This work analyzes the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) prepared under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme Chemical Division. The treaty was adopted at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Stockholm on 24 May 2001, and was open for signature at United Nations Headquarters in New York until 22 May 2002. It is the first international legal instrument to focus attention on the dangers of persistent organic pollutants - chemicals that are commonly used as pesticides in agriculture and to control insects causing diseases like malaria. At the same time, these chemical substances are carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic, posing grave risks to human and animal health and the environment. The treaty is a comprehensive global attempt to reduce the risks to human health and the environment from the release of these persistent organic pollutants, currently known as "the dirty dozen."
This analysis:
. Chronicles the Stockholm Convention negotiations, discusses the Stockholm treaty's intricacies and analyzes its thirty articles
. Explains the fundamentals of POPs, their chemical properties, toxicology and common and/or historical uses
. Discusses the history of POPs contamination, how the modern era of synthetic pesticide production began and its effect on today's world
. Concentrates on the science and chemistry of the twelve chemicals addressed in the Stockholm Convention and examines the politics evolving around them
. Provides explicit examples of the harmful effects that these chemicals have on human and animal populations and environment
. Looks at the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in negotiating the treaty
. Includes full text of the Stockholm Convention with annexes."

Several disturbing issues pose a threat to the marine environment and its wellbeing, among them marine environmental pollution and degradation of marine biodiversity. Most troubling is that these issues are overwhelmingly caused by human activities which are sometimes transboundary, and their consequences will become more severe and complicated if not properly curbed. Thus, these activities require comprehensive policies, laws, and principles to manage them effectively. Linked to these solutions is the need for responsibilities, cooperation and commitments at local, national, regional and international levels. Contemporary Marine Environmental Law and Policy presents a thorough appraisal of the main issues, actors and institutions engaged in the legal aspects of marine environmental conservation. With contributions from an international range of authors, the book provides a concise account of the legal and policy framework underlying international marine environmental issues, and of the fundamental concepts and strategies that are important to the protection of the marine environment. Some of the topics explored include: the prevention of marine pollution caused by land based activities, ships, and offshore hydrocarbon and mineral resources exploration; the conservation and management of marine living resources; the marine environment in the polar regions; and the settlement of marine environmental disputes. This book provides a solid foundation for anyone studying International Environmental Law and the Law of the Sea. It will also appeal to anyone seeking to gain a deeper understanding of this hugely important subject.

The 2019 Chagos Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice is a decision of profound legal and political significance. Presented with a rare opportunity to pronounce on the right to self-determination and the rules governing decolonization, the ICJ responded with remarkable directness. The contributions to this book examine the Court's reasoning, the importance of the decision for the international system, and its consequences for the situation in the Chagos Archipelago in particular. Apart from bringing the Chagossians closer to the prospect of returning to the islands from which they were covertly expelled half a century ago, the decision and its political context may be understood as part of a broader shift in North/South relations, in which formerly dominant powers like the UK must come to terms with their waning influence on the world stage, and in which voices from former colonies are increasingly shaping the institutional and normative landscape.

This work presents practical information for environmental professionals who are responsible for daily compliance with United States environmental laws, including regulatory programs that make environmental compliance a challenge. The text includes hands-on information needed to understand record keeping and reporting, inspections, and civil and criminal fines. It includes inventory forms, permit applications, environmental impact statements, and other sample documents.
Covers compliance issues relating to:
- Valuations
- Engineering
- Toxicology
- Risk assessment
- Insurance
- Taxes
- Accounting

For those troubled by environmental harm on a global scale and its deeply unequal effects, this book explains how international law structures ecological degradation and environmental injustice while claiming to protect the environment. It identifies how central legal concepts such as sovereignty, jurisdiction, territory, development, environment, labour and human rights make inaccurate and unsustainable assumptions about the natural world and systemically reproduce environmental degradation and injustice. To avert socioecological crises, we must not only unpack but radically rework our understandings of nature and its relationship with law. We propose more sustainable and equitable ways to remake law's relationship with nature by drawing on diverse disciplines and sociocultural traditions that have been marginalized within international law. Influenced by Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), postcolonialism and decoloniality, and inspired by Indigenous knowledges, cosmology, mythology and storytelling, this book lays the groundwork for an epistemological shift in the way humans conceptualize the relationship between law and nature.

