The Obligation to Curb Carbon Emissions: A Right for All or None

Abstract

The Polar ice caps shrink, ocean currents change, sea level rises and trees flower sooner than expected. Although scientific evidence proves that, owing to anthropogenic activities,1 air temperature is on track to increase beyond 2°C above pre-industrial levels by 2084 (Wang et al., 2018, p. 761) and the time window for addressing the problem is fast shrinking (IPCC, 2018, p. 112; IPCC, 2021, p. 8), all UNFCCC Conferences of the Parties have thus far failed to establish an effective regulatory system. There are indeed States that emit 6,457 million metric tons of CO2 per year (Ritchie & Roser, 2019, CO2 Emissions Per Capita), causing the polar regions to warm twice as fast as the rest of the world (Year of Polar Prediction, 2017).