Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a global public health challenge. It has been examined through various angles, but the link between AMR and access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) or lack thereof has received little attention. Both AMR and WASH relate directly to the realization of the rights to health, water, and sanitation. In addition, both can affect the enjoyment of the right to the environment. AMR is particularly complex from a rights perspective. Access to medicines contributes significantly to the realization of the right to health. At the same time, AMR affects the poorer sections of society who have disproportionately less access to medicines and to WASH. Rights, equality and justice should thus be at the centre of the development and implementation of law and policy concerning AMR and WASH. As we celebrate 50 years of international environmental law, it is crucial to ask some hard questions concerning the inter-sectional and cross-sectoral dimensions of AMR and WASH from the point of view of rights, equality, and justice. Linking the two would bring various co-benefits that the prevailing silo mentality has prevented.
{"title":"The Regulation of Planetary Health Challenges: A Co-Benefits Approach for AMR and WASH","authors":"Philippe Cullet, L. Bhullar","doi":"10.3233/epl-219040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-219040","url":null,"abstract":"Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a global public health challenge. It has been examined through various angles, but the link between AMR and access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) or lack thereof has received little attention. Both AMR and WASH relate directly to the realization of the rights to health, water, and sanitation. In addition, both can affect the enjoyment of the right to the environment. AMR is particularly complex from a rights perspective. Access to medicines contributes significantly to the realization of the right to health. At the same time, AMR affects the poorer sections of society who have disproportionately less access to medicines and to WASH. Rights, equality and justice should thus be at the centre of the development and implementation of law and policy concerning AMR and WASH. As we celebrate 50 years of international environmental law, it is crucial to ask some hard questions concerning the inter-sectional and cross-sectoral dimensions of AMR and WASH from the point of view of rights, equality, and justice. Linking the two would bring various co-benefits that the prevailing silo mentality has prevented.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41808614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Drawing upon personal notes and memories, this article reflects on selected moments during the journey of global environmental awareness during the past 50 years. Through its convening power the United Nations, it’s myriad programs and associated organizations, has been the foundational institution. The emergence of the concept of sustainability and the existential crisis of climate change have dramatically altered the landscape during the period. Challenging questions about the governance of global interconnectedness and an agenda of peace and security that considers social inclusion, economic prosperity and environmental stewardship holistically remain a work in progress at Stockholm+50 and beyond.
{"title":"The United Nations and the Environment at Stockholm+50: Some Personal Reflections+","authors":"E. Dowdeswell","doi":"10.3233/epl-219038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-219038","url":null,"abstract":"Drawing upon personal notes and memories, this article reflects on selected moments during the journey of global environmental awareness during the past 50 years. Through its convening power the United Nations, it’s myriad programs and associated organizations, has been the foundational institution. The emergence of the concept of sustainability and the existential crisis of climate change have dramatically altered the landscape during the period. Challenging questions about the governance of global interconnectedness and an agenda of peace and security that considers social inclusion, economic prosperity and environmental stewardship holistically remain a work in progress at Stockholm+50 and beyond.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42746004","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE) was held in Stockholm during 5–16 June 1972. The Indian Delegation was personally led by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. As a cabinet minister this author was a member of it. Hence, this contribution is a personal reflection of the author. India has been an active participant in all the major global environmental conferences to protect the global environment. The 1992 Rio Conference is considered the landmark for the starting point of international environmental law making. Still, it is the 1972 Stockholm Conference that should be considered as the pillar of codification of international environmental law and governance. In view of this, the Stockholm +50 (2-3 June 2022) Conference will be a good occasion to review the successes and failures over the last half a century and reiterate the call for all nations to co-operate fully to meet their commitments under multilateral environmental agreements and other soft instruments including 2015 Paris Agreement. This recollection provides a glimpse, through Indira Gandhi’s vision, into the international environmental processes and the prospects for Stockholm+50 and beyond.
