This week the International Conference on Environmental Law is taking place in Oslo, where I will participate in the 6th plenary on how to address climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss?.
This year is a relevant year to celebrate the anniversaries of several environmental laws, such as the Stockholm Declaration, the UN Convention on the Law of the Ocean and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. These anniversaries make relevant the question of the transformative power of law and how it impacts on our relationship with the environment and how we can use it to address today’s multiple crises.
On this particular occasion, I will talk about the multiple links between pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss. Events such as the recent heatwaves, that air pollution is the leading environmental cause of premature deaths and that every 20 minutes a new species becomes extinct are not separate facts. Counteracting all these effects requires our union and a cross-cutting law.
Even if there have been several advances at the level of law, internationally, regionally and nationally, we must continue to develop effective solutions on the ground. The law must be developed in all ecosystems: we must develop policies and strategies to integrate biodiversity conservation in multiple areas and spaces. The law must be transversal to other policy areas: we must create economic and financial systems that are congruent with the environment. The law must reach all spheres of production: it is indispensable to create systems of agriculture and marine exploration that cooperate with nature.
Our work continues and I am sure that these spaces enrich our research and our actions on the ground.
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