International Environmental Law
The World Intellectual Property Organisation - a Model for UN Environmental Reform?
The Ecologic Institute analyzes the pertinence of using elements of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in shaping international environmental governance reform. Christiane Gerstetter, Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf and Susanah Stoessel, the authors of the study, conclude that the WIPO model is illustrative for the debate on reforming international environmental governance. At the same time, however, important disparities in the substance and policies of intellectual property and environmental protection exist. The Ecologic study is available for download. Read more ...
DeutschLegal and Institutional Dimensions of the Copenhagen Regime
Legal and Institutional Dimensions of the Copenhagen Regime – this is the title of the most recent issue of the Carbon & Climate Law Review (CCLR). Camilla Bausch, Ralph Czarnecki and Michael Mehling edited this issue, which opens the stage for a timely discussion on the most recent international climate negotiations. It features a preface by Congressman Edward J. Markey, who co-authored the successful climate and energy bill for the U.S. House of Representatives. Read more ...
Sharing the Benefits of Using Traditionally Cultured Genetic Resources Fairly
The sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources between the traditional users and cultivators of such resources and those that wish to use them for commercial or research purposes is a major issue under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The debate has a clear North-South dimension as most institutions interested in using genetic resources are based in the developed countries, whereas the biodiversity hotspots are mostly located in the global South where biodiversity has been cultivated and preserved by indigenous and small farmers’ communities. In this book chapter Christiane Gerstetter of Ecologic Legal develops recommendations for provider countries on how to implement the CBD requirement that benefits should be shared fairly and equitably. Read more ...
Governing Water – International Law Development – The Principle of Subsidiarity
In this book chapter, R. Andreas Kraemer from Ecologic Institute addresses the governance of water and the EU’s Water Framework Directive, focusing mainly on subsidiarity applied to water policy. He describes the conflict arising from a territorial and a bio-regional perspective on the subject and the management of this conflict through the principle of subsidiarity. The chapter features an outline of the Water Framework Directive’s origin and its core ideas, illustrates approaches of water management using examples, including one from the Danube River region, and a number of hydrological maps and gives an outlook to further developments of the water governance area. Read more ...
Ecologic Institute at the Global Environmental Governance Forum
In early July 2009, the Global Environmental Governance Forum drew a historic gathering of past, present, and future environmental leaders in the small Swiss town of Glion. The Forum gathered for the first time all five successive Executive Directors of the UN Environment Programme: Maurice Strong, the Secretary-General of the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment and the Rio Earth Summit; Mostafa Tolba; Elizabeth Dowdeswell; Klaus Töpfer; and Achim Steiner, the current Executive Director. Maria Ivanova, a partner of Ecologic Institute, is Director of the Global Environmental Governance Project, which hosted the Forum. R. Andreas Kraemer and Susanah Stoessel of Ecologic Institute were also in attendance. Read more ...
Geoengineering and the Governance of International Spaces – Paul Berkman & Ralph Czarnecki
There is growing interest in the idea of geoengineering, the purposeful and large-scale modification of the natural environment, especially since the article in Foreign Affairs "The Geoengineering Option" by David Victor and others. Jointly with the Foundation for the Good Governance of International Spaces, Ecologic Institute held this Transatlantic Luncheon in Washington DC on 22 April 2009. Guests of honour were Paul Berkman, Scott Polar Institute, University of Cambridge, and Ralph Czarnecki, Ecologic Institute. Read more ...
Global Climate Change and the Fragmentation of International Law
No international regime operates in complete isolation from other regimes and the wider body of international law. Conflicts and tensions, but also potential synergies, are inevitable consequences of regime coexistence. Such interactions are particularly apparent in the case of the climate regime, which is analysed in this article in relation to the international law on biodiversity protection and free trade. Read more ...
From Autonomy to Integration? International Law, Free Trade and the Environment
In recent years, the debate on trade and the environment seemed to lose some of its earlier controversy: after a string of highly polarizing cases before the WTO, the Appellate Body’s Article 21.5 Implementation Report in the Shrimp/Turtle case appeared to finally herald a period of reconciliation between free trade and environmental concerns. Upon closer analysis, however, this assessment proves to be misleading: as a matter of substantive law, the chasm between both issue areas is still substantial. Read more ...
Happy End in Bali-Wood?
In a discussion paper for the recently launched Forum for Atlantic Climate and Energy Talks (FACET), Camilla Bausch and Michael Mehling look back on the recent negotiations at the U.N. climate conference in Bali, Indonesia, and analyse the implications of the “Bali Roadmap” for the future of the international climate regime. Read more ...
Das zukünftige Klimaschutz-Regime der Vereinten Nationen – Ein Wegweiser durch die Verhandlungsarchitektur
In their recent article, Dr. Camilla Bausch and Michael Mehling, analyse the main negotiation and discussion tracks under the United Nations for the further evolution of the international climate regime beyond 2012. Read more ...
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