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The regulation of nanomaterials is being discussed at various levels. This article offers a historical description of governmental activities concerning the safety of nanomaterials at the United Nations ( UN) level since 2006, with a focus on the UN Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management ( SAICM). The outcomes of the SAICM process were a nanospecific resolution and the addition of new activities on nanotechnologies and manufactured nanomaterials to the SAICM's Global Plan of Action. The article discusses the implications of these decisions for multilateral environmental agreements. In addition, it studies the consequences of the regulation of nanotechnologies activities on trade governance, in particular the relationship between the SAICM to the legally binding World Trade Organization ( WTO) agreements (notably the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade). The article concludes that the SAICM decisions on manufactured nanomaterials are compatible with WTO law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 14 March 2013, the National Green Tribunal of India passed an order in an ongoing statutory appeal against the environmental approval granted to a hydropower project. The order related to the preliminary issue of condoning a delay in the filing of the appeal. The Tribunal attributed a significant part of the delay to the nondisclosure of complete information regarding the approval. The delay in filing was condoned as concerned authorities had not complied with the relevant environmental regulations. Although the order did not address the merits of the case, it is of great significance for the Indian environmental justice system since it grapples with one of the key hurdles in the regime - poor access to information - and thus has the potential to transform the environmental regulatory space by making it more transparent. Environmental decision-making processes, particularly in the developing countries, are often opaque and inaccessible. India's experience in striving to improve its processes may thus provide useful lessons for other jurisdictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the role that innovation plays in the transition to a green economy, with special attention paid to the importance of diffusion and transfer of technologies. The article first describes the origins and conceptual foundations of a transition to a green economy, concentrating on the initiative launched by the United Nations Environment Programme, and leading to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012 ( Rio +20). The article then reviews the critical role of innovation in the reconfiguration of the economy's capital stock, leading to a discussion of the roles of both innovation and environmental policy in promoting such technological change. It next discusses the channels for international transfer of technologies and their relationship to the international policy architecture, and proposes that international discussions concerning technology transfer, particularly those related to environmental technologies, have suffered from a lack of coherence in policy positions, based probably on a fundamental misunderstanding of the economic nature of these processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The level of ambition of the public and policy makers to protect the climate is currently far too low to slow the accelerating pace of climate impacts. Ambition can be strengthened using strategies that disaggregate the overall climate problem into manageable pieces, borrow existing laws and institutions to take fast action following a 'start and strengthen' approach. This is illustrated by the strategy to phase down the production and consumption of high global warming potential hydrofluorocarbons under the Montreal Protocol. Such an approach could cut the rate of global warming in half for the next several decades, and even more in the Arctic and other climate vulnerable regions. This can provide fast success and build the sense of urgent optimism needed to raise ambition to do more to address carbon dioxide emissions - the single largest contributor to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global community is crossing planetary boundaries while it has not yet met the basic needs of at least one-third of the global population. Although governance systems are developing, they are still unable to adequately deal with current global environmental problems. This article assesses global green governance, inferring that it is reactive, incoherent and fragmented, lacks the tools to implement a systemic approach, is ad hoc rather than principled, is becoming politically charged, and may be unable to support the implementation of a green economy and cope with the societal changes expected by 2050. The article concludes that fragmentation of international environmental law and policy is inevitable, but that some degree of constitutionalization is necessary to provide a rule of law framework in an increasingly globalized, networked, multilevel world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Protocol to the Espoo Convention is introduced and analyzed. As an outcome of international processes aimed at the institutional adoption of sustainable development policy, the need for strategic environmental assessment has become obvious given the experiences with environmental impact assessment as an effective environmental policy tool for projects. The introduction of SEA and the adoption of a specific international legal instrument are also situated within ongoing international good governance and (new) public management developments which aim at improving decision making. In this context, the application of SEA and the SEA Protocol is analyzed focusing on its features, approaches and opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Europe is tightening its climate change policy and with that its pollution control legislation, supposedly to lead the way towards a low carbon economy. As the rest of the world is lagging behind in greenhouse gas emission reduction efforts, this causes increasing concern for the European carbon-intensive industry. In order to address concerns of economic competitiveness and emission leakage, the EU is considering the extension of its recently revised EU Emission Trading Scheme on carbon-intensive goods imported from countries not taking comparable action to reduce their emissions. This article examines the permissibility of such an extension under the law of the World Trade Organization, namely the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (1994). