Interstate Liability for Climate Change‐related Damage, by Elena Kosolapova, published by Eleven International, 2013, 224pp., £62.50, hardback.

• Author: Hugh S. Wilkins
• Date: 01 April 2015
• Published date: 01 April 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12105

ground energy activities in the dif-

ferent jurisdictions as well as the

role of science in underground risk

management and new technologies,

which is only very briefly touched

upon (p. 14).

In short, The Law of Energy

Underground addresses highly

topical and emerging subsoil issues

through the development of new

underground technologies. It goes

beyond simply describing the regu-

lation of a certain technology in dif-

ferent jurisdictions or that of

different technologies in one juris-

diction, but brings several jurisdic-

tions and technologies together. As

such, it is the first volume to

combine an analysis of the (mostly

‘old’ law on) underground issues in

a broad range of jurisdictions with

new technologies in a comparative

manner. It is thus a very welcome

contribution to the legal literature

on technology regulation, as well as

on energy and environmental law

underground, and it is a must-read

for anyone seeking a comparative

overview of ongoing developments

in this area.

Leonie Reins

KU Leuven, Belgium

Interstate Liability for

Climate Change-related

Damage,byElena

Kosolapova, published by

Eleven International, 2013,

224pp., £62.50, hardback.

In Interstate Liability for Climate

Change Damage, Elena Kosolapova

provides an excellent review and

analysis of international claims that

could arise from climate change

damage. Comprising six chapters,

the book focuses on the scientific

basis of climate change, the interna-

tional legal context, international

liability approaches, domestic liti-

gation efforts, and prospects for

success for inter-State climate

change liability claims. The book is

based on the premise that the inter-

national climate change regime

lacks a liability mechanism and that

inter-State claims could form the

basis for filling this regulatory gap

and compelling States to take miti-

gation actions. Analyzing the effec-

tiveness and suitability of several

international liability regimes and

approaches, the author finds that

the law of State responsibility pres-

ents a viable legal avenue for inter-

State claims, potentially motivating

States to act.

In Chapter 1, Kosolapova looks at

the physics of climate change and

its causes, consequences, manifes-

tations and impacts. She discusses

anthropogenic factors causing

climate change and the resulting

impacts, such as sea-level rise,

desertification and extreme weather

events. She examines how climate

change affects regions, systems and

sectors, and reviews the roles of

mitigation and adaptation mea-

sures to address it.

In Chapter 2, the author reviews the

international legal regime govern-

ing climate change, focusing on the

commitments and tools established

under the United Nations Frame-

work Convention on Climate

Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto

Protocol. Kosolapova examines the

Protocol’s compliance mechanism,

noting both its achievements and its

limitations, and reviews efforts

under the UNFCCC to negotiate

future international commitments.

She concludes by arguing that it is

imperative that all States take miti-

gation measures and that inter-

State liability can play a role in

compelling States to take those

measures.

In Chapter 3, the author assesses

international liability approaches,

focusing specifically on State

liability and State responsibility.

Kosolapova distinguishes the two

approaches noting that State liabil-

ity ‘is grounded in specific primary

rules of international law and is

applied in situations when lawful

conduct of a state has resulted in

harm to another state’, while State

responsibility is based on ‘second-

ary norms regulating the conse-

quences of state acts that are

considered internationally wrong-

ful’ (p. 35).

On State liability, she reviews the

obligation to pay compensation, the

obligation to negotiate a redress

settlement, the obligation to ensure

prompt, adequate and effective

compensation, and the obligation to

take response action. She provides a

comprehensive series of examples

under various multilateral environ-

ment agreements and analyzes

whether these obligations could be

applied to climate change issues.

She examines their suitability based

on legal and political feasibility,

conceptual fittingness and systemic

compatibility. She finds that none

of these liability models are entirely

appropriate for addressing climate-

change-related damage.

Turning to State responsibility,

Kosolapova discusses the 2001

International Law Commission’s

Articles on Responsibility of States

for Internationally Wrongful

Acts and examines the main

functions of State responsibility,

which are essentially preventive,

enforcement-related, and compen-

satory or reparative. Noting that

State responsibility is triggered by

an internationally wrongful act of a

State, she reviews the origins of

this approach, its content and its

implementation. She discusses the

legal consequences of State respon-

sibility, including the obligations to

cease a wrongful act and to provide

reparations in the forms of restitu-

tion, compensation or satisfac-

tion. She finds that an approach

founded upon State responsibility

may have the potential for address-

ing climate change damage and

warrants further study.

Before further studying the applica-

tion of State responsibility to

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Review of European Community & International Environmental Law

RECIEL 24 (1) 2015 Book Reviews

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