Abstract
The legal obligation to protect the environment is one that cannot be overemphasized. This is because the environment provides fundamental resources without which life cannot exist. However, the threat of climate change has continued to challenge existing framework for environmental protection. Of course, failure to adequately address climate change poses great to ecosystem functionality and by extension to the sustainability of human life. This is because of the far-reaching adverse effects of climate change such as increase in global mean temperature, sea living rise, crop failures and alteration of seasons. However, the development of effectiveness framework to address climate change at the global level has remained daunting. Current global response to climate change is hinged on the Paris Agreement 2015 which adopted a framework of nationally determined contributions as the major response mechanism. The aim of this paper was to examine the effectiveness of NDCs under the Paris Agreement 2015 for addressing climate change. The doctrinal methodology of research was adopted; primary and secondary data were subjected to critical textual analysis and logical deductions drawn. In the legal analysis, the scope of the paper covered the following specific areas: legal nature of NDCs, legal effect of climate change obligations under NDCs, global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions,transpare ncy mechanism for implementation of NDCs and the effectiveness of Nigeria’s NDCs to tackling climate. It also discussed the legal position in the United Kingdom and draw lessons for Nigeria. The dissertation found that the legal nature of NDCs under the Paris Agreement 2015 is mere statement of national intentions. Accordingly, NDCs do not have any binding legal effect on the Parties. In addition, under the Paris Agreement 2015, there are legal obligations which Parties under or should undertake under NDCs. Furthermore, it was found that the Paris Agreement has a multi-level transparency mechanism to enhance the implementation of NDCs. It was also found that implementation of climate change obligations in Nigeria is ineffectiveness. There is no binding commitment but mere policies statements which have not been implemented and often abandoned by successive governments. The paper concluded that the NDCs is vague and without any particularized commitment. Accordingly, the NDCs mechanism under the Paris Agreement 2015 is ineffective to address climate change. It recommended that Nigeria should adopt a binding legislative approach to climate change like is practice in the United Kingdom. Again, Nigeria should adopt a statutory approach to the development of renewable energy within statutory timeframes. The COP should adopt binding financial obligations for the developed countries. This will ease the financial constraints of developing countries in addressing climate change. It further recommended that to urgently address the adverse effects of climate change, the COP should declare peaking of GHG for developing countries.
Peterkin, Juliet Obiageli, Esq
pp. 264 – 281
