Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
When the decision-making generations of the future are educated about
our dependence on the biosphere and the functioning of its ecosystems,
things will change. The sooner such ideas are adopted in international envi-
ronmental treaties and other instruments, the more rapid the change will be.
We must concede that our attitudes are still largely reactive: we only tend to
take environmental measures when a disaster occurs. A long-term change
requires new thinking that will only be attained through the education of
future generations - although we might want to ask ourselves whether we
have the time for this.
This chapter discusses the future of international environmental law, fi rst of
all from the perspectives that have been the central motifs in this topic. How has
international environmental law been able to create administrative mechanisms
tailored for the resolution of international environmental problems? Has the
classical structure of international law that maintains the Westphalian state-
centred political system hindered or restrained the implementation of effective
international environmental protection?
Next, we look at the opportunities for creating a more unifi ed institution-
ally based system of international environmental law and environmental
governance; thus far, the international environmental protection measures are
highly fragmented. This was a key issue in the Rio 20-year follow-up conference
held in June 2012, and will continue to be so. We look at some macro-level
ideas of developing international environmental governance and some micro-
level goals of fi nding synergies between those regimes that in part address the
same environmental problems. Finally, we consider whether new means that
go beyond the present regime could be found to control the gravest environ-
mental problem of our times: climate change.
Where are we now?
Unlike high-level international political problems, international environmen-
tal problems have rarely dominated the agendas of international organizations
and states. Climate change, of course, has received attention, but it is still being
treated just like any other international environmental problem: as a matter for
governance and control, not as a crisis to be proactively averted. The future
of international environmental law seems to be determined by the develop-
ment of the international political and economic system.
The UN Environmental Conference in Stockholm 1972 was the catalyst for
the development of international environmental law; its recent culmination
was the 20-year follow-up conference held in Rio in 1992. A further follow-
up conference to Rio 1992, the Rio +20 Conference, took place again in Rio
in June 2012. For the fi rst time, two central themes were discussed: the green
economy, and institutional changes.
This environmental conference differed from previous UN conferences as it
discussed two tangible themes, although a wider environmental and develop-
ment agenda was also considered through the goals of sustainable development.
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