TY - JOUR
T1 - The comparative law of climate change
T2 - a research agenda
AU - Mehling, Michael
N1 - This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Mehling, M. (2015). The comparative law of climate change: a research agenda. Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law, 24(3), 341-352., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/DOI: 10.1111/reel.12141. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving
PY - 2015/11/16
Y1 - 2015/11/16
N2 - Climate change defies traditional models of academic enquiry; its scale and complexity strain the explanatory power of established thought, prompting the espousal of new, fluid concepts and calls for greater interdisciplinarity. Law, with its rigid doctrines and insistence on binary categories, appears particularly unsuited as a framework of analysis. However, as this article submits, the legal method offers a unique vessel to infer collective understandings of the climate challenge, helping bridge the divide between fact and norm that characterizes other intellectual paradigms. A shifting focal point from international to domestic climate action suggests the particular utility of comparative law, which can identify policy barriers and drivers, and add a vital dimension to the study of policy design and transfer. Invoking the epistemic value of legal exegesis, this article proposes a research agenda for comparative analysis in a rapidly evolving issue area, which, although not yet a field of law in its own right, offers ample opportunities for study: the law as it relates to climate change.
AB - Climate change defies traditional models of academic enquiry; its scale and complexity strain the explanatory power of established thought, prompting the espousal of new, fluid concepts and calls for greater interdisciplinarity. Law, with its rigid doctrines and insistence on binary categories, appears particularly unsuited as a framework of analysis. However, as this article submits, the legal method offers a unique vessel to infer collective understandings of the climate challenge, helping bridge the divide between fact and norm that characterizes other intellectual paradigms. A shifting focal point from international to domestic climate action suggests the particular utility of comparative law, which can identify policy barriers and drivers, and add a vital dimension to the study of policy design and transfer. Invoking the epistemic value of legal exegesis, this article proposes a research agenda for comparative analysis in a rapidly evolving issue area, which, although not yet a field of law in its own right, offers ample opportunities for study: the law as it relates to climate change.
KW - climate change
KW - interdisciplinarity
KW - international policy design
U2 - 10.1111/reel.12141
DO - 10.1111/reel.12141
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84962297322
SN - 2050-0386
VL - 24
SP - 341
EP - 352
JO - Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law
JF - Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law
IS - 3
ER -
