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31 Fordham Envtl. L. Rev. 1 (2020)

handle is hein.journals/frdmev31 and id is 1 raw text is: 












  CLIMATE  CHANGE,  TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, AND INTELLECTUAL
    PROPERTY:  A 'MODEST  PROPOSAL'  FOR  AN IP ENFORCEMENT
                          MORATORIUM


                DALINDYEBO   BAFANA  SHABALALA*

                          INTRODUCTION

       The    Earth  continues   to   experience   record-breaking
temperatures  caused by  increased  atmospheric  concentrations of
carbon dioxide (C02)  and other greenhouse gases (GHGs).1 The
impacts of this unprecedented warming  include increased floods and
drought, rising sea levels, the spread of deadly diseases such as malaria
and  dengue  fever, and increasing numbers  of violent storms  and
weather-related catastrophes.2 Climate change presents a challenge to
almost all areas of human economic  activity because of our reliance
on GHG-emitting  fossil fuels and fossil fuel products.
       The current global emissions trajectory has a high probability
of 4.5 degrees of warming above pre-industrial levels with catastrophic
effects.3 Factoring in planned actions under the Paris Agreement4 still
leaves a high probability of reaching 2.7 degrees of increased warmth.5
To keep warming  well below 2 degrees and maintain the possibility of


     * Assistant Professor of Law, University of Dayton, School of Law.
     1 U.N. ENV'T PROGRAMME AND WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION,
INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE, CLIMATE CHANGE 2014
SYNTHESIS REPORT 40 (R.K. Pachauri et al. eds.) (2014) [hereinafter IPCC].
     2 Id. at 50-53.
     3 See CLIMATE ACTION TRACKER, http://climateactiontracker.org/ (last visited
February 6, 2020) (Analyzing and tracking government climate action measured
against the Paris Agreement).
     4 The Paris Agreement was adopted as a Decision of the UNFCCC parties
rather than a protocol or a treaty so as to avoid the domestic ratification obligations
of some countries regarding formal international agreements. See United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change Dec. 1/CP.21, U.N. Doc.
FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1 (January 29, 2016) (adopting Paris Agreement).
     5 See U.N ENV'T PROGRAMME, THE EMISSIONS GAP REPORT 2016 (2016)
(analyzing outcomes of planned actions under Paris Agreement).


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