{"title":"Looking Through Indira Gandhi’ Vision at Stockholm+50: Some Recollections +","authors":"Karan P. Singh","doi":"10.3233/epl-219037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-219037","url":null,"abstract":"The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE) was held in Stockholm during 5–16 June 1972. The Indian Delegation was personally led by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. As a cabinet minister this author was a member of it. Hence, this contribution is a personal reflection of the author. India has been an active participant in all the major global environmental conferences to protect the global environment. The 1992 Rio Conference is considered the landmark for the starting point of international environmental law making. Still, it is the 1972 Stockholm Conference that should be considered as the pillar of codification of international environmental law and governance. In view of this, the Stockholm +50 (2-3 June 2022) Conference will be a good occasion to review the successes and failures over the last half a century and reiterate the call for all nations to co-operate fully to meet their commitments under multilateral environmental agreements and other soft instruments including 2015 Paris Agreement. This recollection provides a glimpse, through Indira Gandhi’s vision, into the international environmental processes and the prospects for Stockholm+50 and beyond.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44120511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
We are already witnessing climate-induced migration and thus must prepare to address the next decades of even more human mobility as a consequence of the climate disruption crisis. Fifty years after the Stockholm Conference, international environmental law still needs solutions to protect those persons most vulnerable to environmental harm. This paper seeks to focus on the concept of reparative justice as the theme and attitude of legal solutions, so as to refocus legal tools to provide relief to those persons who are displaced and dispossessed because of the climate disruption crisis. In this paper, we present possibilities for a reparative climate justice regime that could help to break the current cycle of harm and denial in which states are currently embroiled within international climate negotiations. This focus considers how careful solutions such as credit within the financial mechanisms under the Paris Agreement, in a spirit of trust and solidarity, could contribute to legal solutions to climate migration problems. The paper first iterates the scope and history of climate-induced migration in international law and then presents the case for reparations as a strong legal response to climate-induced migration, before finally exploring the legal avenues within international climate law wherein reparative justice and financing could potentially operate.
{"title":"A Question of Trust: Building a Reparative Legal Regime in the Face of Climate-Induced Migration","authors":"K. Junker, S. Münster, M. Shinde","doi":"10.3233/epl-219035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-219035","url":null,"abstract":"We are already witnessing climate-induced migration and thus must prepare to address the next decades of even more human mobility as a consequence of the climate disruption crisis. Fifty years after the Stockholm Conference, international environmental law still needs solutions to protect those persons most vulnerable to environmental harm. This paper seeks to focus on the concept of reparative justice as the theme and attitude of legal solutions, so as to refocus legal tools to provide relief to those persons who are displaced and dispossessed because of the climate disruption crisis. In this paper, we present possibilities for a reparative climate justice regime that could help to break the current cycle of harm and denial in which states are currently embroiled within international climate negotiations. This focus considers how careful solutions such as credit within the financial mechanisms under the Paris Agreement, in a spirit of trust and solidarity, could contribute to legal solutions to climate migration problems. The paper first iterates the scope and history of climate-induced migration in international law and then presents the case for reparations as a strong legal response to climate-induced migration, before finally exploring the legal avenues within international climate law wherein reparative justice and financing could potentially operate.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48150833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The urgency of transitioning to a circular economy is by now widely recognized. Overexploitation of our earth has been convincingly evidenced globally. An optimal legal instrumentation is one of the prerequisites for fostering the transition to a circular economy. This article identifies and critically assesses recent developments of relevant legal tools and provides some ideas of what else could be needed for the pathway to a circular economy. Since the EU may be seen as a frontrunner in this area and is rapidly developing additional legal instruments to contribute to the transition, the EU is taken as a showcase. Besides EU law, the role of international law is discussed, as well as the question what individual states can do, within the boundaries of internal markets such as the EU. In short, there still is some room for improvement of EU law, especially concerning the establishment of concrete quantifiable general targets and the introduction of general legal principles of sustainable product design. On a global level, there is an urgent need to discuss and develop a legal framework for fostering the transition to a more circular economy.
