2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement is in force in record time, but what does it mean for international law and institutions? Is it a better model than the Kyoto Protocol for dealing with climate change? What are the issues of substance in the new regime? This presentation will explore these questions, as well as the challenges surrounding finance, carbon pricing, the role of non state actors, and the establishment of a progressive forward-looking agenda for action on climate.
James Cameron is an Executive Fellow with the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy. He was previously Vice Chairman of Climate Change Capital, responsible for strategic and sector development, and Chairman of the Advisory Board, representing the firm at the highest levels of business and government. James is one of the world’s pre-eminent experts in developing market-based policy responses to climate change. Prior to CCC, he was Counsel to Baker & McKenzie and was the founder and the head of their Climate Change Practice. James has spent much of his legal career working on climate change matters, including negotiating the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol as an adviser to the Alliance of Small Island States. He has held academic positions at Cambridge, London, Bruges and Sydney. As a barrister, he appeared in several of the leading cases in environmental law. He was also previously the Chairman of the Carbon Disclosure Project and a treasurer of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP). He is a member of the board of GE Ecomagination.