Background of International Law and Environmental Protection
International law is referred to a set of rules and guidelines which are regarded and accepted in relations between nations. The objective of these laws is to set a framework for the practice of stability and organisation of international relations between countries. Many international laws are implemented by countries across the globe in order to address the issue of climate change. In the past few decades, the threat of climate change become prominent as this problem continues to create challenges for all living organisms on earth. Many countries have formed treaties and conventions in order to ensure that they perform their part in order to reduce activities which cause climate change. However, these policies and treaties are not appropriate to ensure that countries are able to address the issue of climate change. The thesis will argue that the international legal system is inadequate when it comes to protecting the global natural environment and stop climate change. This essay will evaluate different international treaties and conventions which are formed in order to address the issue of climate change and protecting global natural environment. The effectiveness of these actions will be evaluated in this essay along with analysis of those factors which makes it difficult for these policies to address environmental-related issues. Recommendations will be given in this essay in order to improve effectiveness of these treaties and conventions, and lastly, a conclusion will be drawn.
A system of treaties and agreements which are formed between countries that govern how they will interact with each other, citizens of other nations, and businesses is referred as international law. There are many global issues which adversely affect people around the world such as maintenance of peace, sovereignty of states, Law of seas, Airplane Hijacking, international trade and commerce, terrorism, privacy, environmental degradation, and others. These issues are global in nature which cannot be addressed within territorial or political boundaries. Therefore, the international legal system acts as the foundation for the conduct of international relations which regulates state actions under international law. Therefore, this legal system is targeted towards addressing major issues which affect people worldwide. Protecting environment resources is becoming an increasing concern, and international environmental law plays a crucial role in ensuring that the global natural environment is protected. There are many treaties which are formed between countries in relation to international environmental issues, and new international institutions have been established to protect global environmental resources and stop issues such as climate change. However, these actions are not appropriate, and there is still area for improvement.
Review of International Environmental Law and Policies
The first attempt which was made in order to establish a global legal framework for protecting the environmental resources was the Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment (1972) after which many international instruments have been introduced in order to address both general and specific aspects of the environment. For example, the Rio Declaration, the Climate Change Convention, Agenda 21, the Convention on Biological Diversity and a framework agreement on forest principles. The Climate Change Convention was targeted at reducing the continuous rise of the emission and concentration of greenhouse gases. Scientific evidence has supported the fact that there is severe risk of global climate change which due to which the temperature of the Earth is continuously rising. The establishment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is another good example; these are global goals which are aimed towards protecting the planet and ensure that people are able to enjoy peace and prosperity. Goal 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 are specifically targeted towards addressing specific environmental related challenges faced by countries on a global stage. These actions highlight different aspects of the international legal system which are targeted towards protecting the environmental resources and stopping climate change, however, there are many key factors which reduce effectiveness of these policies.
One of the key reason due to which the international legal system is not suitable to address environmental-related issues is lack of obligation on countries. The treaties and agreements formed between countries in order to protect the environment and its resources did not create binding obligations on countries that are responsible for damaging the environment. There are no penalties or charges which are imposed on those nations which did not actively participate and comply with intentional environmental regulations. There is lack of a global authority which has the right to enforce the obligations on states that violate global environmental laws or treaties. Due to lack of enforcement of these policies, it becomes easier for countries to avoid compliance with these factors; therefore, these agreements have failed to address major environmental issues. The United Nation (UN) works collaboratively with governments in order to introduce new laws and policies which are targeted towards protecting the environmental resources. Similarly, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is another international policy research institute which is focused on establishing a more suitable world while collaborating with other institutes. However, these institutes did not have authority to ensure that they enforce governments to mandatorily comply with environmental regulations. Most countries actively participate in the formation of the international laws which are targeted on protecting environmental resources and stopping climate change, however, they failed to comply with these policies. The international legal system did not provide policies for penalising countries that failed to comply with the environmental protection law which makes it ineffective.
Ineffectiveness of the International Legal System in Protecting the Environment
The political and business influence is another key challenge faced by the international legal system which makes it difficult to ensure that policies which are formed for stopping climate change are working effectively. Studies have found that only 100 corporations are responsible for 71 percent of the global emissions which shows the influence of businesses on the international legal system. There are a relatively small number of fossil fuel producers and their investors that could hold the key to tackling the problem of climate change. However, the governments have failed to ensure that they put a stop on these companies to protect the environmental resources. Political influence is a major reason for failing to effectively compliance environmental protection regulations since political leaders are corrupt and they support large businesses for their personal gain. The political parties avoid imposing penalties or holding major corporations accountable for their operations which contribute to climate change. These businesses are large in size, and they support the economy of countries which makes it easier for them to avoid compliance with international environmental laws.
A recent example is establishment of Foxconn’s $4.1 billion factory in Wisconsin which has been approved by the Trump Administration. In order to attract Foxconn to establish its factory in Wisconsin, the government is providing a subsidy of $230,000 per job, whereas, it has never given subsidy higher than $35,000 per job. It is estimated that this factory will cause substantial pollution in the state by using huge amount of water for cleaning the glass which is used in the manufacturing process. The impact of Foxconn on the environment will grow after establishment of this factory since it will use materials in its production processes such as mercury, copper, cadmium, chromium, and zinc. In case these materials are not easily disposed than it will result in polluting the nearby environment. It is also reported that the factory will cause significant air pollution by releasing harmful gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, particulates, and volatile organic compounds. The Walker Administration has exempted Foxconn from making an Environmental Impact Statement which shows that political and business influences adversely affects the effectiveness of the international legal system to protect the environmental resource and stop climate change.
