Sunset Clauses in International Law and their Consequences for EU Law
PE 703.592
71
11. A Party may at any time adjust its existing nationally determined contribution with a view to
enhancing its level of ambition, in accordance with guidance adopted by the Conference of the
Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to this Agreement.
12. Nationally determined contributions communicated by Parties shall be recorded in a public
registry maintained by the secretariat.
13. Parties shall account for their nationally determined contributions. In accounting for
anthropogenic emissions and removals corresponding to
their nationally determined
contributions, Parties shall promote environmental integrity, transparency, accuracy,
completeness, comparability and consistency, and ensure the avoidance of double counting, in
accordance with guidance adopted by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the
Parties to this Agreement.
14. In the context of their nationally determined contributions, when recognizing and
implementing mitigation actions with respect to anthropogenic emissions and removals, Parties
should take
into account, as appropriate, existing methods and guidance under the Convention, in
the light of the provisions of paragraph 13 of this article.
15. Parties shall take into consideration in the implementation of this Agreement the concerns of
Parties with economies most affected by the impacts of response measures, particularly
developing country Parties.
16. Parties, including regional economic integration organizations and their member States, that
have reached an agreement to act jointly under paragraph 2 of this article shall
notify the
secretariat of the terms of that agreement, including the emission level allocated to each Party
within the relevant time period, when they communicate their nationally determined
contributions. The secretariat shall in turn inform the Parties and signatories to the Convention of
the terms of that agreement.
17. Each party to such an agreement shall be responsible for its emission level as set out in the
agreement referred to in paragraph 16 of this article in accordance with paragraphs 13 and 14 of
this article and Articles 13 and 15.
18. If Parties acting jointly do so in the framework of, and together with, a
regional economic
integration organization which is itself a Party to this Agreement, each member State of that
regional economic integration organization individually, and together with the regional economic
integration organization, shall be responsible for its emission level as set out in the agreement
communicated under paragraph 16 of this article in accordance with paragraphs 13 and 14 of this
article and Articles 13 and 15.
19. All Parties should strive to formulate and communicate long-term low greenhouse
gas emission
development strategies, mindful of Article 2 taking into account their common but differentiated
responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances.
PE 703.592
IP-C-JURI-IC-2021-049
Print ISBN 978-92-846-8815-9
| doi: 10.2861/201018 | QA-03-21-494-EN-C
PDF
ISBN 978-92-846-8814-2
| doi: 10.2861/68288
| QA-03-21-494-EN-N
Sunset clauses in International Treaties account for numerous benefits. However, their
entrenchment effect disproportionally burdens future policymakers.
This is the case of the Energy Charter Treaty, which poses unique challenges for two main reasons.
First, compared to other treaties, the ECT contains a 20-year sunset clause. Second, the treaty is a
multilateral with a rigid amendment procedure, which empowers the
entrenchment effect of that
treaty.
Within this context, the study explores the policy options to disengage from the ECT and the
entrenchment effect of its sunset clauses.