Environmental Law Overview

Principles

Definition

Environmental law is a distinct body of law and an academic field comprising the statutes, regulations, and legal principles that govern human interaction with the natural and built environment. It investigates methods for protecting environmental quality, conserving natural resources, preserving biodiversity, and promoting sustainable development, addressing critical issues such as pollution control, waste management, and climate change across local, national, and international levels.

Ontological type

Core Doctrines

Regulatory Frameworks

International Instruments

Key developments

Key Figures

Post-Rio Institutionalization era

Scott Barrett [1] was a leading figure in international environmental governance during the Post-Rio era, with affiliations at Johns Hopkins University [3] and University College London [4]. His key contribution, Self-Enforcing International Environmental Agreements [7], advanced the idea that treaty design could be anchored in self-enforcing incentives, a crucial insight for institutionalizing science-based, precautionary governance in this era. Carlo Carraro [2] was a prominent figure associated with Tufts University [5] and University of Milan [6] in this period. His work, Strategies for the international protection of the environment [8], contributed to framing international environmental regimes and balancing precaution with economic considerations, essential for implementing science-based governance in the era.

Transnational Regime Convergence era

Scott Barrett [1] is a leading environmental scholar whose work in this era spanned Johns Hopkins University [3] and Princeton University [4], among other affiliations. Scott Barrett [1] contributed the theory of international environmental agreements [7] and the analysis in Environment and Statecraft: The Strategy of Environmental Treaty-making [8], which introduced strategic design principles underpinning transnational regulatory convergence. Damien Short [2] is associated with The University of Sydney [5] and University of London [6] during this era. Damien Short [2] authored Protecting the planet: a proposal for a law of ecocide [9], proposing ecocide as a crime to catalyze stronger environmental accountability within global governance, signaling a push toward hardening norms in a transnational regime framework.

Global Pact and Legal Mobilization era

Xiaohong Chen [1] is associated with Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences [3] and Harvard University [4] during the Global Pact and Legal Mobilization era. Her contribution in this era includes empirical work showing that environmental regulation can promote the coordinated development of economy and environment in China’s manufacturing sector, as illustrated by the paper Can environmental regulation promote the coordinated development of economy and environment in China’s manufacturing industry?–A panel data analysis of 28 sub-sectors [7], which provides policy-relevant insights for aligning regulation with multilevel governance objectives. Baolong Yuan [2] is associated with Central South University [5] and Shaanxi University of Science and Technology [6] during the same period. His contribution mirrors the same empirical approach, emphasizing the role of environmental regulation in shaping cross-sector economic-environmental coordination and underscoring the importance of policy incentives and market reforms within the global pact framework [7].