Sector Outline
Environmental law is a vast practice area which encompasses a broad range of substantive areas of law including administrative law, tort law (related to harms caused to others), criminal and regulatory law, constitutional law and property law and has expanded to include international environmental governance, international trade, environmental justice and human rights, and climate change.
Only a few decades ago environmental law was not considered a vital area of international and national concern and was not a high priority on the global agenda. In recent years however, growing recognition that we are on the verge of an ecological and climatic crisis with irreparable consequences has pushed environmental law and policy to the forefront of public and media concern. This has forced governments and corporations to pivot and start to more coherently address environmental law and policy issues. Those working in the environmental law field tackle a wide range issues and problems such as sustainable resource development, contamination of land and water, health and safety, recycling and waste management, international trade, disaster management and assistance with development of alternative or green energy sources (All About Law, 2015).
Most modern environmental laws started to be enacted in the late 1960s and early 1970s. For example, in the 1970s member countries of the EU introduced laws to ensure the cautious use of natural resources, to minimize the ecological effects of consumption and production with particular reference to waste, conserve biodiversity and areas of key biological importance (EUR-Lex, 2015).
Similarly, in the USA, numerous foundational federal and state statutes were passed into law and implemented in the 1970s. These included the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Toxic Substances Control Act, the National Environmental Policy, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, which designated and protected species on the verge of extinction. However, these laws were views as taking a “silo” approach and failing to recognize the interconnections between water quality, watershed and wetland development and protection of wildlife habitat.
The landmark report that began to shift awareness on the need to develop more sound and comprehensive environmental law and policy was the Brundtland Commission’s pathbreaking report, Our Common Future (1987). One of the primary findings of the Brundtland Commission report is that promoting sustainability requires environmental, social and economic considerations to be fully integrated into government, corporate, community and institutional policy and decision-making processes. (McRobert, 2008) Many of the approaches to improving these decision-making processes that have been undertaken in the past 30 years have proven inadequate. Consequently citizens, corporations and other actors (such as civil society organizations) are challenging international, national and sub-national governments and administrative systems to provide creative solutions to our urgent problems in environmental and resource management and to begin to develop a new synthesis that responds to international treaties such as the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (2016) and other similar regional, bioregional and national initiatives.
Many advocates working for civil society organizations argue that environmental law should be primarily concerned with the ever-increasing ‘footprint’ humans are leaving on the planet. Further, they contend that this has been caused by processes such as industrialization and urbanization, overexploitation of natural resources (the oceans and rainforests included) and unprecedented levels of pollution (University of Law, 2013). Other lawyers working for governments and corporations argue that environmental laws, regulations and policies are intended to ensure that health and safety is safeguarded, resources are managed sustainably and parks and ensure wilderness areas are adequately protected.
Particular challenges in implementing sustainability include: 1) declining budgets and reduced investigation and enforcement for environmental matters; 2) deficiencies in information available to guide decision-makers; 3) poor transparency and accountability in decision-making about environmental values and science; 4) weak engagement of the public in participation; and 5) inability to access courts and tribunals to address these issues listed above (McRobert, 2008).
In the wake of the Brundtland report, most environmental lawyers began to recognize the enormous potential scope of environmental law and policy. Consequently, lawyers in the sector have become more specialized and often tend to focus on particular areas of expertise such as water law, environmental impact assessment, international treaties, air approvals, etc. and target provision of their services to companies and government agencies.
In the past 15-20 years, environmental law has been developing at a rapid pace in South America, particularly in regions such as Brazil, Argentina and Peru and is currently more sophisticated and well managed than ever before, often mirroring those protocols initiated in North America and the EU (Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., 2016).
In Asia, the demand for those working in environmental law is growing in countries such as Indonesia who are currently experiencing an emerging conflict between regional laws and sectoral laws who focus on discouraging natural resource depletion such as deforestation through illegal logging (Tan, 2004). Asian countries with more comprehensive environmental legislation quickly establish an environmental lawyer capacity to match.
As far back as 1999, Prof Ben Boer noted ‘More recently, in many non-Western countries and especially in Asia, environmental law has begun to enter into adulthood, manifested by significant legislative initiatives, judicial activism and a resulting environmental jurisprudence, and the establishment and growth of environmental and resource management agencies.’
