Science can only tell us a part of what we need to know about the risks of climate change. We also need to make judgements about politics, technology, and international security. To tell truth to power, we need to bring these fields of knowledge together.

The economics used by governments is based on ideas from the 1870s, when economists adopted the language of science, but not the method. To make the maths easy to solve, they assumed the economy was simple, predictable, and static. Nobody believes these assumptions are true, but they still shape analysis that informs policy. When the economy is complex, uncertain, and changing, this kind of analysis can lead us to bad decisions.

At any moment in time, you can ride a bike with least effort by cycling in first gear. But if you want to ride around the block with least effort, first gear will not be ideal. By failing to distinguish between these two different situations, economists have recommended the worst possible climate change policy to governments. Contrary to their belief, emissions trading will achieve decarbonisation at maximum cost, and minimum speed.

When a treaty prescribes how disputes can be settled, it usually provides for a preliminary phase involving direct negotiations or consultations. In the case of bilateral agreements, more binding mechanisms tend to be found in agreements with more specific obligations, or those directly affecting individual interests, such as trade. Otherwise, bilateral agreements will often specify that disputes are to be resolved by the diplomatic channel or other avenue of voluntary settlement. Both bilateral and multilateral treaties may provide for conciliation or mediation. The parties may, however, wish to resort to compulsory binding settlement. The two principal features are a prior agreement to submit disputes to a third party, and a provision that the decision of the third party is legally binding on the parties in dispute. Procedures of arbitration and judicial settlement, including the International Court of Justice, are analysed. In respect of remedies, the chapter examines countermeasures and the principles underlying them, sacrosanct obligations and necessity.

This chapter examines both entry into force and provisional application. A treaty enters into force in such manner and on such date as may be specified in the treaty or as the negotiating states may agree. Ways include ratification (or an analogous procedure) by all or a minimum number of negotiating states; exchange of instruments of ratification; notification by each state of the completion of domestic procedures; on the date of a reply note in the case of an exchange of notes; or on a date specified in the treaty; or on signature only by all the negotiating states. There can be more complex provisions, particularly with treaties that amend a previous treaty. The ‘date of entry into force’ is analysed. States may also provisionally apply all or part of a treaty prior to entry into force, subject to their constitutional provisions. Where a treaty has been terminated, the parties or some of them can agree to revive it.

This chapter highlights the central role that burial grounds play in the construction of diasporic memory and collective identity through a visual ethnography of tombstones located in several Islamic burial grounds across Western Europe. In spite of the long-term settlement of Muslim communities, such spaces are extremely rare and suffused with deep cultural meaning. Displays of belonging through epitaphs, images, and grave design are strategies to demonstrate connections to various collectivities. As places where the physical landscape is symbolically inscribed and signified, Islamic burial grounds in Europe offer insight into the changing contours of membership and identity in contemporary multicultural societies.

The issue of successive treaties arises where all or some of the parties conclude a later treaty relating to the same subject matter. The relevant rules of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties are in Articles 30 and 59, which have to be read together. The chapter analyses how these rules might apply. In the case of bilateral treaties, the parties will often include express provisions to clarify the position in respect of an earlier treaty. If not, it may be possible to resolve any inconsistency by interpretation of the two treaties, or the earlier treaty may be treated as terminated or suspended in accordance with Article 59. Or the residual rules of Article 30 may apply, by which the earlier treaty may apply only to the extent that its provisions are compatible with a later treaty. The principles are the same in respect of multilateral treaties but there is a greater variety of express provisions, which are not always clear. The fact that all the parties to an earlier treaty may not be parties to a later treaty also adds complexity. These issues are analysed, together with the residual rules of Article 30.

Drawing on interviews with a range of individuals with migratory histories, this chapter investigates why families choose to bury their loved ones locally or to reptriate to countries of origin, analyzing the significance that they attribute to these choices. While local burial laws and the limited availability of Islamic cemeteries impact the feasibility of performing religiously appropriate funerary rites, this chapter argues that family ties, ideas about the meaning of national soils, and feelings of social inclusion or exclusion play a larger role in determining burial outcomes and their social significance.

The depositary keeps custody of the original text of the treaty, prepares certified texts and performs a number of other important functions relating to the verification and notification of acts relating to the treaty. The principal functions are listed in Article 77 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, but treaties may include specific provisions on the role of the depositary. Under Article 78, unless a treaty otherwise provides, states shall make notifications to the depositary or, if there is none, direct to the states to which they are intended. The depositary has a duty to act impartially. Often, bilateral treaties will not have a depositary but, if they do, the duties will be confined to custody or provision of certified texts. Multilateral treaties will almost always have a depositary, since they play an essential role in ensuring that the necessary formalities and procedures are performed. The depositary for many multilateral treaties is the UN Secretary-General or the chief administrative officer of a relevant international organisation. If a state is the depositary, the functions should be performed by its foreign ministry. The function in respect of correction of errors is examined in more detail.

Does a treaty apply to all of a party’s territory? How is territory defined? In the absence of an express definition or other contrary intention, the territory comprises the metropolitan territory of a state and any other territory under its sovereignty. But practice varies. Many bilateral treaties have provisions expressly extending them to overseas territories or enabling such extension by notification or subsequent agreement. Multilateral treaties may also include an express territorial application clause. UK practice from 1967 has been to apply multilateral treaties only to its metropolitan territory unless it makes a specific declaration of extension to any of its overseas territories. On rare occasions, a state may conclude a treaty only so that it applies to a specific overseas territory. The issues posed for federations are discussed, together with certain methods by which the problems can be reduced: territorial clauses, federal clauses and federal reservations. The case of the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions is also analysed.

Regulation has been given an unfairly bad name. As a top physicist who became an Energy Secretary and took an interest in fridges found out, the right regulation can do the opposite of what economists expect: accelerate innovation and cut costs, as well as cutting emissions.