance to legislate. Analysing ‘Livestock’s long shadow’ will enable me to evaluate how much of this document written in 2006 has been put into practice in the present and so will likely be referring to it throughout my dissertation.
Alongside ‘Livestock’s Long Shadow’ I will discuss issues from ‘Livestock and Climate Change: What if the key to actors in climate change are… Cows, Pigs and Chickens.’ Written by Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang for the independent research institute World Watch. Anhang is an environmental specialist and research officer for the World Bank Group’s International Finance Company and Goodland before his death advised the world bank on impacts on the environment of their endeavours. Goodland was referred to as ‘The conscience of the world bank’ meaning they are both completely independent of the United Nations and it can therefore be assumed that their work is neutral. Goodland and Anhang identify that livestock and their by-product accounted for at least 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year which amounts to 51% of annual worldwide GHG whereas ‘Livestock’s Long Shadow’ only estimates 18% of annual worldwide GHG are attribute to livestock. This will obviously raise issues with my above source if it is found the facts are inaccurate and raises serious questions of why that is the case and how the UN can legislate with incorrect information and statistics but this will require more research on their methodologies. Another issue this possibly raises is that The World Bank were a supporting body in Livestock’s Long Shadow and therefore it is strange that their environmental specialist would write an article contradicting those findings. The article also considers the impact of a vegetarian or vegan diet and importantly notes how it doesn’t have to negatively affect certain businesses but rather offers opportunity to produce food which is more sustainable and more cost effective to produce. Although it will raise a discussion with other parts of their research which concludes that animal by-product is becoming a much more viable and popular option in less developed countries as it is now seen as a status symbol, this information will considerably assist in chapter three of my dissertation. This article written by Goodland and Anhang also addresses another key issue which is deforestation, forests around the world store Co2 to prevent it being released into the atmosphere and obviously when they are destroyed the carbon sequestered is released. This discussion of deforestation links in with the United Nation’s collaborative programme REDD+, which was launched in 2008. Its main aim is to reduce emissions caused by deforestation in developing countries as deforestation accounts for 17% of GHG emissions . This programme builds upon the technical expertise of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP). This will offer a discussion on agriculture and highlight another impacting factor as eluded to in the title.

Unlike the above, the next two sources are official documents of the United Nations, otherwise referred to as protocols of the convention . The first is the Kyoto protocol which is an international agreement ensuring that countries are meeting mandatory targets in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In regards to agriculture it can be assumed that Kyoto’s failure to address agriculture is what led to the assessment in Livestock’s Long Shadow. However, Kyoto was adopted in 1997 so its failure could be down to a further lack of understanding as outlined in Livestock’s Long Shadow or the fact that Kyoto was the first protocol of its kind and therefore its main aim was to reduce emissions rather than focus on individual sectors which contribute to climate change.
As mentioned above, Kyoto set states targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For example, some countries within Europe were asked to reduce their emissions by 8% and the USA was asked to reduce theirs by 7%. This protocol will enable me to see whether UN protocols can be successful in combatting climate change and will play a pivotal role in analysing the Paris agreement which was created in 2015 and will replace the almost expired Kyoto protocol. It has been defined as the pivotal moment in the fight against climate change by international leaders . This document will help in discussing whether the changes suggested in the first two documents referenced have been considered and therefore assisting with answering the thesis. These sources will enable the dissertation to examine the other impacting factors of climate change mentioned in the title which include: industry, electricity and transportation. The Paris agreement will assist me greatly in showcasing whether there is a political element in regulating against climate change. Which will help address whether political changes currently will affect the co-operation of developed countries who previously signed the agreement and the impact this would have on international climate change policy.

To gain a better insight of the Paris agreement’s failure to address agriculture I will cross examine it with ‘The Paris Agreement: Agriculture and Food Security,’ which is an editorial written by Jon Verschuuren of Tilburg University . Verschuuren’s current primarily focus is on agricultures impact on climate change in his research and so is well equipped to discuss the topic . Within this article he discusses the fact that agriculture is not mentioned by name in the final agreement. But this could be as agriculture is discussed under a more generalised title which will require further research on my behalf. This article could help me somewhat prove that agriculture is insufficiently addressed and will therefore assist with my hypothesis. However, Verschuuren notes how the European Union has taken a much firmer route in combatting climate change regarding agriculture. Prior to the Paris Agreement summit the European commission announced that it will support ‘’climate friendly food production.’’ An example of how they proposed to carry out this measure is that they will focus its future climate change instruments on all agricultural activities.
A further useful source I have chosen to explore is the journal article ‘Implementing Climate Change Policy for agriculture- what role for law?’ which reflects the United Kingdom’s stance on how to regulate against agriculture. This article examines The Climate Change Act 2008 and explains how there is reluctance amongst the UK government to impose restrictive measures on agriculture in the United Kingdom because it is difficult to measure on a multitude of systems and producers. The authors of this article note how there has been a 21% reduction between 2008 and 2012 of GHG emissions from agriculture in the UK and puts this success down to a reform of agricultural policy . However, the policy fails to address the carbon footprint of consumers as it only explains GHG emissions from production. This will considerably help with chapter three of my dissertation as it will be an advantage to transferring to a vegetarian or vegan diet.

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