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Satellite Measurement of GHG Emissions: Prospects for Enhancing Transparency and Answerability under International Law

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2019

Timiebi Aganaba-Jeanty  and
Anna Huggins
Timiebi Aganaba-Jeanty
Affiliation:
School for the Future of Innovation in Society, appointed at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ (United States (US)). Email: [email protected].
Anna Huggins
Affiliation:
Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane (Australia). Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

Recent technological advancements are facilitating the use of satellite remote-sensing techniques for the measurement of atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions. This article evaluates the potential for these satellite-enabled measurements to contribute to transparency and answerability for state emissions, with a focus on international space law and policy, and the Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. We show that in the context of the international space governance framework, the dissemination of integrated emissions data sets has the potential to enhance public answerability for the mitigation performance of states. Under the Paris Agreement, there is scope for space-based measurement techniques to provide an independent data source to support verification activities for national emissions inventories, and for aggregated data to be utilized as part of the global stocktake under Article 14. There are, however, a number of impediments to translating these transparency gains into enhanced answerability for states’ emissions reduction pledges.

Keywords

International space lawParis AgreementSatellitesGreenhouse gas emissionsTransparencyAccountability
Type
Article
Information
Transnational Environmental Law , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , July 2019 , pp. 303 - 326
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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Footnotes

We gratefully acknowledge the valuable comments and suggestions of the anonymous TEL reviewers.

References

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99 Kyoto Protocol, n. 43 above, Art. 3(1).

100 Paris Agreement, n. 9 above, Arts 2 and 4(3).

101 Ibid., Art. 13.

102 Ibid., Art. 13(11).

103 Ibid., Art. 14.

104 Ibid., Art. 15.

105 Ibid., Art. 13(7).

106 Ibid., Art. 13(11).

107 Ibid., Art. 13(7)(a).

108 IPCC, n. 40 above.

109 IPCC, ‘2019 Refinements to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National GHG Inventories’, 2018, available at: https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/home/2019refinement.html.

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112 DeCola & WMO Secretariat, n. 64 above.

113 The system will consist of a suite of coordinated multi-scale, multi-type carbon observations, including aircraft, satellite, and in situ data, and a data assimilation system and distribution system: European Commission, ‘Towards a European Operational Observing System to Monitor Fossil CO2 Emissions: Final Report from the Expert Group’, Oct. 2015, p. 46, available at: http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/news_docs/CO2_report_22-10-2015.pdf.

114 Ibid., pp. 9, 46.

115 Ibid., p. 9.

116 Under Art. 13(9) Paris Agreement, n. 9 above, developed states are required to report on the financial, technology transfer, and capacity-building support they provide to developing countries. Developing countries should also report on the financial, technology transfer, and capacity-building support needed and received: ibid., Art. 13(10).

117 UNFCCC Secretariat, Decision 1/CP.21, ‘Adoption of the Paris Agreement’ (13 Dec. 2015), UN Doc. FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1, paras 84–85.

118 UNFCCC Secretariat, Draft Decision –/CMA.1, ‘Modalities, Procedures and Guidelines for the Transparency Framework for Action and Support Referred to in Article 13 of the Paris Agreement’ (15 Dec. 2018), UN Doc. FCCC/CP/2018/L.23, available at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Informal%20Compilation_proposal%20by%20the%20President_rev.pdf.

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126 Aganaba-Jeanty, n. 4 above, p. 9.

127 Planet Labs Inc., ‘Planet Imagery and Archive’, available at: https://www.planet.com/products/planet-imagery.

128 European Commission, n. 113 above, p. 8.

129 For an analysis of these issues in the context of the use of satellite imagery for monitoring compliance with domestic land-clearing laws, see Bartel, R.L., ‘When the Heavenly Gaze Criminialises: Satellite Surveillance, Land Clearance Regulation and the Human-Nature Relationship (2005) 16(3) Current Issues in Criminological Justice, pp. 322–39CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

130 DeCola & WMO Secretariat, n. 64 above.

131 Paris Agreement, n. 9 above, Art. 14(1) and 14(3).

132 Ibid. Art. 2. On mutual answerability or accountability, see Winkler, Mantlana & Letete, n. 38 above, p. 862.

133 UNFCCC Secretariat, Draft Decisions 1/CP.23 and 3/CMA.1, ‘Proposal by the President’ (15 Dec. 2018), Annex IX, para. 38(i), available at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Informal%20Compilation_proposal%20by%20the%20President_rev.pdf.

134 Paris Agreement, n. 9 above, Art. 14(1).

135 Gupta & van Asselt, n. 12 above, p. 13.

136 Such stakeholders may include space agencies, governmental bodies, international organizations, private companies, universities, and research institutes.

137 Any cooperation that results from the New Delhi Declaration is likely to be implemented by a web of memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and implementing agreements, either between states or agency-to-agency. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission governance structure provides an interesting example of such an arrangement: see further Aganaba-Jeanty, n. 4 above, pp. 14, 16.

138 Purdy, R., ‘Using Earth Observation Technologies for Better Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement of Environmental Laws’ (2009) 22(1) Journal of Environmental Law, pp. 59–87CrossRefGoogle Scholar, at 86.