Harashima (2000) assessed governance in Asia’s developing economies:
‘In Asian countries, many positive trends can be found in environmental governance. Environmental laws were strengthened, particularly in the 1970s and again in the 1990s. [However] environmental governance systems in Asia have not yet developed satisfactorily at the national level’.
Zhao, in his 2019 working paper for the Asian Development Bank Institute highlighted Asian challenges:
‘Asia faces daunting environmental challenges. A recent UNEP report finds that about 4 billion people or over 92% of the population in Asia and the Pacific are exposed to air pollution exceeding or far exceeding WHO guidelines (UNEP 2019). Some of the challenges arise from rapid industrialization, as evidenced by the severe air, water, and soil pollution in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and India, and some arise from economic development leading to resource degradation, e.g., deforestation and loss of biodiversity in Southeast Asia… Many developing countries lack adequate legal systems for citizens to bring civil or criminal lawsuits against polluters. Furthermore, corruption often undermines the incentives of government officials to enforce environmental laws and regulations.’
In support, Raine and Pluchon (2019) noted:
‘Effective laws, coupled with empowered institutions and citizens to ensure their implementation, provide the critical enabling environment necessary to deliver the environmental dimensions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other internationally agreed environmental goals. While most countries have now developed environmental legal frameworks at different levels, effective implementation remains a key challenge for almost all countries. In addition, many environmental legal frameworks need to be strengthened to respond to new and emerging issues, including new internationally agreed goals and commitments. The United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), working with partners, supports countries around the world to meet these objectives and needs. A central focus of its work is to support countries to advance the environmental rule of law.’
In terms of Africa, Alexander Paterson, in Kameri-Mbote (2019) highlighted:
‘In keeping with the spirit of forging African solutions to African challenges, scholars from across the continent formed the Association of Environmental Law Lecturers from African Universities (ASSELLAU) in 2004. Its specific objectives include promoting the generation and dissemination of environmental law research to assist Africa’s law and policymakers to craft and implement legal frameworks that achieve the tricky balance referred to above through conferences and symposia. In partial fulfilment of this mandate, ASSELLAU held its 4th Scientific Conference in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from 10-13 January 2018.’
The Global Environmental Outlook GEO-6 – Regional Assessment for Africa (2016) highlighted:
‘Africa faces both enormous challenges in relation to environmental management, and equally huge opportunities for ‘doing this better’. Africa’s natural capital is challenged by competing uses, illegal off-take, weak resource management practices, climate change and pollution. This calls for forward looking, flexible, inclusive and integrated approaches in the formulation and implementation of policies.’
Career and Job Links
UK
The UK Environmental Law Association
Website section aimed at students
www.ukela.org
www.environmentlaw.org.uk – an easy to read guide to environmental law
Environmental Law Foundation
www.elflaw.org
Friends of the Earth, legal internships
www.jobs.friendsoftheearth.uk/vacancies
Government Legal Department
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-legal-department/about/recruitment
Lawcareers.net
Student guides to the legal profession have useful information on working in environmental law
www.lawcareers.net
Chambers Student Guide (23rd Edition was published in 2019)
www.chambersstudent.co.uk
Target Law
www.targetjobs.co.uk/career-sectors/law-solicitors
Client Earth
www.clientearth.org/how-to-become-an-environmental-lawyer-in-the-uk
Europe
European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law (IMPEL)
www.impel.eu
Euro LegalJobs
www.eurolegaljobs.com/job_search/category/environment_and_energy_law
Greenpeace International, internships
www.workfor.greenpeace.org/interns
Asia
LAWASIA
www.lawasia.asn.au
www.lawasiafiji2020.com/conference-programme
Asia Pacific Journal of Environmental Law
www.elgaronline.com/view/journals/apjel/apjel-overview.xml
Chinese Journal of Environmental Law
www.brill.com/view/journals/cjel/cjel-overview.xml
Africa
www.africa-legal.com/jobs
www.gostudy.net/occupation/environmental-lawyer
Law Society of South Africa
www.lssa.org.za
Environmental Law Association South Africa
www.elasa.co.za
North America
Environmental Law Institute
www.eli.org
Law Crossing
www.lawcrossing.com
Eco Justice
www.ecojustice.ca
Harvard Law School - A Trail Guide to Careers in Environmental Law
www.hls.harvard.edu/content/uploads/2008/07/full-working-draft.pdf
Yale Law School – Environmental Law
www.law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/area/department/cdo/document/cdo_environmental_law_public.pdf
South America
National Law Review - Latin American Environmental Regulatory Tracker
www.natlawreview.com/article/latin-american-environmental-regulatory-tracker-december-16-2018-january-15-2019
