Opportunities and Challenges Facing the Future Development of International Environmental Law

Abstract

AbstractThis article aims to discuss the opportunities and challenges for developing international environmental law. It briefly describes “international environmental law” as a new branch of public international law. It also attempts to provide some knowledge on the sources and principles of international environmental law. The contemporary world’s ecological problems are the most urgent and require an immediate collective response from the international community, including states. However, despite developing international environmental law, there have been different severe obstacles and challenges. One of the significant challenges is the States’ unwillingness to delegate or limit their sovereignty to the benefit of environmental organizations. Furthermore, since environmental protection is a transboundary issue, a single country’s effort is insufficient, and all countries must collaborate for this purpose. As a result, international cooperation is primordial to developing and implementing international environmental law.KeywordsEnvironmental protectionInternational environmental lawClimate changeBiodiversityHuman rights