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of invasive alien species (IAS) is the second biggest threat to biodiversity after loss of habitat. Although customary international law obliges States to prevent transboundary environmental harm such as IAS, international law does not clearly articulate these obligations in this context. A potentially helpful mechanism lies in the use of transboundary environmental impact assessment and risk analysis. However, the operation of these processes, within international environmental law, international quarantine law and international trade law has generated obligations that largely remain soft, ill-defined and inconsistent. This situation is counter-productive to preventing or minimizing transboundary harm caused by IAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Energy Agency has reported that, in 2007, fossil fuels were the source of 66% of global energy production, while the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found that 60% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in 2004 were carbon dioxide emissions from the stationary energy sector. This article relies on recent case law in Australia to assess the extent to which the precautionary principle is a relevant consideration for development consent authorities determining applications for energy-generation facilities, including coal-fired power stations, coal mines, wind farms and uranium mines. What emerges is that there is really no certainty that the precautionary principle will be applied consistently by Australian courts to determine the legal responsibilities of decision makers assessing energy projects. In this sense, the precautionary principle has taken a thrill ride on the roller coaster of energy and climate law in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic waste has recently emerged as an environmental issue of growing concern. This is due to the increasing consumption of electronic devices and a heightened awareness for the potentially detrimental environmental impact of a non-sustainable management of these devices in their end-of-life stage. In this article e-waste governance in the USA will be explored. More specifically, the voluntary collaborative initiatives that are taken at the federal level, in a context where a general regulatory framework is largely absent, will be examined. Such voluntarism is linked to a larger trend towards voluntary action in US environmental governance and to a particular framing of the e-waste problem as a materials management, instead of a waste management, challenge with shared responsibilities for all stakeholders. A critical exploration of the various initiatives will show that the voluntary public–private partnerships on e-waste have only produced limited results so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the December 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali. It considers expectations for the meeting and whether the event delivered on these expectations. It also evaluates the long-term context of the meeting and examines the discussions in Bali on the post-2012 period (when the Kyoto Protocol's first ‘commitment period’ expires). The article finds that the Bali meeting did not necessarily meet public expectations or respond directly to the latest scientific assessments calling for urgent action. However, the article also finds that Bali was successful in the context of the prevailing political and diplomatic realities and the immense complexity of the climate change challenge – a problem that does not lend itself to a ‘quick fix’ solution. The article concludes that Bali produced a solid outcome that gives direction to future talks and sets a clear deadline for their completion. Finally, it argues that, contrary to some experts’ opinion, the lack of detail in the Bali outcome may prove to be a strength rather than a weakness, since it provides flexibility to negotiators as they try to craft a consensus by the end of 2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa explicitly provides for a comprehensive environmental right. The environmental right is part of the supreme law of the country and the entire environmental law regime. South Africa also has a vigilant judiciary, which has had various opportunities to interpret and give meaning to the environmental right. This article explores the manner in which the environmental right has been interpreted, translated and applied by the judiciary over the past 10 years. The article briefly analyses the environmental right, investigates recent judgments that reflected on the right, and concludes with a critical survey and suggestions as to future developments in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article emphasizes the critical importance of the private sector to the success of the efforts to mitigate climate change. Analysing the progress and experiences gained so far, this article concentrates on the role of the private sector in the operationalization of the Kyoto Protocol's three flexible mechanisms, namely Joint Implementation (JI), the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and international emissions trading. The article illustrates in detail the various tasks performed by private actors during the CDM and JI project cycles, and contemplates their possible participation under Article 17 of the Protocol on international emissions trading. While identifying some challenges, the article argues that the Kyoto Protocol's flexible mechanisms have succeeded in finding innovative ways of involving the private sector in climate change mitigation and that the post-2012 climate regime should build on these experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the relationship between multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and corporate social responsibility (CSR). It offers an overview of the linkages, a survey of relevant provisions of key MEAs, and a review of the relationship between global trade rules and MEAs. Finally, the article highlights three ongoing discussions with relevance to linkages between CSR and MEAs: (1) whether, and if so how, to identify minimum global business standards in the environmental sphere; (2) the rapidly evolving ‘sub-theme’ within the CSR agenda which addresses the business/development interface, and the contribution of business to poverty reduction, sustainable livelihoods and achieving the Millennium Development Goals; and (3) the development by the International Organization for Standardization of an international guidance standard on ‘organizational social responsibility’, which, if adopted, will become ISO 26000. The risk of seeing CSR as a new pathway to MEA implementation is that the role of MEAs in informing the development of minimum acceptable environmental norms of business behaviour will be ‘watered down’. If MEAs are to learn from CSR, their competitors and often stronger counterparts in the international architecture – intergovernmental trade and investment arrangements – also need to be equipped not only to be sensitive to CSR, but actively to support it. 