{"title":"Envisioning the Future of the Circular Economy: A Legal Perspective","authors":"C. Backes, Marlon Boeve","doi":"10.3233/epl-219034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-219034","url":null,"abstract":"The urgency of transitioning to a circular economy is by now widely recognized. Overexploitation of our earth has been convincingly evidenced globally. An optimal legal instrumentation is one of the prerequisites for fostering the transition to a circular economy. This article identifies and critically assesses recent developments of relevant legal tools and provides some ideas of what else could be needed for the pathway to a circular economy. Since the EU may be seen as a frontrunner in this area and is rapidly developing additional legal instruments to contribute to the transition, the EU is taken as a showcase. Besides EU law, the role of international law is discussed, as well as the question what individual states can do, within the boundaries of internal markets such as the EU. In short, there still is some room for improvement of EU law, especially concerning the establishment of concrete quantifiable general targets and the introduction of general legal principles of sustainable product design. On a global level, there is an urgent need to discuss and develop a legal framework for fostering the transition to a more circular economy.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41930231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wetland ecosystems, freshwater, coastal and coral reefs, are important ecosystems as they provide many ecological services and ensure livelihood of people. The increase in carbon dioxide and global temperatures change in precipitation patterns, and acidification of oceans can adversely affect these ecosystems. It is expected that increase in temperature in lakes, reservoirs and coastal seas will affect flora and fauna and fisheries. The increase in sea level can erode shorelines and coastal habitats. Coral reefs can degrade due to increase in temperature, sea level rise and acidification. The ecological services provided by these ecosystems have economic value and thus any loss of these habitats can affect livelihood of communities. The global watershed and coastal management approaches such as the 1971 Ramsar Convention and 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide key tools to protect these ecosystems. A robust global wetland information repository system needs to be developed for providing necessary data to effectively model climate change impacts at local and regional levels. The knowledge about climate risks to wetlands, integrated with effective governance at national, regional and global level along with informed people, are key elements for protection and sustainable future of wetlands. It is in this global context and decisions of the successive Ramsar Conference of Parties (COP), within the limits of time and space, this study has sought to examine the climatic risks to the wetland’s ecosystems. The data and the situation in the Indian sub-continent have been used as an exemplar for the purpose. We need to look for concrete ideas and solutions to address the challenge of climate change risks to the wetland ecosystem at the juncture of Stockholm+50 (2022) and beyond.
{"title":"Factoring Climate Change Risks in the Wetland Ecosystems Governance: A Policy Look Ahead+","authors":"S. Nayak","doi":"10.3233/epl-219036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-219036","url":null,"abstract":"Wetland ecosystems, freshwater, coastal and coral reefs, are important ecosystems as they provide many ecological services and ensure livelihood of people. The increase in carbon dioxide and global temperatures change in precipitation patterns, and acidification of oceans can adversely affect these ecosystems. It is expected that increase in temperature in lakes, reservoirs and coastal seas will affect flora and fauna and fisheries. The increase in sea level can erode shorelines and coastal habitats. Coral reefs can degrade due to increase in temperature, sea level rise and acidification. The ecological services provided by these ecosystems have economic value and thus any loss of these habitats can affect livelihood of communities. The global watershed and coastal management approaches such as the 1971 Ramsar Convention and 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide key tools to protect these ecosystems. A robust global wetland information repository system needs to be developed for providing necessary data to effectively model climate change impacts at local and regional levels. The knowledge about climate risks to wetlands, integrated with effective governance at national, regional and global level along with informed people, are key elements for protection and sustainable future of wetlands. It is in this global context and decisions of the successive Ramsar Conference of Parties (COP), within the limits of time and space, this study has sought to examine the climatic risks to the wetland’s ecosystems. The data and the situation in the Indian sub-continent have been used as an exemplar for the purpose. We need to look for concrete ideas and solutions to address the challenge of climate change risks to the wetland ecosystem at the juncture of Stockholm+50 (2022) and beyond.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47190797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The year 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of Olof Palme’s Independent Commission on Disarmament and Security Issues. The Commission presented its report in 1982, at the height of the Cold War. It developed the concept of common security – the idea that nations and peoples can only feel safe when their counterparts feel safe. By taking the concept of common security as its starting point, the Common Security 2022 initiative has analysed the world we live in and some of the great challenges facing humanity on the planet earth. At the time of 50th anniversary of the 1972 Stockholm Conference (Stockholm+50), the Common Security 2022 recommendations are indications, or steps forward for our shared environmental future that would include the process of removing the threat of nuclear annihilation and turning around the ‘super tanker’ of war.
