acuerdo ambiental internacional

Un acuerdo ambiental internacional , o a veces protocolo ambiental , es un tipo de tratado vinculante en el derecho internacional que permite alcanzar un objetivo ambiental . En otras palabras, es "un documento intergubernamental con carácter jurídicamente vinculante cuyo propósito principal declarado es prevenir o gestionar los impactos humanos sobre los recursos naturales ". ^{[ 1 ]}

Un acuerdo entre dos naciones se conoce como acuerdo ambiental bilateral . Si el acuerdo se celebra entre tres o más naciones, se denomina acuerdo ambiental multilateral (AAM). Dichos acuerdos, principalmente elaborados por las Naciones Unidas , abarcan temas como políticas atmosféricas , políticas de agua dulce, políticas de residuos y sustancias peligrosas , el medio marino, políticas de conservación de la naturaleza , contaminación acústica y seguridad nuclear . ^{[ 2 ]}

El uso de acuerdos ambientales multilaterales comenzó en 1857, cuando un acuerdo alemán reguló el flujo de agua del lago Constanza hacia Austria y Suiza . ^{[ 3 ]} Los protocolos ambientales internacionales comenzaron a tener relevancia en la gobernanza ambiental después de que los problemas ambientales transfronterizos se volvieran ampliamente reconocidos en la década de 1960. ^{[ 4 ]}

Between 1857 and 2012, a total of 747 multilateral environmental agreements have been concluded.^[3] Following the Stockholm Intergovernmental Conference in 1972, creation of international environmental agreements proliferated.^[5] MEAs were popularized by the United Nations, the majority of MEAs have been implemented since the 1972 at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (also known as the Stockholm Conference).^[6] The Stockholm Declaration was adopted by all 113 countries in attendance at the conference, and was the first universal document of importance on an environmental issue.^[6]

A complex networking system is needed for a functional MEA system.^[3] Levels of government within a nation may impede each other about climate change (for example) due to opposing views or parties,^[7] making implementation more difficult and impacting external relationships. Interactions between MEAs can also influence each other positively or negatively, ultimately affecting their net effectiveness.^[8]

Policies surrounding an MEA are determined by the participating countries. The United Nations and the World Trade Organization are key intergovernmental organizations for forging and implementing the agreements.

There have been increasing use of environmental provisions in bilateral environmental agreements and also in international investment agreements, like bilateral environmental agreement.^[9]

Protocols can take flexible approaches to improve effectiveness.^[10] One example is the use of sanctions: under the Montreal Protocol, signatories were forbidden to purchase chlorofluorocarbons from non-signatories, in order to prevent any windfall benefits.^[11] Funding has also been used to overcome North-South conflict: members of the Montreal Protocol created a fund of $240 million to redistribute the costs of transition. It also has different ten-year grace period for developing countries. Differential obligations are also seen in the Kyoto Protocol and can encourage wider participation, where every country have very different targets mainly based on their development.

While protocols appear to be the ultimate top-down mode of governance, having "scant provisions for public participation,"^[11] it is widely thought that the influence of transnational networks has been growing^[5] Public opinion is relevant, as concern must exist to prompt action and dedication of government resources.^[4] It kept growing more and more since the young activist Greta Thunberg started Fridays for Future. Non-governmental organizations also fulfill certain roles, from gathering information and devising policies to mobilizing support. Science plays an important part, although Susskind asserts that sometimes this role is diminished by uncertainty, disagreement, and the rise of "adversary science."^[12] The business community can also be involved with positive outcomes.

How we view the effectiveness of protocols depends on what we expect from them. With little administrative force or actual power, protocols succeed in increasing government concern, enhancing the contractual environment, and heightening capacity through transfer of assets. Yet as long as sovereignty is intact, environmental protocols will not affect changes in the face of state or public apathy, guarantee national action, or materialize overnight. The progress of international environmental law might be, as Wiener suggests, like the tortoise, slow but steady.^[13]

The world's existing political systems, differences and conflicts pose barriers to the creation of environmental protocols. First, maintenance of sovereignty means that no country can be forced to participate, only urged to do so. Consequently, as French states, "International law has the force of moral suasion, but few real teeth."^[11] Second, North-South conflict can block cooperation and cause conflicts. The countries in the global South, considered the poor one, generally see the countries of the North, the rich one, as needing to take responsibility for environmental degradation and make significant changes in their way of living, neither of which the North deems reasonable. The south argue that the north have already had the opportunity to develop and already polluted a lot during their industrial development.

Finally, countries may lack motivation to change their environmental policies due to conflict with other interests, especially economic prosperity. If environmental protocols will cause economic difficulties or harm to a country, it may shirk the protocols while other countries adhere to them, creating a classic free-rider problem. Additionally, environmental protocols may be criticized for scientific uncertainty, or at least a lack of synthesis of scientific information, which may be used for "blocking interests and doing mischief."^[5] In the case of problems like pollution and climate change, resistance typically is a product of engineered denial.

Due to these barriers, environmental protocols become an obvious target for several criticisms, such as being slow to produce the desired effects (due to the convention-protocol-ratification-implementation process), tending to the lowest common denominator, and lacking monitoring and enforcement. They can also be criticized for taking an incremental approach where sustainable development principles suggest that environmental concern should be mainstreamed.