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the clarification of the legal scope of the precautionary principle. The primary focus is on general international law, so as to determine as accurately as possible what it is that ‘the’ precautionary principle entails. The legal development, status and implications of the principle pass in review. A definition is presented of a right and a duty of States to take precautionary action, which is deemed representative of the current state of customary international law. Several particularly controversial issues receive separate treatment, including the burden of proof, the role of uncertainty and the application of the precautionary principle to human health protection. Special attention is paid to the practical relevance of the various findings, which are placed in the context of recent developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change poses significant physical, ecological, social and economic challenges to environmental, human and national security in polar regions. From an oceans governance perspective, increased human access to formerly ice-covered areas, and the potential for increased activities such as fishing, shipping, tourism, bioprospecting, off-shore mining, and oil and gas exploration, present significant legal challenges. While the issues are not unique to polar areas, the geopolitical, geographical and physical characteristics of the polar regions provide a unique and demanding framework in which to identify and address jurisdictional issues and issues relating to the protection of polar marine environments. This article attempts to identify the legal challenges ahead and to provide preliminary observations as to how the polar oceans governance regime might develop in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Directive 2002/95/EC, the Restriction of Hazardous Substances or ‘RoHS’ Directive, restricts the use of environmentally hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment distributed and sold in the EU from 1 July 2006. The Directive's objectives are to harmonize EU Member States’ national legislation and protect human health and the environment. This article reveals differences in the implementation of the RoHS Directive at the time it took effect. Differences were revealed in the analysis of results obtained from telephone interviews conducted with all but four of the 25 EU Member State RoHS enforcement officials. Differences in implementation created barriers to the achievement of the RoHS Directive's objectives and caused problems for producers of electrical and electronic equipment. The article attributes the principal cause of differences in implementation to insufficiently detailed text in the RoHS Directive. The article also considers how barriers and problems could have been prevented and makes proposals to solve them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While globalization has brought far-reaching benefits to communities around the world in the form of increasing foreign investment and trade, and reduced levels of poverty, the externalities of the global market have also taken on greater prominence. In particular, issues of global environmental change now stand as a central concern for governments around the world, with increasing threats to the sustainability of hard-won development gains. While international frameworks such as the United Nations conventions on climate change and biodiversity have been enacted to take joint action on issues of common concern, a major challenge has been to enact effective implementation regimes to achieve results on the ground. One hope lays in the forces of the market itself, engaging global market forces and the role of the private sector to facilitate a global shift to sustainable growth and business practices. This article analyses this challenge and emerging opportunities for market-based approaches to implement international environmental law through a case study of China and the innovative partnerships being forged there between the UN, governmental and private institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines recent developments in investor–State dispute settlement related to the participation of third parties in arbitration. A particular focus is given to third party participation in disputes with a clear public interest based on the relevance of the cases to the protection of the environment, or sustainable development more generally. The benefits and drawbacks of third party participation and the relationship of participation to broader issues of transparency are also briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the potentially symbiotic role of business and the United Nations (UN) in global environmental governance. Contending that a stronger and more coherent UN in the realm of the environment is in the interest of the business community, we focus on three main issues: what the UN needs to become stronger in environmental affairs; what business could provide on this behalf; and how business could benefit from a strengthened UN. We consider the current structural dilemmas of the UN environmental system, including concerns about institutional multiplicity and how these may affect business engagement. After reflecting on perceived and actual challenges and opportunities for business participation, we conclude with three substantive solutions towards more efficient collaboration. These solutions centre on the continuation of an interactive database begun by the Global Environmental Governance Project, a joint initiative of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and the College of William and Mary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The failure of the worlds’ governments