ORyan R., Ibarra C. (2016) Environmental Policy in Latin America. In: Farazmand A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. www.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_2670-1
Oceania
National Environmental Law Association (NELA)
www.nela.org.au
Environmental Justice Australia
www.envirojustice.org.au/who-we-are
Environmental Law Australia
www.envlaw.com.au
www.envlaw.com.au/links
New Zealand Centre for Environmental Law
www.auckland.ac.nz/en/law/our-research/research-institutes-centres/new-zealand-centre-for-environmental-law.html
Australia public jobs
www.apsjobs.gov.au
Global
The Legal 500
www.legal500.com
UN Jobs
www.unjobs.org/themes/environmental-law
Client Earth
www.clientearth.org
Environmental law is a vast practice area which encompasses a broad range of substantive areas of law including administrative law, tort law (related to harms caused to others), criminal and regulatory law, constitutional law and property law and has expanded to include international environmental governance, international trade, environmental justice and human rights, and climate change.
Only a few decades ago environmental law was not considered a vital area of international and national concern and was not a high priority on the global agenda. In recent years however, growing recognition that we are on the verge of an ecological and climatic crisis with irreparable consequences has pushed environmental law and policy to the forefront of public and media concern. This has forced governments and corporations to pivot and start to more coherently address environmental law and policy issues. Those working in the environmental law field tackle a wide range issues and problems such as sustainable resource development, contamination of land and water, health and safety, recycling and waste management, international trade, disaster management and assistance with development of alternative or green energy sources (All About Law, 2015).
Most modern environmental laws started to be enacted in the late 1960s and early 1970s. For example, in the 1970s member countries of the EU introduced laws to ensure the cautious use of natural resources, to minimize the ecological effects of consumption and production with particular reference to waste, conserve biodiversity and areas of key biological importance (EUR-Lex, 2015).
Similarly, in the USA, numerous foundational federal and state statutes were passed into law and implemented in the 1970s. These included the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Toxic Substances Control Act, the National Environmental Policy, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, which designated and protected species on the verge of extinction. However, these laws were views as taking a “silo” approach and failing to recognize the interconnections between water quality, watershed and wetland development and protection of wildlife habitat.
The landmark report that began to shift awareness on the need to develop more sound and comprehensive environmental law and policy was the Brundtland Commission’s pathbreaking report, Our Common Future (1987). One of the primary findings of the Brundtland Commission report is that promoting sustainability requires environmental, social and economic considerations to be fully integrated into government, corporate, community and institutional policy and decision-making processes. (McRobert, 2008) Many of the approaches to improving these decision-making processes that have been undertaken in the past 30 years have proven inadequate. Consequently citizens, corporations and other actors (such as civil society organizations) are challenging international, national and sub-national governments and administrative systems to provide creative solutions to our urgent problems in environmental and resource management and to begin to develop a new synthesis that responds to international treaties such as the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (2016) and other similar regional, bioregional and national initiatives.
Many advocates working for civil society organizations argue that environmental law should be primarily concerned with the ever-increasing ‘footprint’ humans are leaving on the planet. Further, they contend that this has been caused by processes such as industrialization and urbanization, overexploitation of natural resources (the oceans and rainforests included) and unprecedented levels of pollution (University of Law, 2013). Other lawyers working for governments and corporations argue that environmental laws, regulations and policies are intended to ensure that health and safety is safeguarded, resources are managed sustainably and parks and ensure wilderness areas are adequately protected.
Particular challenges in implementing sustainability include: 1) declining budgets and reduced investigation and enforcement for environmental matters; 2) deficiencies in information available to guide decision-makers; 3) poor transparency and accountability in decision-making about environmental values and science; 4) weak engagement of the public in participation; and 5) inability to access courts and tribunals to address these issues listed above (McRobert, 2008).
In the wake of the Brundtland report, most environmental lawyers began to recognize the enormous potential scope of environmental law and policy. Consequently, lawyers in the sector have become more specialized and often tend to focus on particular areas of expertise such as water law, environmental impact assessment, international treaties, air approvals, etc. and target provision of their services to companies and government agencies.