The United Nations is involved in MEAs worldwide on a number of issues, including biological diversity, chemicals and waste, and climate and the atmosphere. One example would be the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, which was brought together to address the hazardous effects of Chlorofluorocarbons on the atmosphere. The United Nations Information Portal (InforMEA) brings together MEAs by harvesting COP decisions and resolutions, news, events, MEA membership, national focal points, national reports and implementation plans from MEA secretariats and organizes this information around a set of agreed terms, for the benefit of Parties and the environment community at large^[14]

La Organización Mundial del Comercio ( OMC) ha participado en negociaciones de acuerdos ambientales multilaterales (AAM) debido a las implicaciones comerciales de dichos acuerdos. La organización cuenta con políticas comerciales y ambientales que promueven la protección y preservación del medio ambiente. Su objetivo es reducir las barreras comerciales y coordinar las medidas relacionadas con el comercio con las políticas ambientales . ^{[ 15 ]} Dado que los AAM protegen y preservan el medio ambiente, pueden contribuir a aliviar las restricciones al comercio. ^{[ 16 ]} Los principios de la OMC se basan en la no discriminación, el libre comercio mediante la reducción de las barreras comerciales y la competencia leal, y algunos AAM han sido rechazados por no estar en consonancia con los principios de la organización. La OMC trabaja con más de 350 AAM en todo el mundo y los implementa. La mayoría de los acuerdos involucran a cinco países centrales comprometidos con la mejora ambiental y el libre comercio. ^{[ 17 ]} Los miembros de la OMC están legalmente obligados a respetar las reducciones negociadas de las barreras al comercio. ^{[ 17 ]} Sin embargo, han surgido conflictos debido a las restricciones comerciales. ^{[ 17 ]}

Australia se distingue por su gran variedad de especies animales y su entorno diverso, que incluye playas , desiertos y montañas, ^{[ 18 ]} y el cambio climático es una preocupación importante. El país se encuentra bajo el mayor agujero de ozono del mundo, con un impacto ambiental. La proximidad de Australia a la Antártida genera inquietudes sobre el aumento del nivel del mar y los cambios en las corrientes oceánicas que influyen en el clima.

Los acuerdos ambientales multilaterales de Canadá abarcan el aire, la biodiversidad y los ecosistemas , los productos químicos y los residuos, el cambio climático , la cooperación ambiental, los recursos marinos y los océanos, y la meteorología . ^{[ 19 ]} Canadá ha tomado una iniciativa debido a la variedad de recursos naturales , climas y áreas pobladas del país , todo lo cual puede contribuir al estrés ambiental. Los casos relevantes incluyen Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals , en el que la Corte Suprema de los Estados Unidos confirmó un fallo de un tribunal inferior y acusó a una empresa canadiense, Teck Resources, de contaminar el río Columbia en los Estados Unidos. ^{[ 20 ]} La fundición de Teck Resources en Trail, Columbia Británica, está aguas arriba de la frontera con los Estados Unidos. ^{[ 21 ]}

Estados Unidos se ha comprometido con el Protocolo de Montreal relativo a las sustancias que agotan la capa de ozono y con las negociaciones mundiales sobre el mercurio . ^{[ 22 ]} El número de acuerdos ambientales multilaterales en los que participa Estados Unidos es sustancialmente menor que el de Canadá, a pesar de su mayor población, su mayor huella de carbono y su economía más grande.

• Derecho ambiental
• InformarMEA
• Derecho internacional
• Lista de acuerdos ambientales internacionales

• Mitchell, RB, Andonova, LB, Axelrod, M., Balsiger, J., Bernauer, T., Green, JF, Hollway, J., Kim, RE y Morin, JF 2020. Lo que sabemos (y podríamos saber) sobre los acuerdos ambientales internacionales . Global Environmental Politics , 20: 103–121.
• Alam, Shawkat et al. Derecho ambiental internacional y el Sur global. Cambridge University Press, 2015.
• Bodansky, Daniel (2010). El arte y la práctica del derecho ambiental internacional . Harvard University Press
• Borsky, Stefan y A. Raschky, Paul. «Interacción intergubernamental en cumplimiento de un acuerdo ambiental internacional». En Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists , Volumen 2, Número 2. Junio ​​de 2015.
• Meyer, John W.; Frank, David John; Hironaka, Ann; Schofer, Evan; Tuma, Nancy Brandon (1997). " La estructuración de un régimen ambiental mundial, 1870–1990 ". Organización Internacional . 51 (4): 623–651.
• M. McEvoya, David y McGintyb, Matthew «Negociación de un impuesto uniforme sobre las emisiones en los acuerdos ambientales internacionales». En   Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Volumen 90, 217–231. 2018
• Tulkens, Henry y Guesnerie, R. El diseño de políticas climáticas. The MIT Press, 2008.
• Victor, David G. et al. La implementación y la eficacia de los compromisos ambientales internacionales: teoría y práctica. The MIT Press, 1998.

• Manual del Negociador de Acuerdos Ambientales Multilaterales