Global warming is a result of human influence. However, little has been done to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to a ‘safe’ level. An important factor for such dismal state of affairs is that the international community has emphasized far too much on the State-centric approach to combating climate change. The international legal regime does not directly control major emitters or MNCs. This article recognizes the atmosphere as a part of the global commons and the atmospheric absorptive capacity as the common heritage of mankind. Therefore, the international community can pave the way to link global climate change regime and MNCs. Those common interests of the international community can be protected when MNCs turn their production processes green, by redirecting their investment into green technology, and try to alter the negative status quo.

Although in 2011 Japan finally decided not to participate in the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, under the principles of sustainable development and common but differentiated responsibilities, it has probed the ways in which the ‘ultimate objective’ of the UNFCCC will be realized in the international community. With regard to socalled ‘emissions trading,’ since the middle of the 2000s, Japan has continuously adopted various methods and approaches for domestic emissions trading at local and central government levels. This article analyzes Japan’s recent efforts in introducing emissions trading schemes and finally refers to the Joint Crediting Mechanism, which covers the period until a future new agreement under the UNFCCC comes into effect.

Climate change is an emerging environmental issue. To prevent possible trade sanctions from the industrialized trading partners, Taiwan proposed several policies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. This includes their preparation of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act is under legislature review and the Statute for Renewable Energy Management. Because Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, it is excluded from participation in the United Nation Convention on Climate Change and lacks access to the flexible mechanisms defined under the Kyoto Protocol. The Taiwan Environment Protection Administration plans to encourage the local emitters to acquire foreign reduction credits to offset domestic emissions. This article approaches Taiwan’s mitigation policies and measures from an international legal perspective. It also introduces adaptation policies and recommends that the government establish a special national adaptation team to prepare data and criteria for risk prioritization. Finally, this paper recommends that the Parties of the UNFCCC adopt the ‘universal apply’principle for climate change and allow any governmental agency whose governing matters are covered by the convention, to participate and share emission-reduction responsibilities.

This paper examines the early operation of the Kyoto Protocol’s non-compliance procedure since 2006. Several important non-compliance cases recently or currently before the Kyoto Compliance Committee of the procedures and mechanisms deserve to be analysed and discussed. As we may see, the enforcement branch of the Compliance Committee has dealt with some important cases of non-compliance; Among them, from the viewpoint of interpretation or application of international environmental treaties, the question of compliance by Croatia would be particularly interesting. What must be noticed is that the Kyoto Protocol’s NCP has prepared a multilateral forum which enables both the parties and the enforcement branch to base their arguments on international legal perspectives. This examination will also contribute to contested theories of compliance with international legal rules.

This study analyzed how the impacts of major teleconnection patterns on December mean temperature in Korea have been changed during the period before and after the regime shift of 1986 for the last 61 years from 1958 to 2018. During the period before the regime shift, the teleconnection patterns originating from the North Atlantic mainly affected the temperature variability in Korea, but its influence almost disappeared after the regime shift. On the other hand, the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and warm Arctic and cold Eurasia (WACE) patterns played a more important role in the temperature variability in Korea after the regime shift. Regression analysis showed that the AO could explain about 12% of the total temperature variability before the regime shift, but about 22% after the regime shift. WACE pattern also explained about 4% before the regime shift, but after the regime shift, the importance increased by about 4.5 times to 18%. On the other hand, East Atlantic pattern (EA) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which are east-west teleconnection patterns, explained 27% and 11%, respectively, before the regime shift, but had little influence within 3% after the regime shift. This means that the influence of east-west teleconnection patterns disappeared after the regime shift, and teleconnection patterns by the Arctic Circle became more important.

본 연구에서는 금강의 생태계에 영향을 끼쳤을 가능성이 있는 주요 개발 및 관리 활동들을 기초로 하여 생태수 문학적인 하천평가 시나리오 구성을 위한 개념모델을 제시하였다. 또한 생태수문학적 하천평가를 위하여 여러 지원 프로그램과 함께 유역물수지 모델인 KModSim과 하천생태분석 모델인 RAP을 이용한 분석방법을 개발하였다. 용담댐과 대청댐의 건설 및 운영에 따라 예측되는 유황변화를 분석하기 위하여 다양한 시나리오에 따른 수문분석을 실시한 결과에 의하면,

황강 상류에 위치한 합천댐은 1988년 12월에 완공되었다. 완공 이후 댐의 저수량 부족으로 10여년간 수문을 통한 방류가 없었기 때문에, 댐 하류부에 새로운 생태계가 조성되었다. 이러한 현상은 국내 다른 지역에서 찾아보기 힘든 매우 특이한 사항이다. 본 연구에서는 댐 건설로 인한 유황변화에 따른 하천의 지형학적 변화와 식생 피복상태의 변화에 대한 분석을 수행하였다. 이를 위해 하상고 및 하천수로단면의 변화를 조사하였다. 또한 나이테 분석을 포함한 현지