PhD Scholar
The Interplay of the UNFCCC and the CBD
E-mail: rakhyun.kim@anu.edu.au

Framed in the context of the fragmented nature of international environmental law which is founded on environmental reductionism, the thesis questions whether the current system of international environmental law is capable of protecting global ecological integrity by preventing perverse and unintended consequences across multilateral environmental agreement regimes and capturing synergies between them. As a meta-case study for an investigation of the cross-regime interlinkages and interplay, I have selected the international climate change and biodiversity conservation treaty regimes represented by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (and its Kyoto Protocol) and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Noting that the implementation of some climate change mitigation measures available under the UNFCCC/KP may have positive or negative effects on biodiversity, I am planning to conduct three specific case studies at the interface of the two treaties for a deeper analysis of this overlap (and gaps) and associated normative conflicts.

The areas of overlap to which this thesis will devote a chapter each include:

1. land use, land-use change and forestry (afforestation, reforestation, and avoided deforestation and forest degradation);
2. biofuel (with an emphasis on peatlands and biochar); and
3. ocean iron fertilization.

Through such a systems and layered case study approach, I will draw conclusions on whether there is an inherent limit to which the current system of international environmental law, or more specifically the UNFCCC/CBD approach, can be effective in protecting the integrity of the atmosphere and the biosphere simultaneously, and bring about positive synergistic outcomes. If it is found that there is a limit, I will offer answers as to why, and when, where, and how the systemic integration should take place. As a potential way forward, the normative application of the principle of sustainability as a central concept for a holistic approach will be considered throughout the thesis. The IUCN Draft International Covenant on Environment and Development, the Earth Charter, and New Zealand's Resource Management Act will be used as a reference for contemplating ‘earth system governance for sustainability’.