Author Description

"The legal context for regulation of climate change in Australia and New Zealand took a dramatic turn in early 2008 following ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by the Australian Government. This internationally acclaimed decision was soon followed by the interim report of the Garnaut Review and the Green Paper on preferred options for a broad-based emissions trading scheme in Australia (to be known as the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme). Meanwhile, late in 2007 the New Zealand Government introduced its own Emissions Trading Scheme together with strong regulatory support for renewable energy. These events have catapulted Australia and New Zealand into international leadership in the design of innovative regulatory responses to climate change. This book brings together recent work on the law of climate change in Australia and New Zealand by leading environmental law practitioners and academics. It provides practical and insightful perspectives on the rapidly emerging market-based framework for regulation of climate change in Oceania. It opens with a chapter on the latest scientific findings by former CSIRO climate theme leader, Dr Chris Mitchell, and follows with analytical papers on a wide range of critical legal issues including international comparisons and harmonisation, Pacific Island perspectives, emission trading scheme design, renewable energy incentives, voluntary offsets, geo-sequestration, contractual considerations, corporate governance implications, land use and impact assessment considerations, tortious liability, inter-generational equity and the key elements of the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. This valuable collection originates from a highly successful 2008 National Conference of the National Environmental Law Association of Australia (NELA), held at Fremantle, Western Australia, which was strongly supported by many participants from the Resources Management Law Association of New Zealand (the RMLA)."--Publisher's website.