to agree on a binding global forest convention at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit led many leading environmental groups to advance eco-labelling ‘forest certification’ programmes that, they hoped, would achieve greater success in implementing sustainable forest management. Eschewing traditional State-centered authority, supporters of this ‘non-State market driven’ (NSMD) approach turn to customers of wood products to create compliance mechanisms, either through positive incentives such as market access or price premiums, or negative incentives such as ‘direct targeting’ or ‘boycott’ campaigns. Understanding how such systems might ‘ratchet up’ global forestry standards, we argue, requires that existing scholarship place greater attention on the role of public policies in helping to facilitate the impacts of private solutions. Specifically, we argue that scholars and practitioners need to assess strategic decisions not only on the basis of their appropriateness at present, but what they might do to trigger a global ‘race to the top’ at a later time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the recent academic interest in litigation as a tool to address climate change, as well as the surge of legal actions worldwide to bring the problem to the attention of judiciaries. This new interest reveals the frustration of legal scholars and activists at the slow rate at which policy makers are addressing the climate change problem. This article shows the slow build-up of academic interest in litigation, before moving on to analyse the kinds of legal causes of action that are being used in different parts of the world. Most of these cases have not been fully resolved, and it is more than likely that the judgments may not always be favourable to the plaintiffs, but at least a first step has been made to involve yet another forum for addressing the climate change problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on a case concerning habitat protection, submitted by the Bavarian Administrative Court, on September 14, 2006. The ECJ had to deal with the protection regime of habitats before their inclusion on the list of sites of Community importance under the Habitats Directive.

The international governance structures in place with respect to whales are dominated by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). However, the IWC's constitutive document, the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), lacks many critical elements of good governance which have evolved since the conclusion of the convention. Since the signing of the ICRW, there have been significant and far-reaching developments in the ways and means by which sustainable development and environmental policy is formulated and implemented. Sustainability principles have expanded well beyond limited conservation objectives to include, in particular, the precautionary and ecosystem approaches. International governance has also evolved to require efficient and participation-based decision-making processes, including integrated management and sustainability, efficient and participation-based decision-making processes, international cooperation between States and coordination between international agencies, transparency, and dispute-resolution and compliance mechanisms. These are all elemental aspects of modern environmental governance. Necessary reforms to the ICRW are substantial, and in light of the unanimity required, it is likely that only a new convention will achieve the necessary changes. A governance framework for whales must enable and encourage participants and stakeholders to cooperate in a spirit of global partnership. The goal should be to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the global whale populations as part of the overall goal of the sustainability of the oceans and seas implementing the ecosystem and precautionary approaches. It must integrate with other elements of international governance to that wider goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU has regulated chemicals since the late 1960s using both general and sectoral legislation, and exposure-based, hazard-based and risk-based decisions. A new proposal from the European Commission – on the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) – will build on the experiences of the existing legislation and introduce some new concepts in the management of chemicals. This article is aimed at assessing the current chemical control mechanisms in the EU and those put forward in REACH to demonstrate how REACH is a new paradigm in chemicals management. REACH will carry forward today's experience and approach to the management of chemicals in the EU and introduces some novel aspects, such as utilizing market-based mechanisms and putting into operation the ‘substitution principle’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Community has set itself the stringent policy target of halting all biodiversity loss by 2010. It intends to achieve this target by following a dual strategy. On the one hand, the 1979 Wild Birds Directive and 1992 Habitats Directive are designed to protect important sites housing vulnerable wildlife. On the other hand, biodiversity protection is to be integrated into all other Community policies. The Community views the Common Agricultural Policy as having a vital role in both areas. It provides a mechanism through which much needed Community funding can be channelled into the management of protected wildlife sites. Equally, it also has an important influence upon biodiversity in the wider countryside. This article examines the regulatory measures that have been taken to integrate biodiversity protection into the Community's agricultural policies and assesses whether they are likely to be sufficient to enable the Community to meet its 2010 target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous international instruments have been developed to promote sustainable chemicals management. However, until recently, a common overarching framework for sustainable chemicals policy was missing. The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) was developed to address this challenge. This article will provide a short overview of the context and the negotiation process of SAICM, and it will give a short summary and assessment of its content. The article will conclude that SAICM is neither a lost opportunity nor the foundation of a brave new world of chemicals policy, but that it establishes a comprehensive