This century's major disasters from Hurricane Katrina and the Fukushima nuclear meltdown to devastating Nepalese earthquakes and the recent crippling volcanic eruptions and tsunamis in Tonga have repeatedly taught that government institutions are ill-prepared for major disaster events, leaving the most vulnerable among us unprotected. These tragedies represent just the beginning of a new era of disaster - an era of floods, heatwaves, droughts, and pandemics fueled by climate change. Laws and government institutions have struggled to adapt to the scope of the challenge; old models of risk no longer apply. This Handbook provides timely guidance, taking stock of the field of disaster law and policy as it has developed since Hurricane Katrina. Experts from a wide range of academic and practical backgrounds address the root causes of disaster vulnerability and offer solutions to build more resilient communities to ensure that no one is left behind.

The international legal framework for valuing the carbon stored in forests, known as 'Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation' (REDD+), will have a major impact on indigenous peoples and forest communities. The REDD+ regime contains many assumptions about the identity, tenure and rights of indigenous and local communities who inhabit, use or claim rights to forested lands. The authors bring together expert analysis of public international law, climate change treaties, property law, human rights and indigenous customary land tenure to provide a systemic account of the laws governing forest carbon sequestration and their interaction. Their work covers recent developments in climate change law, including the Agreement from the Conference of the Parties in Paris that came into force in 2016. The Impact of Climate Change Mitigation on Indigenous and Forest Communities is a rich and much-needed contribution to contemporary understanding of this topic.

The common ground between religions could be fruitfully promoted in order to call for an effective protection of the climate system. Positioned at a junction of different worlds, this book is a multidisciplinary work on Islamic law, common law and environmental law. Looking at the past, present and future, the author suggests a paradigm shift starting from the common ground in order to propose a better future for environmental law in Muslim countries. As the first book to compare Shari'a and common law in field of environmental protection, it suggests a new path in comparative environmental law by recognizing the contributions of both history and spirituality.

In 2015, the United Nations established seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that aimed 'to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all' by 2030. The chapters within this collection address each of these SDGs, considering how they relate to one another and international law, and what institutions could aid their implementation. Development has been a contentious topic since the decolonization period after World War II, and issues surrounding sustainable development are necessarily impacted by the multifaceted relationship between the Global South and Global North. Confronting the context and challenge of sustainable development, this collection outlines how the international economic system problematizes the attainment of the SDGs. Introducing a novel, cosmopolitan approach, this book offers new ways of understanding sustainable development and suggests potential solutions so that we might finally achieve it.

Written by judges of the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and other leading experts in International Law this collection of essays deals with the most recent developments in international environmental law since the UN Rio Conference on Environment and Development in 1992. It focuses on sustainable development, natural resources, Antarctica, the protection of marine environment, and the revolution in international fisheries law.

In Reconsidering REDD+: Authority, Power and Law in the Green Economy, Julia Dehm provides a critical analysis of how the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) scheme operates to reorganise social relations and to establish new forms of global authority over forests in the Global South, in ways that benefit the interests of some actors while further marginalising others. In accessible prose that draws on interdisciplinary insights, Dehm demonstrates how, through the creation of new legal relations, including property rights and contractual obligations, new forms of transnational authority over forested areas in the Global South are being constituted. This important work should be read by anyone interested in a critical analysis of international climate law and policy that offers insights into questions of political economy, power, and unequal authority.

Science, which inevitably underlies environmental disputes, poses significant challenges for the scientifically untrained judges who decide such cases. In addition to disrupting ordinary fact-finding and causal inquiry, science can impact the framing of disputes and the standard of review. Judges must therefore adopt various tools to adjust the level of science allowed to enter their deliberations, which may fundamentally impact the legitimacy of their reasoning. While neglecting or replacing scientific authority can erode the convincing nature of judicial reasoning, the same authority, when treated properly, may lend persuasive force to adjudicatory findings, and buttress the legitimacy of judgments. In this work, Katalin Sulyok surveys the environmental case law of seven major jurisdictions and analyzes framing techniques, evidentiary procedures, causal inquiries and standards of review, offering valuable insight into how judges justify their choices between rival scientific claims in a convincing and legitimate manner.

