Begin with the basic reality that water, air, wildlife and humans move. Stir in the fact that humans constantly change their environment in order to do things like eat, build, make, buy and throw away. Finally, add in the pressures to the environment of human population growth and global climate change, and you have produced a recipe that could only suggest complete and utter doom for international environmental law and policy. Yet, in the last four decades, thanks to the influence of scientists and conservationists, nations began to address these issues on a global scale. Today a system, however imperfect, of global environmental governance does exist. Students will be introduced to the international environmental actors and institutions, basic legal regimes, and big players, in order to examine, through case studies and focused readings, trans-boundary air and water pollution, natural resources development, toxic waste and recycling, the protection of wildlife, ecosystems, and human life; international trade, sustainable development, and climate change.
Carlson, Palmer & Weston, International Environmental Law and World Order: A Problem-Oriented Coursebook (3rd ed.).
Course Requirements:
The course grade will be based on attendance/participation and three writing projects:
- Advocate: As an “Attorney,” you will argue a case for a country in an international environmental dispute &B8212; grading based on the written “brief” you prepare and argue orally in class.
- Jurist: As a “Judge,” you will hear and decide another IE dispute — grading based on the written opinion you file the following week.
- Diplomat: As a “Diplomat,” you will represent a real country (or group of countries) and negotiate a climate change treaty to suit its (their) interests — grading based on your follow-up “confidential” written report to your country’s President, in which you analyze the resulting treaty and your negotiating success.
Intended Audience:
This course assumes a basic foundation in environmental policy and international affairs, usually provided in 100- and 200-level PITE and political science courses. Students who are interested in reading, active participation, and improving their writing skills are invited to enroll in this course.
Class Format:
Lecture and Discussion.
This is an interactive, problem-solving course.