institutional framework that can be further developed into an effective instrument of international chemicals policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst the debate on risks to human beings and the environment resulting from chemicals being used on an increasingly large scale, the European Community's proposed Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation presents a new approach. However, under this new legislation it cannot be guaranteed that all problems that have been experienced under the existing EC chemicals legislation will be addressed satisfactorily. One of the problematic aspects is the question of how chemicals legislation, on the one hand, and sectoral environmental legislation, on the other hand (i.e. specific legislation referring to specific environmental media such as water, air, soil, etc.), complement one another. This article outlines these interface problems against the background of existing legislation and REACH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are typically viewed as one of the essential actors in sustainable development, at both the domestic and international levels. However, despite generally warm international support for NGOs, and pledges to support their inclusion, their involvement is governed by seven considerations, which actively enhance or retard their participation. These considerations relate to (1) whether participation of both international and domestically based NGOs is allowed; (2) NGO qualifications that are required; (3) the level of NGO participation fees; (4) the accreditation vetting process; (5) NGO access to subsidiary bodies; and (6) whether NGO oral contributions and (7) written contributions are permitted. This article seeks to elaborate on these seven considerations and analyse how they are utilized to facilitate and control civil society in international environmental processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International forest policy negotiations have often been characterized by political entrenchment: as early as at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro there was a failure to develop a legally binding forest convention, and subsequent policy fora have often struggled to reach consensus. During its fifth annual session in 2005, the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) began to show signs of a process in deep trouble, failing to achieve agreement on even the most innocuous voluntary commitments. At its sixth session in 2006, the Forum was successful in that members were able to agree on four ‘global objectives on forests’ and initiated the negotiation of a non-legally binding instrument. While this is a cause for optimism, it remains unclear whether the process is completely out of the woods yet or where it is likely to go from here. This article will identify the obstacles to consensus that the UNFF has encountered and discuss whether the most recent session has managed to surmount these. Finally, options to increase future political support and member accountability are presented, including increasing participation in national reporting and reinvigorating the Forum's programme of work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competition law has become increasingly important in regulating the economy. This article aims to explore how domestic competition law relates to sustainable development. It distinguishes three ways that competition law can take into account environmental and social priorities: through substantive competition rules fostering social or ecological purposes; through exceptions, exemptions and exclusions; and through the enhanced application of competition laws. The first form is very interesting and currently not very widely used. Only a very few countries, such as South Africa, have included substantive provisions to promote social development in their competition laws. Most countries allow for some version of the second form of sustainable competition law. Few countries’ laws are as outspoken about their public policy goals as is Spain in its new draft competition law. This new draft law explicitly lists environmental protection and social policies as grounds upon which the government could repeal a competition decision. The third form is relatively unproblematic as it creates a win-win situation for competition and sustainable development. This article surveys some of the most interesting competition law developments across the world and indicates where these domestic regimes take into account environmental or broader social issues when making competition-related decisions such as merger approvals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines concerns created by the implementation of the emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) within the EU upon the international competitiveness of EU-based industry. It analyses current discussions on whether it would be feasible to couple the EU ETS with border tax adjustments (BTA) in order to address those competitiveness concerns. The (il)legality of introducing BTA vis-à-vis relevant World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements is discussed (in particular the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Agreement), and different opinions are reviewed. In the light of that discussion, some suggestions that come from the literature on how to reconcile BTA in connection with the EU ETS and WTO relevant law are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While adaptation has, in the last 3 years, become the most fashionable item on the climate policy agenda, this was not always so. Since the early 1990s, numerous scientists and policy makers have been making the case that adaptation has been the overlooked cousin of greenhouse gas mitigation. As both are seen to be of equal importance, the lack of policy on adaptation is interpreted as a political strategy by developed countries to avoid admitting liability and the financial consequences of this admission. A tension between those in favour of mitigation over adaptation activities has strongly characterized the discourse on climate change policy. However, a closer look at the history of the concept of adaptation as applied in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process underscores the original intention that the treaty should focus on reducing the source of climate change, rather than on adapting to the changes. Adaptive capacity was considered to be an indicator of the extent to which societies