Climate Governance at the Crossroads: Experimenting with a Global Response after Kyoto, by Matthew J. Hoffmann, published by Oxford University Press, 2011, 240 pp., $50.00, hardback.

• Date: 01 April 2014
• Author: Sandrine Maljean‐Dubois
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12053
• Published date: 01 April 2014

maritime environmental protec-

tion, recalling the Exxon Valdez

spills where approximately 11

million gallons of oil were lost in the

Prince William Sound of the Gulf of

Alaska.

The final Panel concerns legal

questions surrounding the Sval-

bard archipelago, discussed by two

renowned legal experts: Robin

Churchill and Geir Ulfstein. The

applicable law for the archipelago

is the Treaty Concerning the Archi-

pelago of Spitsbergen, which was

signed in 1920. The Treaty recog-

nizes that Norway has sovereignty

over the archipelago. However, the

Treaty equally ensures the exploi-

tation of natural resources by

nationals and ships of all States

party to the Treaty and, under local

regulations, the right of access and

entry for realization of (industrial

and commercial) maritime activi-

ties, both on land and in the terri-

torial waters. The question that

arises is: Does the Treaty apply to

maritime areas, including the con-

tinental shelf, of the Svalbard

archipelago in accordance with the

contemporary law of the sea? The

panelists suggest various ways in

which this issue could be resolved.

However, they conclude that: ‘Only

if, or when, there becomes a press-

ing desire to explore for and

exploit any oil or gas reserves on

the continental shelf around Sval-

bard will the Parties be faced with

a real need to resolve the dispute’

(p. 593).

Changes in the Arctic Environment

and the Law of the Sea fills a sig-

nificant gap in the literature, spur-

ring the reflection that State

sovereignty always has had great

importance in the international

legal order, even if the international

community is increasingly faced

with highly interconnected global

challenges that go beyond the mere

geographic dimension linked to the

territory of States. The governance

of the Arctic region represents a

great challenge for international

law. Traditionally considered as a

remote and inaccessible area, the

Arctic has become a key focus due to

emerging economic opportunities

for States and private actors. In the

meantime, the international com-

munity, as well as the European

Union – even though the latter is

not the focus of this book – are

showing mounting concerns with

regard to energy security, sustain-

able development and the protec-

tion of human rights of local

communities in the Arctic region.

The book is strongly recommended

for an insightful read and cross-

cutting analysis of the main issues

in a changing Arctic.

Claudia Cinelli

Adjunct Professor

University of Pisa

Climate Governance at

the Crossroads:

Experimenting with a

Global Response after

Kyoto,byMatthew J.

Hoffmann, published by

Oxford University Press,

2011, 240 pp., $50.00,

hardback.

At the time the Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change is publish-

ing the first part – the physical

science basis – of its Fifth Assess-

ment Report, and coming back

from Warsaw, another disappoint-

ing international climate conference

on the bumpy road to a new climate

agreement in 2015, it is helpful

and refreshing to read Matthew

Hoffmann’s book on climate gover-

nance. Intergovernmental negotia-

tions have been suffering from a

lack of progress, and the process is

becoming more and more frustrat-

ing. The goal of limiting global

warming to 2°C above pre-industrial

levels has never seemed so out of

reach. Even if the Paris climate con-

ference in 2015 succeeds in the

adoption of an ambitious new inter-

national agreement – which, after

Warsaw, looks doubtful – it is clear

that a single multilateral treaty

cannot structure the global response

and that global climate change is a

very complex issue that will not be

‘solved’ by a single authoritative

response.

From this starting point, and

searching for a legitimate and effec-

tive response to climate change,

Hoffmann invites the reader to

think differently. Dedicated to

unconventional initiatives taking

place outside the traditional multi-

lateral channels, his short, exciting

and stimulating book could really

help to move the debate on climate

governance forward.

The book identifies and analyzes 68

climate governance experiments,

stemming both from subnational

governments (cities, provinces,

States) and non-State actors (corpo-

rations, citizen groups). Of course,

the sample is not exhaustive – how

could it be? – but it is well-

conceived and representative. The

book shows how the governance

experiments have emerged and how

they evolve. It demonstrates that

rather than being disparate or

random, these initiatives display

clear patterns that can be explained.

The initiatives are interacting with

each other more and more, with

increasing connections and rela-

tionships between the different sites

of governance. According to Hoff-

mann, even if they are not always

coherent and even if a clear division

of labour between the initiatives

does not yet exist, the whole should

be seen at least as a ‘nascent basis

for a coherent experimental system

of governance’ (p. x). The author is

right to query the legitimacy and

effectiveness of these experiments –

two sensitive issues which he sug-

gests are important subjects for

inquiry in the coming years.

Hoffmann wonders whether this

new and innovative system could

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Review of European Community & International Environmental Law

Book Reviews RECIEL 23 (1) 2014

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