Kasimbazi, Emmanuel --- "Combating Climate Change in Uganda" [2011] ELECD 657; in Benidickson, Jamie; Boer, Ben; Benjamin, Herman Antonio; Morrow, Karen (eds), "Environmental Law and Sustainability after Rio" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Environmental Law and Sustainability after Rio

Editor(s): Benidickson, Jamie; Boer, Ben; Benjamin, Herman Antonio; Morrow, Karen

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9780857932242

Section: Chapter 18

Section Title: Combating Climate Change in Uganda

Author(s): Kasimbazi, Emmanuel

Number of pages: 21

Extract:

18. Combating climate change in Uganda
Emmanuel Kasimbazi

1. INTRODUCTION

Climate change means a change of climate that is attributed directly or
indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global
atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability, observed
over comparable time periods. 1 It is a problem with unique characteristics. It
is a global long-term problem (extending over several centuries) and involves
complex interactions between environmental, economic, political,
institutional, social and technological processes (Metz et al., 2001, p. 50). As
a result of these concerns, the international community has taken legal steps
to combat climate change. The United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, whose objective is to achieve stabilisation of greenhouse
gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous
anthropogenic interference with the climate system, 2 and the Kyoto
Protocol, 3 which sets binding numerical targets for the limitation and
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for the industrialised and transition
countries 4 and other related instruments, 5 are all legal instruments to which
Uganda is a party. 6 Available scientific information reveals that climate
change poses a serious environmental problem with far-reaching social,
political and economic consequences, particularly in developing countries
such as Uganda. Therefore, developing and implementing Kyoto Protocol
mechanisms, such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), are
fundamental to environmental sustainability in a least developed country like
Uganda (Akiiki, 2002). This chapter reviews the laws, principles, standards
and guidelines that have been developed to combat ...