Over fifty years of global conservation has failed to bend the curve of biodiversity loss, so we need to transform the ways we govern biodiversity. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity aims to develop and implement a transformative framework for the coming decades. However, the question of what transformative biodiversity governance entails and how it can be implemented is complex. This book argues that transformative biodiversity governance means prioritizing ecocentric, compassionate and just sustainable development. This involves implementing five governance approaches - integrative, inclusive, adaptive, transdisciplinary and anticipatory governance - in conjunction and focused on the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and unsustainability. Transforming Biodiversity Governance is an invaluable source for academics, policy makers and practitioners working in biodiversity and sustainability governance. This is one of a series of publications associated with the Earth System Governance Project. For more publications, see www.cambridge.org/earth-system-governance. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

This work investigates law as an instrument to deal with the challenges of sea level rise. As the two countries chosen as examples differ significantly in their adaptation strategies and the corresponding legal regulations, the author presents general ideas on how any legal framework facing similar challenges could be improved. In particular, (flood) risk assessments, coastal defences and flood-resistant design as well as spatial and land use planning are discussed, including managed retreat. Moreover, conflicts as well as potential synergies of coastal adaptation and nature conservation are examined.Due to the thorough analysis this book is not just an essential read for policymakers and researchers interested in the coastal area but climate change adaptation in general as many general findings are transferrable to other impacts.

Governing Arctic Seas introduces the concept of ecopolitical regions, using in-depth analyses of the Bering Strait and Barents Sea Regions to demonstrate how integrating the natural sciences, social sciences and Indigenous knowledge can reveal patterns, trends and processes as the basis for informed decisionmaking. This book draws on international, interdisciplinary and inclusive (holistic) perspectives to analyze governance mechanisms, built infrastructure and their coupling to achieve sustainability in biophysical regions subject to shared authority. Governing Arctic Seas is the first volume in a series of books on Informed Decisionmaking for Sustainability that apply, train and refine science diplomacy to address transboundary issues at scales ranging from local to global. For nations and peoples as well as those dealing with global concerns, this holistic process operates across a 'continuum of urgencies' from security time scales (mitigating risks of political, economic and cultural instabilities that are immediate) to sustainability time scales (balancing economic prosperity, environmental protection and societal well-being across generations). Informed decisionmaking is the apex goal, starting with questions that generate data as stages of research, integrating decisionmaking institutions to employ evidence to reveal options (without advocacy) that contribute to informed decisions. The first volumes in the series focus on the Arctic, revealing legal, economic, environmental and societal lessons with accelerating knowledge co-production to achieve progress with sustainability in this globally-relevant region that is undergoing an environmental state change in the sea and on land. Across all volumes, there is triangulation to integrate research, education and leadership as well as science, technology and innovation to elaborate the theory, methods and skills of informed decisionmaking to build common interests for the benefit of all on Earth.

Environmental rights, also known as the human rights or constitutional rights that are used for the protection of the environment, have proliferated over the last forty-five years. However, the precise levels of protection that they represent has since been a major question associated with this phenomenon. Environmental Rights: The Development of Standards systematically investigates this question by analyzing the emerging standards of environmental protection that are associated with such rights and the way that those associations are becoming formalized. It covers all of the relevant human rights treaties to illustrate how environmental rights standards are emerging in this dynamic area. Bringing together an elite group of scholars, this book discusses significant new insights into the way that environmental rights are developing, the standards of protection that they confer, and the way that standards in the field of environmental rights can potentially be further developed in the future.

The threat of anthropocentric environmental harm grows more pressing each year. Around the world, human activities are devastating the natural environment and contributing to potentially irreversible climate change. This book explores the ways in which the International Criminal Court may effectively prosecute those who cause or contribute to serious environmental destruction. Written by an international lawyer who has prosecuted cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, it provides insights into the procedures, laws, and techniques capable of leading to convictions against those who harm the environment.

With the rapid growth of the renewable energy sector, it has become increasingly important to understand how renewable energy is defined in national laws around the world and what regulatory mechanisms these countries are deploying to achieve their renewable energy goals. In Renewable Energy Law: An International Assessment, Penelope J. Crossley compares the national renewable energy laws for each of the 113 countries that have such a law, shedding light on the question of whether energy laws are converging globally to facilitate trade or engaging in regulatory competition. The book includes over sixty extracts from different national laws, case studies on the European Union and the Chinese wind sector, and many examples of the particular challenges facing specific countries. This work should be read by scholars, policymakers, regulators, employees of commercial entities operating in the energy sector, and anyone else interested in the legal and regulatory landscape of renewable energy.

Convening leading scholars to reflect on the practical and philosophical implications of religious values, this volume is an accessible introduction to Catholic social thought on contemporary affairs. Its gracefully written chapters cover three themes - direct environmental policy implications of Laudato Si', philosophical alternatives to dominant policy discourse, and renewed political economy based on robust conceptions of human flourishing. Care for the World offers learned reflections on what it would mean to express an ethic of compassion in an era of climate crises.

