Introduction to Environmental Law
This brand new section of the curriculum is really exciting and provides a great introduction to the legal systems which seek to help manage resource use and protect not only our ecosystems but also help support social justice.
This whole of the HL law section and associated activities should take around 5 hours to complete. However, there are many opportunities to weave it into other sections of the course as they arise.
“I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
Where would we be in a world without laws to live by? What would happen? Would there be anarchy and despair or would human beings be able to act with good moral judgement under all circumstances without need for rules. Perhaps a simpler way to think about this would be to imagine what would happen if your school suddenly stopped all the rules! Just imagine, a school without rules for which classes to attend, when to go for lunch, what to drink or smoke!
Strong laws, made and enforced by a government or social authority are essential for a well-functioning society. They ensure that everyone is treated fairly, that the powerful are held accountable, and that the rights of all people are protected. This creates a stable and peaceful environment where everyone can thrive.
In other words, good laws and institutions help to create a society where:
- Everyone is accountable for their actions, regardless of their wealth or status.
- Everyone has equal opportunities and is treated fairly under the law.
- Everyone has access to justice, even if they cannot afford to hire a lawyer.
- Human rights and the environment are protected.
- Corruption is low and violence is rare.
In summary, strong laws and institutions are essential for a just, equitable, and prosperous society.
Try these activities to think more about the scope and purpose of general law in society
"Law is the most legitimate and stable medium through which to foster and maintain collective responses to environmental problems" - Elizabeth Fisher[1].Environmental law includes agreements between many countries to work together to protect the environment. These agreements, called multilateral treaties, provide a framework for countries to cooperate internationally on issues such as climate change, air pollution, and biodiversity conservation. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity are two examples of such frameworks.
Nationally, there are many examples of the use of Environmental Law where standards pertain to one particular country but versions of this can be found in most others. Take, for instance, the common requirement of a new developmental project having to go through an "Environmental Impact Assessment". This originated in the USA in the late 1960s but now is a requirement in most countries. Interestingly, in 2010 the International Court of Justice recognised EIA's to be undertaken in cases of "transboundary harm"[1]
Carrying capacity is the maximum population size that can be supported by a given environment without causing environmental degradation. The Tragedy of the commons is a concept developed by Garrett Hardin in a 1968 article in Science. It is a situation in which individuals acting in their own self-interest ultimately destroy a shared resource that everyone relies on.
The two concepts are linked because the tragedy of the commons can lead to a situation where the carrying capacity of an environment is exceeded. This is explained below using fish populations as an example
Imagine a lake with a fish population that is shared by all of the people in the surrounding villages. The fish population is sustainable
, meaning that it can support the needs of the villagers without being depleted. However, each villager has an incentive to catch as many fish as they can, even if it means catching more fish than they need. This is because each villager knows that the other villagers are also fishing, and they don't want to be left behind. Over time, the villagers catch more and more fish, until the fish population is depleted. This happens because each villager is acting in their own self-interest, without considering the long-term consequences of their actions. As a result, everyone suffers, including the villagers themselves.
The cod population in the North Atlantic Ocean collapsed in the 1990s due to overfishing. Many different countries fished the cod stocks, and each country had an incentive to catch as many fish as they could. As a result, the cod population was depleted to the point where it could no longer support sustainable fishing. This led to a loss of jobs and income for fishermen in many coastal communities. The collapse of the cod population is a classic example of the tragedy of the commons. It shows how individual actions can have unintended consequences, and how important it is to manage shared resources sustainably.
One way to prevent the tragedy of the commons is to regulate the resource. This means setting rules and limits on how the resource can be used. You can learn more about cod fisheries by completing these activities.
When we reflect on the complexity of making and enforcing environmental laws we must appreciate the scale of assigning such laws to interconnected systems. What are the common areas of our system? If I burn fossil fuels in the UK, how does that contribute to extreme weather events in Greece? If I purchase a beautiful bunch of flowers in Ireland, how does that contribute to water scarcity issues in Kenya where they were grown? Do we view the planet as one interconnected system and assume that our actions can have a measurable impact on the planet, not only in our habitat but perhaps somewhere thousands of miles away? In this rapidly developing area of law, how do we protect our common areas from breaching our global carrying capacity? How do we even know what this is? You can see from the infographic to the left[2], that this is a number that is subject to intense debate!
The Miracle of the Commons
Political scientist Elinor Ostrom's research contradicted Garrett Hardin's idea of the "Tragedy of the Commons". Hardin believed that privatisation or control of resources was the only solution to prevent their destruction. However, Ostrom discovered that people could share resources sustainably. She extensively studied various communities, including groundwater users in Los Angeles, cattle herders in Switzerland, forest dwellers in Japan, and irrigators in the Philippines, to learn from their successful practices. Ostrom was amongst the first scientists to study these communities and their sustainable resource management techniques. You can learn more about the criticism of the concept of the "tragedy of the Commons" in the environmental economics section
A summary video about community self-control is below.