Getting 194 nations to agree on anything is a great challenge which creates challenges for implementations of environmental protection laws. Studies have provided that countries such as China, the United States, India, Russia, and Japan are responsible for more than half of the global emissions and China and the US cause more than 44 percent of emissions. Therefore, it creates a challenge that if these countries comply with environmental protection laws, then the problem of climate change will be resolved. However, the international legal system is paralysed due to political, economic, business and social factors which make it difficult to hold these nations liable for their actions. Another issue with the international legal system is lack of transparency in the operations. It is difficult of the international legal system to determine whether or not countries are complying with relevant environmental protection laws since there is lack of transparency in the operations. Countries also fail to introduce national laws which comply with the directions issued by the international legal system which makes it easier for companies and individuals to get away with unethical practices.
Political and Business Influence on International Legal System
Following are various recommendations which can assist in improving the international legal system to ensure that it is able to protect the environmental resources and stop climate change. Global institutes which monitor the actions of governments relating to environmental protection should be given powers to enforce penalties on those nations that failed to comply with the policies. The treaties and agreements should include a clause for imposition of penalties on countries if they violate or failed to comply with the international environmental laws. Although these policies will result in reducing participation of smaller countries in the agreements; however, it will ensure that major countries that are responsible for climate change, effectively comply with these policies. Transparency is a major problem which affects the effectiveness of the international legal system, therefore, the member countries of environmental protection treaties and agreements should be obligated to issue an Environmental Impact Statement in which they should maintain the actions taken by them to stop climate change. The international legal system should evaluate these statements to determine whether or not countries have complied with their duties or not. The international legal system should also have the power to audit these statements to find whether they are correct or not and penalties shall be imposed for false claims. In order to avoid political and business influences, separate institutes should be introduced in the international legal systems which handle the implementation of environmental protection laws in the countries. These institutions should deal with local environmental institutes, and they should directly provide information to international legal organisations in order to avoid political and business influences.
In conclusion, international law is ineffective when it comes to ensuring that countries comply with relevant environmental laws to protect resources and stop climate change. Many treaties are formed between nations which target general and specific environmental related issues; however, they did not ensure protection of the environment. There is lack of enforcement of these policies which makes it easier for countries to avoid compliance with them. The political and business-related factors also influence the international legal system which makes it easier for major corporations to avoid effective compliance with international environmental laws. There is lack of transparency in the actions taken by governments to comply with environmental laws, and they did not introduce national laws to enforce corporations as well. This factor makes the international legal system ineffective to deal with the issue of climate change. Recommendations are given to address these issues such as providing enforcement power to the international legal system by introducing new institutions, issue of an Environment Impact Statement to ensure transparency, power to audit and separate institutes for handling environmental protection issues to avoid political influences. Compliance with these policies will ensure that the international legal system is robust and effective to protect environmental resources and stop climate change.
A Articles/Books/Reports
Arend, Anthony Clark and Robert J. Beck, International law and the use of force: beyond the UN Charter paradigm (Routledge, 2014).
Bodansky, Daniel, ‘The Paris climate change agreement: a new hope?,’ (2016) 110 (2) American Journal of International Law 288-319.
Broto, Vanesa Castan and Harriet Bulkeley, ‘A survey of urban climate change experiments in 100 cities,’ (2013) 23 (1) Global Environmental Change 92-102.
Depledge, Joanna, The organization of global negotiations: Constructing the climate change regime (Routledge, 2013).
Dixon, Martin, Textbook on International Law (Oxford University Press, 3rd ed., 2013).
McAdam, Jane, Climate change, forced migration and international law (Oxford University Press, 2012).
Nanda, Ved and George Rock Pring, International environmental law and policy for the 21st century (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2012).
Nilsson, Mans, Dave Griggs and Martin Visbeck, ‘Policy: map the interactions between Sustainable Development Goals,’ (2016) 534 (7607) Nature News 320.
Rogers, Peter, Kazi Jalal and John Boyd, An introduction to sustainable development (Routledge, 2012)
Weil, Prosper, Sources of International Law (Routledge, 2017).
B Others
Brack, Duncan, International trade and climate change policies (Routledge, 2013).
Brasuell, James, Revisiting Wisconsin’s Foxconn Deal, Now Called a ‘Boondoggle’ (2018) < https://www.planetizen.com/news/2018/11/101371-revisiting-wisconsins-foxconn-deal-now-called-boondoggle>.
Clark, Duncan, Which nations are most responsible for climate change? (2011) < https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/apr/21/countries-responsible-climate-change>.
Murphy, Bruce, Whisconsin’s $4.1 billion Foxconn Bondoggle (2018) < https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/29/18027032/foxconn-wisconsin-plant-jobs-deal-subsidy-governor-scott-walker>.
Riley, Tess, Just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions, study says (2017) < https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/10/100-fossil-fuel-companies-investors-responsible-71-global-emissions-cdp-study-climate-change>.
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