Revising international environmental law through the paradigm of ecological sustainability

Abstract

International environmental law is undergoing a serious crisis. In order to improve its “environmental effectiveness”, the adoption of a new founding paradigm is necessary. The new paradigm ought to be based on the concept of “ecological sustainability”, grounded on the duty to protect and restore the integrity of the eco-systems. Besides setting the framework for the revision of international environmental law on the basis of the “ecological sustainability” paradigm, this paper focuses on its application in climate change law. In this sense, a critical analysis is provided on the application of the most relevant flexibility mechanisms foreseen at international level by the Kyoto Protocol, namely the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Emissions Trading, as well as of the most interesting instruments applied at EU level, namely the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).