A case study involving Nepal (land management) and Turkey (fishery management) and the challenges of "top down control" is here.
Lady Justice is a symbol of the judicial system. She is often depicted as a blindfolded woman holding a sword and scales. The blindfold represents impartiality, the sword represents authority, and the scales represent fairness.
Blindfold
The blindfold represents the fact that justice is blind to social status, wealth, race, gender, or any other personal characteristic. It is supposed to ensure that everyone is treated fairly under the law.
Sword
The sword represents the authority of the law and the power to punish those who break it. It also symbolises the willingness of the judicial system to defend the innocent and uphold justice.
Scales
The scales represent the weighing of evidence in a case. They symbolise the need for fairness and impartiality in the judicial system. The scales must be balanced for justice to be served.
Together
The three symbols of Lady Justice represent the core principles of the judicial system: impartiality, fairness, and authority. Lady Justice is a reminder that everyone is entitled to justice under the law.
At its first universal session in 2013, UNEP’s Governing Body adopted Decision 27/9, on Advancing Justice, Governance and Law for Environmental Sustainability. This decision is the first internationally negotiated document to establish the term ‘environmental rule of law.’ It invited Governments and relevant organisations to reinforce international, regional and sub-regional cooperation to combat noncompliance with environmental laws.[3]
The Aarhus Convention[4]
The Aarhus Convention is a new kind of environmental agreement. The Convention was designed to support the following factors that align well with the concept of environmental justice;
• Links environmental rights and human rights
• Acknowledges that we owe an obligation to future generations
• Establishes that sustainable development can be achieved only through the involvement of all stakeholders
• Links government accountability and environmental protection
• Focuses on interactions between the public and public authorities in a democratic context.
More information on the Aarhus convention can be found here.
There are many barriers to the passing and implementation of environmental law. One of these barriers comes in the form of "lobbying". Lobbying is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as, " the activity of trying to persuade someone in authority, usually an elected member of a government, to support laws or rules that give your organization or industry an advantage"[5].
When it comes to climate change, there are two main groups: companies that want to keep using fossil fuels, like coal and oil, and groups that want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Companies that use fossil fuels often lobby against climate change policies because they would lose money if they had to switch to cleaner energy sources. However, not all companies in the same industry have the same goals. For example, some power companies that use fossil fuels also invest in renewable energy, so they might support policies that promote both types of energy.
It can be difficult to understand why certain climate change policies are passed or rejected. One reason is that companies and groups often spend a lot of money lobbying for or against these policies. For example, between 2000 and 2016, companies in the United States spent more than $2 billion lobbying around climate issues[6].
One study found that lobbying against a climate change bill in the United States reduced the chances of it passing from 55% to 42%. This shows how much lobbying can influence political decisions[6].
Overall, lobbying is a complex process that can have a big impact on climate change policies. It is important to understand how lobbying works so that we can make informed decisions about the future of our planet.
- As of 2017, 176 countries have environmental framework laws, 150 countries have enshrined environmental protection or the right to a healthy environment in their constitutions, and 164 countries have created cabinet-level bodies responsible for environmental protection, according to the first-ever global assessment of environmental rule of law.
- Weak enforcement however is a global trend exacerbating environmental threats.
- The backlash against implementation efforts includes harassment, arbitrary detention, and murders of environmental defenders[7].
Laws that are supposed to protect the environment aren't very clear or strong enough. They might not say exactly what people need to do to stop pollution or protect wildlife. Also, the government departments that are supposed to enforce these laws might not have enough money or power to do their job well. This can happen in both developing and developed countries.
For example, a law might say that factories can't pollute the water, but it might not say exactly how much pollution is allowed. Or, the government department that is supposed to check factories for pollution might not have enough inspectors to visit every factory regularly. When laws are weak or enforcement is lacking, it can lead to serious environmental problems. Pollution can harm people and animals, and it can damage ecosystems. So, it's important to make sure that environmental laws are strong and that they are enforced effectively.
People who work to protect the environment are often met with violence and threats. This is especially true in countries where there are weak laws and corrupt governments.
This violence is often carried out by people who have a financial interest in destroying the environment, such as logging companies or mining companies. They may also be targeted by government officials who are corrupt or who do not believe in protecting the environment.
The violence against environmental defenders is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. We need to do more to protect these brave people who are fighting to save our planet. You can find out more about this issue from Global Witness[8]
Footnotes
- a, b Fisher, Elizabeth Charlotte. Environmental Law: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2017.
- ^ http://na.unep.net/geas/archive/pdfs/geas_jun_12_carrying_capacity.pdf
- ^ https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/environmental-rights-and-governance/what-we-do/promoting-environmental-rule-law-0
- ^ https://unece.org/environment-policy/public-participation/aarhus-convention/introduction
- ^ https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/lobbying
- a, b https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-019-0499-4
- ^ https://sdg.iisd.org/news/environmental-laws-impeded-by-lack-of-enforcement-first-ever-global-assessment-finds/
- ^ https://www.globalwitness.org/