Transnational environmental law in the Anthropocene

Abstract

Climate change, biodiversity loss, marine degradation and a pandemic have marked 2020. This article introduces a Special Issue that interrogates transnational environmental law in the context of the Anthropocene and invites reflection on the meaning and role of law in light of changing planetary realties. How law interacts with and governs the global environmental problems is a challenge that legal scholars have approached with vigour over the last decade and, more recently, the concept of the Anthropocene has become a topic that researchers have also begun to grapple with. One avenue of research that has emerged to address global environmental problems is transnational environmental law. Adopting 'transnational law' as a lens or framework through which to analyse environmental law takes a broader approach to the ways in which law may be assessed and deployed to meet global environmental challenges. The collection of articles within this Special Issue provide a timely intervention into the theoretical and practical approaches of transnational environmental law in a time of significant global uncertainty and environmental crisis. KEYWORDS Transnational environmental law; Anthropocene; transnational law; legal theory [L]et us call it a conflict between modern humans who believe they are alone in the Holocene, in flight towards the Global or in exodus towards the Local, and the terrestrials who know they are in the Anthropocene and who seek to cohabit with other terrestrials under the authority of a power that as yet lacks any political institution. 1 Towards a new planetary epoch: from Holocene to Anthropocene?Today, some twenty years after its pronouncement, 2 for some, the term 'Anthropocene' has not lost its profoundness and radical

The Criminal Law Aspect of the Violation of Environmental Law in the context of armed aggression against Ukraine

“…From its very beginnings, transnational law has engaged with the categories of 'global', 'local', and 'territory'-the very concepts which are challenged by Anthropocene realities (Webster and Mai, 2020). There are many ways to count green crimes at the local, national, and international levels (Lynch, 2019).…”

Tapal Batas Krisis Lingkungan Hidup Perspektif Materialisme Baru

“…Merujuk pada beberapa kajian krisis Antroposen yang menekankan temuan tentang kebutuhan akan solusi efektif dengan memikirkan ulang krisis planet dari perspektif transnasional (Webster & Mai, 2020). Dampak aktivitas antropogenik terhadap lingkungan bukan hanya sekedar masalah global, tetapi justru sebaliknya, setiap aksi kolektif lokal tetap menarik warisan krisis alam masa lalu dan berkelindan bersama dengan skala aktivitas antropogenik hari ini dan di masa depan.…”

Regulating humanity's impact on the earth: The promise of transnational environmental law

“…The concept of the Anthropocene acknowledges that human activity has interfered with the Earth's bio‐geological processes, shifting the planet from the Holocene era of relative stability, in which life flourished, to the instability of the ‘Anthropocene’ (Crutzen, 2006). As a concept or heuristic, the Anthropocene and evolving understandings of the impact of human activity on the planet on the one hand, and the dependence of humanity on non‐humans and non‐living processes on the other, offers a new context in which to carry out transnational environmental law (TEL) research (Webster & Mai, 2020). The burgeoning of TEL scholarship is relatively recent and has emerged in response to the perceived inadequacies of international and domestic law, to explain how law has evolved in response to globalization.…”

“…Rijpkema, 2013), questioned the meaning of law and legality (Calliess & Renner, 2009; Heyvaert, 2017; Perez, 2013), the legitimacy of transnational law (Aleinikoff, 2008; Cotterrell, 2012) and the nature of authority (e.g. Ayal & Perez, 2013; Black, 2017; Green & Auld, 2017), complexity and experimentation within transnational regimes (Cottrell & Trubek, 2012) and how environmental law is framed (Heyvaert, 2017; Webster & Mai, 2020). It provides an analytical lens through which to evaluate the ways in which transnational law is created, disseminated and interacts with other disciplines, areas of law and social problems.…”

“…The concept of the Anthropocene is increasingly used to contextualize the evaluation of environmental law, including TEL (e.g. see: Benjamin, 2017; Kotzé, 2020; Lin, 2017; Webster & Mai, 2020; Wheeler, 2019), and ‘places climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and other environmental issues, as well as social issues such as high consumption, growing inequalities and urbanization, within the same framework’ (Bleby et al, 2021, p. 23). Such a context both changes the evaluation of specific transnational norms and encourages the consideration of how the norms interact with, benefit or worsen other, interconnected, environmental problems which in turn impact back upon the specific environmental problem at issue.…”