International Environmental Law

International Environmental Law
Just a couple of weeks, a group of European countries proposed a new article 30 as an amendment to the Paris Climate Agreement. The text of article 30 reads as follows:

Amendment to the Paris Agreement:

Article 30

1. Any party that fails to fulfill the commitments communicated as its nationally determined contribution (NDC) under article 4.2 shall be in breach of this Agreement. In the event of such a breach, any other party is authorized to impose a 50% tariff on goods that have been produced with the use of fossil fuels and that are imported from the party in breach.
2. Any state that is not a party to this Agreement shall be the subject of an equivalent 50% import tariff, as provided for in paragraph 1.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of article 28, no party may withdraw from this Agreement before January 20, 2021.

The proposed amendment has found widespread support among the Paris Agreement parties, with the exception of the United States. From the international discussions on the amendment, it is apparent that the new article 30 is directed at the United States. Article 30 anticipates the failure of the US to meet its emission reduction pledge set out in its nationally determined contribution (NDC). Article 30 is also designed to make it more difficult for the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris agreement. It is expected that the other Paris
Agreement parties will unanimously vote to adopt this amendment and ratify it. (It is also expected that the U.S. will vote against the amendment.)

Senior management has asked for your analysis of the issues and recommendations on what Exxon Mobile should do with respect to the proposed amendment. The company stays in regular contact with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former Chief Executive of Exxon Mobile, and thus expects to have a sympathetic ear within the Trump Administration for its views and concerns. Your supervisor has reminded you that the analysis should not only consider issues of treaty law and potential implications with respect international trade