{"title":"Our Shared Environmental Future: Common Security 2022 and beyond+","authors":"Anna Sundström","doi":"10.3233/epl-219033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-219033","url":null,"abstract":"The year 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of Olof Palme’s Independent Commission on Disarmament and Security Issues. The Commission presented its report in 1982, at the height of the Cold War. It developed the concept of common security – the idea that nations and peoples can only feel safe when their counterparts feel safe. By taking the concept of common security as its starting point, the Common Security 2022 initiative has analysed the world we live in and some of the great challenges facing humanity on the planet earth. At the time of 50th anniversary of the 1972 Stockholm Conference (Stockholm+50), the Common Security 2022 recommendations are indications, or steps forward for our shared environmental future that would include the process of removing the threat of nuclear annihilation and turning around the ‘super tanker’ of war.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41442113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In one way or other, the Earth as an ecological system, has been the core concern of modern international environmental law since its conceptualization in the 1970s. This article traces notions of stewardship and state responsibilities for the Earth in international instruments and aims to show that, and why, these notions have remained without tangible results. Even after 50 years of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE) we can only conclude that international environmental law (IEL) and governance have failed. Essentially, human rights and responsibilities need to be more clearly defined in international law and with respect to the role of the United Nations and its member states. The Earth Charter and its most recent expression in the 2018 Hague Principles provide for a coherent framework of human rights and state responsibilities associated with Earth trusteeship as a future pathway.
{"title":"Human Rights and Responsibilities towards the Earth System","authors":"K. Bosselmann","doi":"10.3233/epl-219032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-219032","url":null,"abstract":"In one way or other, the Earth as an ecological system, has been the core concern of modern international environmental law since its conceptualization in the 1970s. This article traces notions of stewardship and state responsibilities for the Earth in international instruments and aims to show that, and why, these notions have remained without tangible results. Even after 50 years of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE) we can only conclude that international environmental law (IEL) and governance have failed. Essentially, human rights and responsibilities need to be more clearly defined in international law and with respect to the role of the United Nations and its member states. The Earth Charter and its most recent expression in the 2018 Hague Principles provide for a coherent framework of human rights and state responsibilities associated with Earth trusteeship as a future pathway.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43465920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Where do we stand, 50 years past the Stockholm Conference and almost 80 years past Bretton Woods? What is the role of international trade in the contemporary systems design that has emerged from these two historic events in the turn of times? Climate change is a global human and environmental challenge that calls for more coherent action to achieve shared climate goals in times of climate emergency. It is thus argued, that international trade must become more systemically integrated, greener and more sustainable for that matter. The focus lies on the World Trade Organization and its potentially bridge-building function between distinct legal and political fields, which have long been perceived irreconcilable, but which are by their very nature inherently connected.
{"title":"From Stockholm+50 to Bretton Woods+80: Greening Trade Law for Global Climate Governance?","authors":"O. Ruppel, Cleo Dobers","doi":"10.3233/epl-219028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/epl-219028","url":null,"abstract":"Where do we stand, 50 years past the Stockholm Conference and almost 80 years past Bretton Woods? What is the role of international trade in the contemporary systems design that has emerged from these two historic events in the turn of times? Climate change is a global human and environmental challenge that calls for more coherent action to achieve shared climate goals in times of climate emergency. It is thus argued, that international trade must become more systemically integrated, greener and more sustainable for that matter. The focus lies on the World Trade Organization and its potentially bridge-building function between distinct legal and political fields, which have long been perceived irreconcilable, but which are by their very nature inherently connected.","PeriodicalId":52410,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Policy and Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44783469","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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