Visiting Scholars Forum

Lisa Palmen (Ph.D. candidate, University of Erfurt, Germany) will present a talk entitled, "Climate Finance = Climate Justice (?)," which is related to her Ph.D. project on Climate Finance and Law.

Ph.D.-Project on Climate Finance and Law:

Bridging the Gap: Legal and Institutional Challenges in Implementing Climate Financing Commitments – A Comprehensive Analysis with a Focus on Germany

Climate finance, the obligation of “developed” nations to financially support “developing” countries in climate mitigation and adaptation, remains a crucial yet contested issue in global climate change policy. Established in the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and legally formalized in the 2015 Paris Agreement (PA), climate finance continues to be central to international discussions. The 29th Conference of Parties (COP) in Baku, labeled the “Climate Finance COP,” saw mounting controversies between the Global North and South. President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the end of U.S. international climate finance amplified uncertainties in an already fragmented legal framework, even as the climate crisis intensifies. 

My Ph.D. project aims to untangle the complexities of the legal framework behind climate finance commitments. It examines how climate finance is operationalized bilaterally, using Germany as an example. While often treated as part of general development cooperation, climate finance carries distinct normative obligations. I explore whether its legal framework constitutes an emerging area of law shaped by Global South perspectives or a reproduction of existing development law structures. Key issues include the enforceability of international commitments, institutional fragmentation, and the role of cross-border administrative law. By analyzing the legal standards governing implementation, my work critically assesses Germany’s approach and contributes to a broader understanding of climate finance law.

In this presentation, I will focus on the international law dimension of climate finance. I argue that its normative foundation lies in the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR), which raises fundamental questions of climate justice and legal implementation. I will examine how international legal instruments define climate finance obligations, where legal uncertainties persist, and how these shape its institutional and political contestation.

Lisa Palmen is a fully qualified lawyer from Germany and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Erfurt, where she is affiliated with the Chair for International Law and International Administrative Law (Prof. Dr. Michael Riegner) at the Faculty of Economics, Law, and Social
Sciences. She is also a recipient of the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation PhD scholarship. As part of her research, she conducted a brief research stay at the Centre for Global Law at FGV Rio Law in Brazil in 2024.

Prior to beginning her Ph.D., Lisa completed her second Juridical State Exam at the Berlin Court of Appeal in 2022, qualifying as a fully qualified lawyer. She holds an LL.M. from Trinity College Dublin (2018/2019) and earned her First Judicial State Exam at Humboldt University of Berlin in 2017.