could tolerate changes in climate, and was not seen as a policy objective. As a result of events that have unrolled since the inception of the UNFCCC, needs and perceptions have shifted. Today, there are strong grounds for having adaptation as a policy goal, but it must be recognized that the UNFCCC, and its Kyoto Protocol in particular, are first and foremost about abating greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, adaptation policy may find a more appropriate home beyond the existing climate change regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a follow-up to the 2005 United Nations World Summit, Jan Eliasson, President of the sixtieth session of the United Nations General Assembly, plans that the General Assembly will take up the issue of international environmental governance (IEG) in spring 2006. This may provide an opportunity to start negotiations on creating a United Nations Environment Organization (UNEO) in the larger context of reforming the UN. Against this background, this article discusses the need for IEG reform, the advantages and disadvantages of creating a UNEO and its potential in helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The article concludes that a UNEO -- as a UN specialized agency -- may have greater political clout than the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) currently commands, which is only a programme based on a resolution of the General Assembly. Given its increased political weight, a UNEO could be a better tool to address environmental needs in developing countries, and help to achieve poverty and development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines the results of analytical work carried out in preparation for the United Nations 2005 World Summit, held in New York in September 2005. The authors (with David Pearce, who passed away shortly after leading a major part of this study) addressed two questions of critical importance to efforts to achieve better integration of environmental issues into policies and processes targeting poverty reduction: • Is it possible to demonstrate credible rates of return from investments in environmental resource management and, if so, what are the implications for policy makers and others focusing on reducing poverty? • What approaches and tools can help measure and assess the links between poverty and the environment, and how can these be understood and applied by policy makers and affected communities? Findings from this work were presented at an international dialogue hosted by the Poverty--Environment Partnership (PEP) during the UN summit. This article also outlines key issues raised at that event and commitments to further action agreed by members of the PEP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the links between biodiversity and sustainable human development, on the one hand, and the globally agreed Millennium Development Goals. In particular, it focuses on the important role and contribution that biodiversity and the 1992 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity can make to ongoing efforts and processes to reduce poverty, hunger, disease and environmental degradation worldwide. Damage to ecosystems, species and habitats, and the loss of biodiversity can and will have a serious impact on human health and development. The future of human development will be closely affected by individual choices and political decisions in industrialized countries. Governments, international financial institutions, the private sector, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations need to take action to meet their global responsibilities regarding biodiversity conservation, poverty reduction and sustainable development, and their responsibilities to present and future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International environmental law does not protect individuals as such. On the other hand, human rights do not formally encompass the right to a healthy environment. This article argues that human rights bodies are suitable forums to protect environment-related human rights. They can do so by producing interim measures to prevent States' actions or inactions towards the environment from infringing on human rights, even if the harmful character of those actions is uncertain. It is demonstrated that the recourse to the precautionary principle is possible to achieve such anticipatory protection and is supported by recent developments in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the International Court of Justice. In particular, the article shows that human rights bodies can develop interrelationships and interdependency between rights of different normative values in different areas of international law that will lead to equitable interim measures prescribing positive obligations that are reasonable and appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European Community standards of environmental law are commonly framed in terms of the risks of activities to human health and the environment. Under this cover of uni-dimensional concern, considerations of an activity's benefits, regulatory costs and the availability of alternatives play a crucial role in the regulatory practice. The REACH proposal is a first and ambitious attempt to bring these other dimensions to the fore and give them shape. This article analyses this approach, identifies its merits and flaws, and develops a scheme that makes the complex calculus practicable. It is submitted that the scheme is applicable also in other areas of EC environmental law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article identifies a range of policy, legal instruments and measures which are aimed to address climate change problem. It also specified whether such measures can be adopted as a direct follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol or whether such measures will require other parties to engage in the debate and adopt regional, sectoral or public/private agreements. The complexity of resolving the climate change problem can be partly ascribed to the fact that climate change is interlinked in both cause and effect with most areas of human activity. Mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change requires measures in many sectors that range from energy and transport to land use and urban development. All of these are inherently linked with the development goals of countries. In short, effective climate policy is tantamount to effective sustainable development policy.

