Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Enhancing Flexibility in International Climate Change Law

The document examines the challenges of governing climate change with fixed rules given the evolving nature of scientific insights and socio-economic conditions. It evaluates the UNFCCC's current flexibility mechanisms, critiques proposals for a more pluralist approach to law, and seeks a balance between flexibility and the need for predictability and stability.

• The international climate regime, primarily the UNFCCC, struggles to adapt despite having flexibility mechanisms in place, largely because scientific understanding and socio-economic conditions are constantly changing.
• While there are proposals to make international climate change law more adaptive through a pluralist approach, such flexibility must be balanced against the requirements for stability and predictability.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2015). Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Enhancing Flexibility in International Climate Change Law. https://www.sei.org/publications/between-the-devil-and-the-deep-blue-sea-enhancing-flexibility-in-international-climate-change-law/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Enhancing Flexibility in International Climate Change Law. 2015. https://www.sei.org/publications/between-the-devil-and-the-deep-blue-sea-enhancing-flexibility-in-international-climate-change-law/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Enhancing Flexibility in International Climate Change Law |date=1 May 2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/between-the-devil-and-the-deep-blue-sea-enhancing-flexibility-in-international-climate-change-law/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2015between, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Enhancing Flexibility in International Climate Change Law}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/between-the-devil-and-the-deep-blue-sea-enhancing-flexibility-in-international-climate-change-law/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }