International law and the greenhouse effect : danger or opportunity?

Abstract

The greenhouse effect is a relatively new environmental problem, one which highlights the greater problem of global environmental degradation. International environmental law has yet to respond to either problem. This thesis examines likely international legal responses to the greenhouse effect, with the objective of determining whether they are appropriate. This task is approached by an analysis of the following principles and concepts; state responsibility, international liability for the injurious consequences of acts not prohibited by international law, human rights, and the common heritage of mankind. Because of the general uncertainty surrounding these principles and concepts, this thesis first seeks to determine their scope and content. This is followed by an analysis of the substantive limitations of each. The analysis undertaken by this thesis extends to the ethical limitations of international environmental law as the current ethical relationship between humanity and nature is considered to be at the root of the environmental crisis which grips the Earth today. This thesis suggests that the existing international environmental law considered is inappropriate as a legal response to the greenhouse effect. It therefore concludes by suggesting a new general principle of international law, to be incorporated in an international treaty for the protection of the global environment, as one possible means by which to overcome some of the existing limitations of the law. It is intended that this principle be viewed as a contribution, to the debate on environmental ethics, and to the search for a means by which to protect the global environment at the level of a general principle of international law.