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Global Climate Change and Its Impacts

work Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), adopted in 1992 and formally entered
into force in 1994, as the world’s first comprehensive international treaty to control carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions while addressing the adverse impacts of global
warming, established fundamental principles such as “common but differentiated responsi-
bilities”. It explicitly requires developed countries to take the lead in implementing measures
to limit greenhouse gas emissions and provide financial and technological support to devel-
oping countries. Building upon this foundation, the Kyoto Protocol adopted in 1997 further
specified quantified emission reduction targets for developed countries during the first com-
mitment period (2008-2012), requiring developed nations as a whole to achieve an average
reduction of 5.2% from 1990 emission levels. These international conventions compelled
developed countries to integrate climate action into their domestic legal systems, initiating
the process of establishing relevant national laws and institutions.
Taking the United States as an example, while its involvement in international climate
cooperation has experienced certain fluctuations, being the only developed country that did
not sign the Kyoto Protocol, its domestic legal framework for addressing climate change has
also undergone a complex development process. At the federal level, the U.S. government
has promoted emission reduction through a series of legislative acts. The Clean Air Act,
as a crucial component of the U.S. environmental legal system, has played a pivotal role
in addressing climate change. This legislation authorizes the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to regulate air pollutant emissions, including the control of greenhouse gas
emissions. By establishing stringent emission standards, it requires large emitters such as
industrial enterprises and power plants tosources to adoptemission reduction measures, such
as installing pollution control equipment and improving production processes, to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. Some U.S. states have also taken proactive steps in climate
legislation. California enacted the Global Warming Solutions Act, which set ambitious
emission reduction targets requiring the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990
levels by 2020 and achieve a 40% reduction from 1990 levels by 2030. To meet these goals,
California established a cap-and-trade system that sets an overall emissions cap, allocates
emission allowances to enterprises, and permits allowance trading between companies.
This mechanism incentivizes businesses to voluntarily reduce emissions, optimize resource
allocation, and lower the overall societal costs of emission reduction.
The European Union (EU) countries demonstrate strong coordination and systematicity
in the legal and institutional frameworks for addressing climate change. At the EU level,
a series of widely influential laws and policies have been formulated. The EU Emissions
Trading System (EU ETS), launched in 2005, is one of its core initiatives and represents the
world’s first transnational, cross-sector carbon emissions trading market. It covers multiple
sectors including electricity and energy-intensive industries, allocating emission allowances
to companies by setting a progressively decreasing cap on total emissions. Companies
whose actual emissions fall below their allowances can sell surplus allowances for profit in

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