Chapter 1 sets the scene for the book by introducing the human rights impacts of long-term environmental harm and the limitations of international human rights law in responding to those problems. It presents the rationale for the book, arguing that human rights law ought to contribute to intergenerational justice through better protection of future generations’ rights. Furthermore, in order for human rights law to be effective in guarding against the human rights impacts caused by serious environmental harm, it must be able to address future threats, not just current harms. A more future-oriented approach to human rights protections would also help align the law more meaningfully with non-Western and Indigenous views of intergenerational rights and responsibilities.

This chapter narrates the historical context that shaped the contemporary economic landscape of the Gulf states and critically examines the enduring impact of colonialism on the region’s economic fabric and how the entrenched “dual economic framework” imposed limitations on development. This chapter also sheds light on the emergence of resource nationalism as a transformative strategy for Gulf states to assert control over their natural resources and challenge this dependency. The creation of OPEC serves as a core moment in the realm of global energy politics, symbolizing a strategic move towards economic autonomy and the collective bargaining power of developing countries. Building upon this historical foundation, the chapter deconstructs the philosophical and theoretical frameworks that underpin development strategies during this era of rapid modernization in the Gulf and explores how Gulf policymakers creatively adapted these models to their unique socio-political and economic contexts, paving the way for their ascent as significant players in the global energy market.

The second case study in Chapter 7 presents a detailed examination of the future environmental rights implications of climate change. It addresses the implications for future generations of climate change itself, as well as our responses to climate change, including adaptation measures, decarbonisation and geoengineering. Each of these is considered in terms of the potential impact they might have on the human rights of future generations. The chapter also provides an overview of recent human rights-based climate litigation, with a particular focus on cases that have been brought on behalf of future generations or by children and young people. These cases show that, while some cases have successfully argued for intergenerational climate justice, international human rights law remains an unfriendly forum for litigating future environmental harms or the rights of future generations. The chapter concludes by considering the ways in which this could be improved through the application of the new theory and practice outlined in Chapter 5.

Environmental security broadly refers to the relationships between the environment and national, human, and ecological security. This encompasses how environmental changes affect or interact with violence, armed conflict, state stability, livelihoods, food security, economic stability, general human well-being, and more. This chapter unpacks environmental security by focusing on how environmental change and disaster impact humans, states, and the international order, respectively. Although many security studies scholars still question whether the environment should be considered a security issue or just a pressing policy issue, this chapter demonstrates the serious security issues that arise with the onset of environmental change. Regardless of the outcome of these academic debates, these challenges are very real for policy makers, who are working to anticipate and manage the challenges that the environment will pose to international security.

This final chapter extends the discussion to the implications of China’s evolving international energy relations, in turn, on its domestic energy transition, the geopolitical landscape, and global sustainability, including international efforts to combat climate change. It also reflects on the ramifications of energy transitions on the international stage in other countries, specifically Japan and Germany. The chapter concludes with a synthesis of the main findings of the book, providing with an overview of how China’s ongoing transition from fossil fuels to renewables, along with geopolitical shifts, is reshaping its interactions with the global energy sector.

This chapter evaluates the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Sports for Climate Action Initiative (S4CA), a prominent example of public–private collaboration in addressing climate change within the sports sector. It examines the efforts of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It compares them with the commitments of professional leagues such as England’s Premier League (EPL), Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). The chapter demonstrates how international organizations leverage direct and indirect interactions with private entities to achieve treaty goals through these examples. It highlights the role of ’pioneer organizations’ in driving significant change within the sports sector. The analysis covers the theoretical background of public–private regulatory interactions, describes the S4CA framework, and illustrates its application by sports entities, showcasing complex regulatory interactions within international legal frameworks.

Chapter 1 elaborates on how the assemblage of multilateral, bilateral, transnational, and private nongovernmental actors – the clean energy regime complex – interacts with domestic politics in emerging economies and developing countries (EMDEs) to foster energy transitions. The ripple effects of international norms regarding energy transitions are visible in domestic institutional change in Indonesia and the Philippines, but both cases demonstrate variable outcomes in terms of the relative impacts of the clean energy regime complex in removing barriers to geothermal development. The chapter underlines the importance of studying the interaction between the international and domestic politics in EMDEs to understand how best to catalyze energy transitions to meet global climate mitigation goals. The chapter summarizes the case study selection, research design and methods, and theoretical arguments on regime complex effectiveness mechanisms – including utility modifier, social learning, and capacity building, and their impact in overcoming domestic political lock-in. The chapter also provides a brief overview of the book.

Chapter 5 traces the history of a number of existing UN mechanisms which represent the interests of particular vulnerable groups in the international system (persons with disabilities, women, and children). The aim of this analysis is to see what types of normative discourses have found traction and led to the development of institutions to represent these vulnerable groups, in order to ascertain the type of normative arguments that would gain support in arguing for international institutions to represent future generations. An important lesson from the case studies is that a normative discourse in which development concerns feature prominently, has been a common thread running through the history of these UN mechanisms. The chapter analyses the differences and similarities between arguments which justify the institutions which have been put in place to represent these vulnerable groups, with arguments used to justify institutions to represent future generations.

Chapter 4 involves a focus on the legitimacy and effectiveness of proxy-style institutions for future generations. It sets out criteria for assessing the legitimacy of such institutions based on Klaus Dingwerth, Sylvia Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, and Antto Vihma. Criteria for assessing the legitimacy of international tribunals are developed based on an extension of Bogdandy and Venzke’s work with the idea of accountability to the demos being extended to include future generations. A concept of ‘future legitimacy’ is introduced which involves assessing institutions in operation now from the perspective of future generations when climate change is predicted to be ravaging the planet. Criteria for effectiveness are elaborated involving the Paris Agreement goals, as well as an assessment of the promotion of intergenerational justice and the values of inclusiveness, solidarity and addressing vulnerability. Particular challenges in application of these criteria in the context of international law and related institutions which represent future generations are discussed.

In the coming decades, cities and other local governments will need to transform their infrastructure as part of their climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. When they do, they have the opportunity to build a more resilient, sustainable, and accommodating infrastructure for humans and non-humans alike. This chapter surveys a range of policy tools that cities and other local governments can use to pursue co-beneficial adaptations for humans, non-humans, and the environment. For example, they can add bird-friendly glass to new and upgraded buildings and vehicles; they can add overpasses, underpasses, and wildlife corridors on transportation systems; they can reduce light and noise pollution that impact humans and nonhumans alike; they can use a novel trash policy to manage rodent populations non-lethally; and more.

Air pollution related to greenhouse gases (GHGs) is a threat to the climate system, which is changing – a change that is bound to affect the survival of entire states and populations. The enclosure of the air has been inclusionary since it was realized that the reduction of emissions by some states will not do much to improve air quality or abate climate change if other states continue to pollute. The same is true with regard to the enclosure of the ozone layer, since the elimination of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) by some states will be fruitless if other states continue to produce and consume ODSs. In the ozone and climate change regimes, developed countries have been willing to provide side payments to developing states for joining in and for outlawing ODSs and reducing their GHGs. Other issues examined in this chapter include: the politics of green energy transition in connection with the mining of rare earths and minerals and revival of nuclear energy, and the transboundary air pollution regime – an effective inclusionary enclosure.

Chapter 3 delves into the functions and foundations of international environmental law. International environmental law is an institution based on the deliberate redundancy of parallel and overlapping networks that contribute to its resilience and to the maintenance of the minimum public order. We analyze the foundational purposes of international environmental law: the quest for equity and the pursuit of effectiveness. We underline that addressing matters of distributive equity successfully is the sine qua non condition for the effective protection of environmental commons. The tragedy of the commons rationale that precipitated the enclosure of common pool resources in national systems is also driving the enclosure of global common resources. This chapter analyzes the specifics of this enclosure, as it has been unfolding in fisheries, marine genetic resources, germplasm resources and related knowledge, deep-seabed resources, freshwater resources, air, seas, chemicals, wastes, and space. The nature of inclusionary and exclusionary enclosures and how these types of enclosure affect perceptions of distributive equity are critically examined. Finally, international environmental regimes are evaluated based on the effectiveness of the enclosure they have commanded and the perceptions of equity held by the stakeholders and participants in the regimes.

Chapter 8 makes a preliminary assessment of the likely effectiveness of the proposed UN special envoy for future generations by examining this proposal through the lens of three frameworks. These frameworks are, firstly, the rationale or normative basis for such a proposal measured against the principles of intergenerational justice, solidarity and vulnerability set out in Chapter 3 of the book. Next, the special envoy proposal is evaluated in terms of its legitimacy and effectiveness using the criteria elaborated in Chapter 5 (inclusive representation, democratic control in the form of accountability and transparency, deliberation, source-based/input legitimacy in terms of expertise, legal legitimacy, tradition and discourse, substantial/output legitimacy in terms of effectiveness and equity). The possible functions of a special envoy are examined and recommendations are made as to what mandate the special envoy should have, applying the matrix of proxy functions elaborated earlier in this book, which involves breaking proxy representation down into its functions (representative, compliance, reform and norm entrepreneurial). Finally, an overarching framework is proposed for measuring the potential effectiveness of the special envoy which incorporates both frameworks – proxy representation functions and democratic legitimacy.

Chapter 6 contains a case study in which we sketch how the normative framework set out in part A of the book, can be used as a basis for arguments that can be made in relation to the ongoing ICJ advisory opinion on climate change. It argues that the court should interpret international rules in a manner which furthers justice including intergenerational justice. This is essential for maintaining the court’s legitimacy, which must include its future legitimacy. The court should flesh out the principle of intergenerational equity by defining it in terms which require states to take climate action to ensure protection of the human rights of future generations necessary for them to lead a decent life. In addition, the normative framework is used to argue for: (i) an particular interpretation of the no harm rule to incorporate harm towards future generations and (ii) reform of the procedural rules of the ICJ so as to allow NGOs and scientists to make amicus curiae submissions (directly or implicitly) on behalf of future generations in proceedings before the court.

The purpose of this study is to examine the law and policy for the management and protection of the global commons. It analyzes the protection and distribution of global common resources from fairness, effectiveness and world order perspectives. We examine whether international environmental policymaking has resulted in the fair allocation of global common resources that will be effective in protecting the environment.

Australia’s World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef experiences cumulative impacts from diverse activities, including regional catchment-sourced water pollution and the impacts of climate change. Regulating these threats engages a wide range of laws for intervention, which have been influenced by a regulatory mechanism for information – a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) undertaken a decade ago at the request of UNESCO. This chapter explores how the strategic assessment and associated interventions influence impacts from two major activities that contribute to water pollution and climate change – cattle grazing and coal mining. It shows that regulatory SEA can provide for entrenching and integrating ongoing information collection, analysis, and sharing. Moreover, SEA can directly influence diverse regulatory interventions to address cumulative impacts. It can link the functions of information and intervention, two of the regulatory functions advanced by this book’s CIRCle Framework. At the same time, opportunities remain to build stronger links between interventions for water quality and climate adaptation, and between climate change mitigation interventions and the Reef context.