International Environmental Law and Distributive Justice

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomilola Akanle Eni-Ibukun
Author(s):  
Fanny Thornton

The chapter moves the analysis to the realm of distributive justice. It explores whether inherent to the climate change and people movement nexus are issues of unequal distribution, for example, of benefits and burdens. The chapter outlines distributional issues and then suggests whether, from a distributive justice standpoint, equity could be achieved through redistribution of costs which may accrue for those under pressure to move. The chapter sketches the extent to which international law is underpinned by distributive justice notions. It then, more explicitly, turns to international environmental law, and in particular the international climate change adaptation and finance architectures, to analyse whether, in combination, they support remedying distributional issues in relation to people movement in the climate change context.


Author(s):  
Cullet Philippe

This chapter explores differential treatment, which is one of the main instruments that exist in international environmental law to foster equity. It builds on ideas of global distributive justice and helps to rebalance some of the most visible inequalities arising between formally equal states of very different size, power, and natural resource endowments. The principle that reflects differential treatment in international environmental law is that of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR). The chapter discusses the conceptual bases for and development of differential treatment. This confirms the significance of the break proposed to the traditional international legal framework and explains the continuing opposition to differential treatment by some countries. The chapter then highlights the different manifestations of differential treatment in international environmental law and shows that differential treatment pervades the whole field. It also looks at some of the critiques of differentiation and the forms of differential treatment that have evolved over the past couple of decades.


Author(s):  
Pierre-Marie Dupuy ◽  
Jorge E. Viñuales

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