Launching a book that looks at the complexities of climate change in the context of policy, law and practice, Supreme Court judge, Justice K V Viswanathan asserted the need for a climate change commission in the country as a permanent body on the lines of NITI Aayog
Supreme Court judge Justice K V Viswanathan said climate change is a severe existential threat and called for the establishment of a permanent commission in India, similar to NITI Aayog, to find a comprehensive solution to the problem.
At the book launch of “Climate Change: The Policy, Law and Practice” by lawyer Jatinder (Jay) Cheema, Justice Viswanathan emphasised the urgent and severe nature of climate change as an existential threat, underlining the need for immediate action.
In his address, the Supreme Court judge asserted that there is a pressing need for the establishment of a climate change commission in the country as a permanent body on the lines of NITI Aayog, so that periodically, all stakeholders address this issue and push the frontiers to solve the problem from all angles.
The book was launched by Justice Surya Kant of the Supreme Court of India, in the presence of Supreme Court judges P. S. Narasimha, Sanjay Karol and K.V. Viswanathan, and former foreign secretary Shyam Saran. Dr. Sanjeev Chopra, Former Director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, co-moderated the launch session.
Published by Thomson Reuters, this book offers readers a comprehensive perspective on the climate crisis and the multifaceted responses & developments being formulated globally to combat it. The Foreword to the book has been written by Justice Dalveer Bhandari, Judge, International Court of Justice, The Hague.
Sharing the further details in his key speech, Cheema, who has over 30 years of experience as a lawyer, said, “This book goes beyond just environmental laws, as numerous significant publications and research papers already cover that area. Instead, it aims to compile all the legal frameworks related to climate change, adaptation, resilience, and mitigation, both at national and international levels, into a single volume. It is intended to be a valuable resource for anyone interested in driving positive change on this issue, including policymakers, activists, legal scholars, and practitioners.”
Climate Change: The Policy, Law and Practice provides its readers with a holistic view on the climate crisis and the challenges it faces, as well as global responses towards finding solutions to bring about the required change. It seeks to explore and develop an equilibrium between policy, law, and practice to pre-empt the potential explosion of disputes in this domain.
Divided into seven chapters, the book first explores the phenomenon of climate change before progressing towards understanding and critically analysing various treaties, protocols, and conventions on climate change. An entire chapter is dedicated to understanding the position of climate change in India and vice-versa, India’s position on climate change, holistically, i.e., the law, the policy, the practice, the vision, and mission.