International Law for the Environment

A comprehensive exposition of contemporary international environmental law and the governance institutions that implement it. Throughout, the book explores the incorporation of international environmental law principles and treaty obligations into national judicial decisions and legislation.

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International Law for the Environment is a comprehensive exposition of contemporary international environmental law and the governance institutions that implement it.

Part I sets out the drivers of threats to the planet's air, water and social support systems, the philosophical, economic, and scientific foundations of the legal responses to these threats, and the customary and treaty-based legal regimes that have emerged. Also addressed in Part I are the intersections between the environment and human rights and environmental disasters and emergencies. These regimes are placed in the context of general international law.

Part II introduces the students to the major treaty-based regimes such as those addressing transboundary air and water pollution, the control of pollutants which deplete the ozone layer, global climate change, the protection of oceans, polar regions, and outer space, the disposal of hazardous wastes outside the country of origin, the protection and allocation of fresh waters and the restoration of degraded aquatic ecosystems, and the conservation of biological diversity. Also addressed are the linkages between agricultural production and the environment.

Part III examines the integration of environmental considerations with respect to other areas of international law and the influence of those areas on the development of international environmental law, including a new chapter examining the relationship between armed conflict and the environment, and health and the environment, as well as chapters exploring international trade law, and the financing of sustainable development.

Part IV provides an overview of the international legal system, including the international institutions and governance issues concerned with international environmental protection, as well as international dispute settlement.

Throughout, the book explores the incorporation of international environmental law principles and treaty obligations into national judicial decisions and legislation. In addition, this new edition includes exercises for students in every chapter.