LCIL Friday Lecture: 'Phasing Out Fossil Fuels under International Law: Why and How?' - Prof Harro van Asselt, University of Cambridge

This lecture is a hybrid event. There is a sandwich lunch at 12.30 pm in the Old Library at the Centre. All lecture attendees welcome. This lecture will not be recorded.

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Lecture summary: Lecture summary: At the most recent UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, the fight over a fossil fuel phase-out took centre stage, resulting in a decision calling on countries to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels. In this lecture, I will first examine why there have been growing calls for a fossil fuel phase-out, and why international law should play a role in governing the transition away from fossil fuels. Next, I will show what kind of arguments about phasing out fossil fuels can be made with reference to three different bodies of public international law, namely climate change law, human rights law, and investment law. Lastly, I will explore options for reform, including through the international climate change regime as well as through a proposed fossil fuel treaty.

Related paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589811621000227

Harro van Asselt holds the Hatton Professorship in Climate Law at the University of Cambridge. At Cambridge he is also a Law Fellow at Hughes Hall. He is also a Professor of Climate Law and Policy at the University of Eastern Finland Law School, and an Affiliated Researcher with the Stockholm Environment Institute. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law (RECIEL), one of the top peer-reviewed environmental law journals. He has held visiting research and/or teaching positions at several international institutions, including Utrecht University, the University of Georgia, the University of Strathclyde, Bar-Ilan University, the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and the Finnish Institute for International Affairs. He is the co-author (with Daniel Bodansky) of The Art and Craft of International Environmental Law (2nd edition, OUP 2024).

Chair: Prof Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger

The Friday Lunchtime Lecture series is kindly supported by Cambridge University Press & Assessment.