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Australian Climate Law - JURD7466

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Kensington Campus

Career: Postgraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 2

Enrolment Requirements:

Pre-requisite: 36 UOC of JURD courses for students enrolled prior to 2013. For students enrolled after 2013, pre-requisite: 72 UOC of JURD courses.

Excluded: LAWS8066

CSS Contribution Charge: 2 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

This course examines the Australian legal regime relating to global climate change. The course begins with an overview of the scientific, economic, equity and international contexts of Australian climate law and then proceeds to a detailed examination of the Australian legal framework, including Commonwealth and State policy and legislation relating to emissions trading, carbon markets and carbon sequestration. The course also examines the substance and process of climate change litigation in Australia, as well as local government and planning issues, and the legal implications of climate change for businesses, including corporate reporting, directors’ duties, and management of risk. The course will include some comparative analysis of climate law in other national jurisdictions.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

None

Course Objectives

A candidate who has successfully completed this course should be able to:

be familiar with and understand the legal and policy issues relating to the development and implementation of the Australian legal framework as it regulates activities impacting on climate;
identify and understand the climate change related issues that arise in the Australian legal contexts;
have a working knowledge of Australian law and policy on climate change;
be able to assess the efficacy of Australian climate law within the context of contemporary international challenges.

Main Topics

The science and economics of climate change
The international climate law framework
The Australian climate law framework: Commonwealth and State policy and legislation
Carbon sequestration (including bio- and geosequestration)
Climate change litigation in Australia
Local Government: Risks, liabilities and adaptive actions
Emissions trading and carbon markets
Business, risk and climate change
The future of climate law in Australia

Assessment

Class participation 10%
Class presentation and abstract 15%
Research essay (6000 words) 75%

Course Texts

Prescribed

Nicola Durrant, Legal Responses to Climate Change (Federation Press, 2010)

Recommended

There are a large number of new and proposed books on the market. A full up-to date reading list will be provided in the detailed course outline.

Order from UNSW Bookshop

Resources

Refer to the course outline which will be provided by the lecturer at the beginning of the relevant semester.