International Environmental Law

3 units

This course provides students with a foundation in the use of public international law to achieve environmental protection. International environmental law has become one of the most complex, important, and controversial bodies of international law. To organize this topic in an accessible manner, the course, first, introduces students to international environmental law, which includes consideration of global environmental realities, the historical development of international law on environmental issues, and the international law tool kit used to address environmental problems. Second, the course identifies the four over-arching environmental problems that states use international law to address: (1) unsustainable exploitation of national environmental resources (e.g., deforestation); (2) transboundary pollution (e.g., long-range transboundary air pollution); (3) trade in environmentally harmful products (e.g., trade in hazardous wastes and chemicals); and (4) threats to global commons resources (e.g., climate change). Within each category, the course explores specific environmental challenges for which states have developed international law. This exploration involves not only analyzing the international legal rules but also understanding how science, economics, and politics affect adoption of international law and the effectiveness of that law.