Can international environmental laws get us out of harm’s way ?

What is it about?

In international environmental law, the no-harm rule—the duty to avoid causing environmental damage beyond a State’s own boundaries—is a central topic. However, the procedural (or practical) means by which this rule can be invoked and enforced, as well as its scope of applicability, are unfortunately not as clear as one would expect, nor as simple as one would hope for. This issue is made worse by the fact many human activities today, such as those releasing greenhouse gases or polluting the seas, can have a tremendous environmental impact even on the other side of the globe. In this chapter, the author focuses on the legal framework of the harm prevention rule and the challenges involved in invoking it in international legal procedures between non-neighboring countries. She focuses on climate change as an example to illustrate various points regarding the harm prevention rule. These include the complexities of applying this rule in the face of long-range transboundary impacts, how a State could seek to adjudicate this rule against another State, and whether and how the rule is relevant in relation to environmental impact against global commons and human rights.

Featured Image

Photo by Matt Palmer on Unsplash

Photo by Matt Palmer on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Today, we are more aware than ever before of the environmental impact and risks that our actions can have not just locally, but on other States and the world as a whole. However, there are still many challenges to be solved in how nations can invoke and adjudicate international environmental laws and to what extent States can be held accountable. For the harm reduction rule in particular, many hurdles still stand from both conceptual and practical standpoints before it can be leveraged as a tool to fight climate change. Key takeaway The harm prevention rule can be instrumental in improving global climate action; procedural and regulatory measures supporting its implementation should be smoothened out to enable its effective invocation for non-neighbouring States.