This article examines the creation, mandate and institutional profile of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The conditions of its establishment and scope of its mandate are directly linked to the strengthening of environmental protection and the promotion of sustainable development that took place in the early 1990s. Developed countries were favorable to the creation of a fund of this type as a means of preempting other proposals for the creation of financial mechanisms during the preparations for the Rio Conference on Environment and Development. In 1991, at the time of the establishment of the GEF through its pilot phase, global environmental benefits were understood as covering four main areas: global warming and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; protection of biological diversity; protection of international waters; and protection of the ozone layer.

Describes the solution to address the question whether or not carbon dioxide removals by carbon sinks in developing countries should also be able to generate credits to be used within the emissions trading regime. Issues on how carbon sinks are dealt with under the Kyoto Protocol; Rules governing afforestation and reforestation projects under the Clean Development Mechanism; Socio-economic and environmental impacts of afforestation and/or reforestation projects.

Discusses the impact of European Community (EC) enlargement on European and national environment policy. Reason of Germany and Denmark for insisting the new treaty articles; Highlights of the EC enlargements; Influence of the national positions on EC environmental policy; Significant enlargement issues dealt by EC with applicant countries; Pre-accession strategy of the commission.

Discusses the main challenges facing the environment acquis in an enlarged European Union. Factors that strain the enforcement and implementation of the environmental policy; Requirements for new member states in order to meet their treaty obligations as European Union members; Task facing the new member states; Factors inherent in the process of financial planning.

Discusses the interactions between the widening of the European Union, the Development Cooperation Policy (DCP) and its environmental dimension. Provisions of the European Union (EU) primary law; Development of European Commission (EC) soft law instruments; Categories of international agreement concluded by the EU/EC relevant to the development of the acquis; Consequences of the enlargement on EC DCP.

Discusses the role of international law in the protection of the natural environment during armed conflict. Damages incurred during the Gulf War II; Environmental treaties chosen to protect the ecosystem; Relevance of the humanitarian laws; Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; Aim of the World Heritage Convention and Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

Explores the role of trade in motivating action on climate change using an example of developments within the World Trade Organization (WTO). Treatment of trade issues under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol; Overview of the treatment of environmental issues under the WTO; Key rulings with environmental implications of the WTO; Legal issues involving the WTO and climate change measures; Actions that can be taken on climate change in accordance with the rules of the WTO.

Provides information on several cases decided by the European Court of Justice concerning environmental issues. Use of sulphites, nitrites and nitrates as food additives; Protection of wildbirds and their habitats; Incomplete transposition of the disposal of waste oils.

Examines civil liability developments in multilateral environmental agreements and consider whether the development of international liability regimes necessarily reflects sound international environmental policy. Differences between state liability and civil liability; Overview of nuclear liability treaties; Liability regimes for oil pollution.

Challenges the views that environmental liability should pursue an insurance objective and the environmental liability is insurable. Overview of the concept of risk spreading as the ultimate objective of insurance; Benefits provided by insurance; Discussion of the context of insuring against natural resource damage.

Focuses on the provisions of the proposed European Commission environmental liability directive. Provisions on liability and compulsory insurance; Development of environmental liability rules at national level; Liability in relation to personal injury and damage to habitats and species.