This work offers a multidisciplinary approach to legal and policy instruments used to prevent and remedy global environmental challenges. It provides a theoretical overview of a variety of instruments, making distinctions between levels of governance (treaties, domestic law), types of instruments (market-based instruments, regulation, and liability rules), and between government regulation and private or self-regulation. The book's central focus is an examination of the use of mixes between different types of regulatory and policy instruments and different levels of governance, notably in climate change, marine oil pollution, forestry, and fisheries. The authors examine how, in practice, mixes of instruments have often been developed. This book should be read by anyone interested in understanding how interactions between different instruments affect the protection of environmental resources.

The aim of this short text is simply to introduce a reader to this topic. It is intended for a global audience and rather than being restricted to potential energy law students of a particular country. It is also written for students of other disciplines such as geographers, social scientists and engineers. It should also be engaging to those in a variety of professional practices who want an accessible background to and overview of the subject. The first edition of Energy Law: An Introduction was a great success and this extended second edition is expected to be just as successful. It is used widely as a core text in energy law courses across the world and this second issue adds further discussion on important topics such as energy law principles and drivers. Further, it highlights issues of energy justice, a growing and an emergent topic which is also at the core of the energy law principles and the key drivers of why new energy law is formulated. The text aims to outline the principles and central logic behind energy law. Therefore, readers from across the world should be able to use it as a guide to thinking about energy law in their own countries. A variety of examples from many different countries are included in the text and while examples and comparisons are mainly from the EU and US, they represent good examples of more advanced and innovative energy law. For those readers who seek further or more in-depth knowledge, this text will only serve as an introduction. However, a key focus of the book is to direct the reader where they to look for further information and within the book there are suggested extra readings, the key recommended journals to read and other sources of information based on institutions who publish further material in this area. Overall this second edition of Energy Law: An Introduction aims to inspire students and others to contribute to try and improve energy law across the world and enable us all to contribute in our own small way to delivering a just and sustainable energy world for future generations.

Uncontrolled transboundary transfer of hazardous wastes was recognized as a major environmental problem in the mid-1980s. The international community responded by elaborating pertinent international agreements. Treaties are now in place at the global and regional levels, and additional ones are being negotiated. Despite their common aim of protecting the environment against the ill-effects of hazardous wastes, they often differ in stringency as well as scope and membership.
The book analyses the key treaties and other international legal rules on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes. It identifies inconsistencies, gaps, and overlaps, and proposes ways to build a comprehensive global regulatory system for the management of hazardous wastes by harmonizing relevant international legal rules.

The last few years have witnessed a flurry of activity in global governance and international lawseeking to address the protection gaps for people fleeing the effects of climate change. This book discusses cutting-edge developments in law and policy on climate change and forced displacement, including theories and potential solutions, issues of governance, local and regional concerns, and future challenges. Chapters are written by a range of authors from academics to key figures in intergovernmental organisations, and offer detailed case studies of policy developments in the Americas, Europe, South-East Asia, and the Pacific. This is an ideal resource for graduate students and researchers from a range of disciplines, as well as policymakers working in environmental law, environmental governance, and refugee and migration law. This is one of a series of publications associated with the Earth System Governance Project. For more publications, see www.cambridge.org/earth-system-governance.

The last few years have witnessed a flurry of activity in global governance and international lawseeking to address the protection gaps for people fleeing the effects of climate change. This book discusses cutting-edge developments in law and policy on climate change and forced displacement, including theories and potential solutions, issues of governance, local and regional concerns, and future challenges. Chapters are written by a range of authors from academics to key figures in intergovernmental organisations, and offer detailed case studies of policy developments in the Americas, Europe, South-East Asia, and the Pacific. This is an ideal resource for graduate students and researchers from a range of disciplines, as well as policymakers working in environmental law, environmental governance, and refugee and migration law. This is one of a series of publications associated with the Earth System Governance Project. For more publications, see www.cambridge.org/earth-system-governance.

Initially created as afterthoughts to competitive electricity markets, capacity markets were intended to enhance system reliability. They have evolved into massive, highly controversial, and poorly understood billion-dollar institutions. Electricity Capacity Markets examines the rationales for creating capacity markets, how capacity markets work, and how well these markets are meeting their objectives. This book will appeal to energy experts and non-experts alike, across a range of disciplines, including economics, business, engineering, public policy, and law. Capacity markets are an important and provocative topic on their own, but they also offer an interesting case study of how well our energy systems are meeting the needs of our increasingly complex society. The challenges facing capacity markets - harnessing market forces for social good, creating networks that manage complexity, and achieving sustainability - are very much core challenges for our twenty-first century advanced industrial society.