Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
surface temperature to rise, cooling the stratosphere, which again hampers the
recovery of the ozone layer. NASA estimates that by 2030, the greatest ozone
destroyer will no longer be CFC compounds but climate change.
Perhaps the greatest single problem in the success story of the ozone regime
is that it seems to have had the side effect of obstructing the fi ght against climate
change. HFC gases (hydrofl uorocarbons) were developed to replace the ozone-
depleting gases, but they have signifi cant capacity to warm the atmosphere.
They are now in great demand, as the need for cooling and air-conditioning
has grown and because the ozone regime aims to eliminate HCFC gases
(hydrochlorofl uorocarbons) so rapidly. Paradoxically, the success of the ozone
regime has caused a real challenge to the fi ght against climate change.
Connections between particular substances and environmental problems
such as these inevitably provoke the question of whether the problems could
be more effectively managed together. For instance, the UN Convention on
the Law of the Sea, Part XII, bases the conservation of the marine environ-
ment on this principle: 'In taking measures to prevent, reduce and control
pollution of the marine environment, States shall act so as not to transfer,
directly or indirectly, damage or hazards from one area to another or trans-
form one type of pollution into another.' This is the benefi t we could achieve
by implementing a system of gradually evolving atmosphere protection law.
Questions and research tasks
1 How could the coherence of international environmental law be improved,
other than through textbooks or cooperation between treaty secretariats?
2 We know that biological diversity suffers as a result of both climate change
and ozone depletion. How do these environmental problems affect biodi-
versity? How does biodiversity (its richness or its poverty) infl uence climate
change? How could these treaty systems cooperate better, being interrelated?
3 Try and consider, by yourself at fi rst, what benefi ts and drawbacks could
result from establishing a big international environmental organization anal-
ogous to the WTO which could be responsible for combining the various
environmental regimes. Find arguments for and against this on the internet.
4 As we have seen, international environmental law consists of an abun-
dance of self-standing treaties with relatively little cross-referencing
between them and a complete absence of comprehensive institutional
oversight (in other words, there are many institutions operating but no
single institution). However, can you see any common principles that
you think apply across all or most of those that we have studied? Do you
think that there should be any such principles that form a foundation for
international environmental law? Could these principles help make inter-
national environmental law seem more coherent and less fragmented?
5 Are there benefi ts in developing an implementation agreement to the
UNCLOS that would conserve biodiversity in areas beyond national
jurisdiction? What components should there be in such an agreement?
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