Environmental Regulation and Economic Development

Running head: ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Environmental regulation and economic development
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1ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Executive summary:
It has been seen for the last few decades that environmental management and regulations are
becoming one of the most important issues. With the enhancing awareness related to the
relation between climate change and natural disasters, environmental regulation is becoming
very important topic for each companies and governments, worldwide. This report is meant
to analyse the international law and the environment through analyzing the practical and legal
issues of the Principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibility. The report has found
that with ever rising pressure from the world bodies and international treaties it has become
evident for the developing nations to invest more in the eco friendly technologies at the cost
of the economic growth. However, it has not yet been clear to which extent the association
between international law and environment persist. Additionally, the magnitude of the
economic impact by the environmental laws needs to be researched extensively to trace the
relation between international law and environment. To conclude, the report has provided
ideas regarding what more need to be done in future in order to reduce the biasness of the
environmental laws.

2ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................3
Background of International Environmental Law:....................................................................4
Principle of common but differentiated responsibility:.............................................................5
Definition:..............................................................................................................................5
Origins:...................................................................................................................................6
Objectives:..............................................................................................................................7
Application of the principle in International Environmental Instruments and obligations for
nations:.......................................................................................................................................7
The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development:......................................................7
Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer:..................................................8
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987):..............................9
Kyoto Protocol, 1997:............................................................................................................9
Paris Agreement (2015):......................................................................................................10
Stockholm Declaration (1972):............................................................................................11
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 1992:.................12
Implementation of CBDR principle: Lessons and Challenges:...............................................13
Conflicts and disagreements:...............................................................................................13
Measuring emissions and grouping of nations:........................................................................14
Challenges for developed countries:....................................................................................15
Challenges for developing countries:...................................................................................15
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................17
Bibliography:............................................................................................................................18

3ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Introduction:
Environmental policy is one of the contentious and rancorous factors that have been
under continuous debate since decade. There has been various researches regarding the
association between the environmental law and economic development, however most of
them has failed to judge the level of association properly. According to the various
researchers, there is high level of association between these two variables, where as some
researches contradicts the very idea. Researchers like Chong, Qin and Xinyue, argues that
either through direct or in the indirect way environmental laws aids the economy to avail
sustainability and eco friendly growth1. When it comes to the economic development process
of various countries, then according to the developed nations, economic growth comes at an
expense of environment.
Across the world, there is an identification that the environmental condition is
decreasing and hence, it needs special attention and also some legal protections. Thus, most
of the countries, both developed as well as developing one, are coming together to formulate
some protocols since 1960s to protect the environment, worldwide. This report is meant to
analyse the international law and the environment through analyzing the practical and legal
issues of the Principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibility. The chief focus of this
paper is to look at instruments derived from the principle that have generated based on those
chief negotiated instruments. Hence, this paper intends to discuss about the implementation
of those principles in the selected instruments and some other legal and practical issues that
prevent the growth of those agreements.
1 Zhaohui Chong, Chenglin Qin and Xinyue Ye, 'Environmental Regulation, Economic Network And
Sustainable Growth Of Urban Agglomerations In China' (2016) 8 Sustainability.

4ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Background of International Environmental Law:
International Environmental Law (IEL) states about the controlling of pollution and
wastage of natural resources under the concept of sustainable development2. IEM is a part of
public international law, an institution of law, which different states have created to supervise
various inter-state related problems. IEL is a broad concept that deals with biodiversity,
ozone depletion, population, pollutions related to air, land, water, and nuclear damage and so
on that relate with nature or climate. International environmental law has been evaluated
since 1970 and can be divided chiefly into three phases, viz., traditional era, modern era and
post-modern era.
Environmentalism and economic growth 1970 – 1989:
According to the Cleveland, with rise in production and consumption, higher level of
inputs will be required and it will lead to exploitation of natural resources. During this period
it has been observed that gross product is increased by 0.2% on average with the increase in
environmental regulation3. On the other hand, researchers argue that, though there were rise
in gross production after implying the environmental laws during initial period, however it is
affecting the world economy nowadays. Researches during this period argues that it has been
found that excessive amount of industrialisation during the 1970 caused increased amount of
waste that lead to diminishing quality of environment. Besides this, it has diminished the
sustainability of biosphere, thus stringent environmental laws came in.
Environmentalism and economic growth 1992 – 2008:
During this period environmental degradation was at its peak due to lack of confined
and worldwide framework for environmental laws. Greenhouse gas emission was affecting
2 Gonzalez CG. Bridging the North-South Divide: International Environmental Law in the Anthropocene. Pace Envtl. L.
Rev.. 2015;32:407.
3 Wayne B Gray, Economic Costs And Consequences Of Environmental Regulation (Taylor and Francis 2018).

5ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
the whole world’s economy and reducing the same by 3% annually4. Besides this, due to rise
in greenhouse gas emission water level has also been raising leading to loss of resource like
land and capital. Thus UNFCC took ratifying act through Kyoto protocol and enacted the
participating countries to reduce the greenhouse gas emission to a certain level for better
sustainability and higher growth.
Environmentalism and economic growth 2008 – Present day:
In recent days environmental factors are taken as one of the key element for the
production. Firms are aimed to reduce their level of carbon emission through utilising the
newer and greener technologies. In the case of developed nations, environmental laws are
presently acting as the tool to restrict the growth of the developing nations, due to the fact the
developing nations lack in technology and resource. Thus, according to the Robert V Percival
and others, recent stringent environmental laws are aimed to reduce the carbon emission level
and restrict the environmental degradation to a great extend at a cost of slower growth of the
developing nations5.
Principle of common but differentiated responsibility:
Definition:
Principle of common but differentiated responsibility has occurred in Rio de Janeiro,
1992. This is the first global legal instrument for addressing climate change and the most
comprehensive global attempt for addressing negative effects on the global environment.
According to this principle, all the nations need to possess shared obligation for addressing
environmental destruction; however, it denies identical responsibility of all nations in relation
to environmental protection6. The principle of CBDR has remained the key factor for many
negotiated instruments. The principle has tried to emphasize the collective responsibility of
4 David J. Long and Matthew Collins, 'Quantifying Global Climate Feedbacks, Responses And Forcing Under
Abrupt And Gradual CO2 Forcing' (2013) 41 Climate Dynamics.
5 Robert V Percival and others, Environmental Regulation.
6 Power T, Economic Development And Environmental Protection (Taylor and Francis 2015)