Environmental and Climate Law and Justice

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
• Convenor: Dr Olivia Hamlyn
• Assessment: a 4000-word essay (100%)

In this module we examine fundamental principles and regulatory frameworks in environmental and climate law. We will introduce you to key concepts including environmental justice, sustainable development, public participation and the precautionary principle.

Cutting across legal systems we will analyse different bodies of case law, with an in-depth overview of different regulatory approaches, exploring their impact on individual rights and collective stakes. We will also consider the governance of environmental and public health risks, highlighting in particular tensions between technical expertise, public attitudes to risk, political sovereignty and democratic legitimacy. We will examine the evolving public international law framework for the governance of climate change, including the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, focusing on the regulatory arrangements in place to achieve climate change mitigation and adaptation. Finally we will consider climate change litigation and the role of the courts.

Indicative syllabus

• Introduction to module: climate/sustainability/environmental law
• Sources of environmental law
• Sustainable development and alternative paradigms to sustainable development
• Precautionary principle and scientific uncertainty
• Kyoto Protocol
• Paris Agreement
• Climate litigation
• Human rights and the environment/climate change

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of the evolving regimes of climate and environmental law
• analyse and understand the content and implications of the relevant regulatory and governance frameworks
• analyse and understand case law in these fields
• demonstrate a critical understanding of different approaches to the governance of climate and environmental risks
• demonstrate enhanced legal research skills and problem analysis.