In the past 15-20 years, environmental law has been developing at a rapid pace in South America, particularly in regions such as Brazil, Argentina and Peru and is currently more sophisticated and well managed than ever before, often mirroring those protocols initiated in North America and the EU (Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., 2016).
In Asia, the demand for those working in environmental law is growing in countries such as Indonesia who are currently experiencing an emerging conflict between regional laws and sectoral laws who focus on discouraging natural resource depletion such as deforestation through illegal logging (Tan, 2004). Asian countries with more comprehensive environmental legislation quickly establish an environmental lawyer capacity to match.
As far back as 1999, Prof Ben Boer noted ‘More recently, in many non-Western countries and especially in Asia, environmental law has begun to enter into adulthood, manifested by significant legislative initiatives, judicial activism and a resulting environmental jurisprudence, and the establishment and growth of environmental and resource management agencies.’
Harashima (2000) assessed governance in Asia’s developing economies:
‘In Asian countries, many positive trends can be found in environmental governance. Environmental laws were strengthened, particularly in the 1970s and again in the 1990s. [However] environmental governance systems in Asia have not yet developed satisfactorily at the national level’.
Zhao, in his 2019 working paper for the Asian Development Bank Institute highlighted Asian challenges:
‘Asia faces daunting environmental challenges. A recent UNEP report finds that about 4 billion people or over 92% of the population in Asia and the Pacific are exposed to air pollution exceeding or far exceeding WHO guidelines (UNEP 2019). Some of the challenges arise from rapid industrialization, as evidenced by the severe air, water, and soil pollution in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and India, and some arise from economic development leading to resource degradation, e.g., deforestation and loss of biodiversity in Southeast Asia… Many developing countries lack adequate legal systems for citizens to bring civil or criminal lawsuits against polluters. Furthermore, corruption often undermines the incentives of government officials to enforce environmental laws and regulations.’
In support, Raine and Pluchon (2019) noted:
‘Effective laws, coupled with empowered institutions and citizens to ensure their implementation, provide the critical enabling environment necessary to deliver the environmental dimensions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other internationally agreed environmental goals. While most countries have now developed environmental legal frameworks at different levels, effective implementation remains a key challenge for almost all countries. In addition, many environmental legal frameworks need to be strengthened to respond to new and emerging issues, including new internationally agreed goals and commitments. The United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), working with partners, supports countries around the world to meet these objectives and needs. A central focus of its work is to support countries to advance the environmental rule of law.’
In terms of Africa, Alexander Paterson, in Kameri-Mbote (2019) highlighted:
‘In keeping with the spirit of forging African solutions to African challenges, scholars from across the continent formed the Association of Environmental Law Lecturers from African Universities (ASSELLAU) in 2004. Its specific objectives include promoting the generation and dissemination of environmental law research to assist Africa’s law and policymakers to craft and implement legal frameworks that achieve the tricky balance referred to above through conferences and symposia. In partial fulfilment of this mandate, ASSELLAU held its 4th Scientific Conference in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from 10-13 January 2018.’
The Global Environmental Outlook GEO-6 – Regional Assessment for Africa (2016) highlighted:
‘Africa faces both enormous challenges in relation to environmental management, and equally huge opportunities for ‘doing this better’. Africa’s natural capital is challenged by competing uses, illegal off-take, weak resource management practices, climate change and pollution. This calls for forward looking, flexible, inclusive and integrated approaches in the formulation and implementation of policies.’
Career and Job Links
UK
The UK Environmental Law Association
Website section aimed at students
www.ukela.org
www.environmentlaw.org.uk – an easy to read guide to environmental law
Environmental Law Foundation
www.elflaw.org
Friends of the Earth, legal internships
www.jobs.friendsoftheearth.uk/vacancies
Government Legal Department
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-legal-department/about/recruitment
Lawcareers.net
Student guides to the legal profession have useful information on working in environmental law
www.lawcareers.net
Chambers Student Guide (23rd Edition was published in 2019)
www.chambersstudent.co.uk
Target Law
www.targetjobs.co.uk/career-sectors/law-solicitors
Client Earth
www.clientearth.org/how-to-become-an-environmental-lawyer-in-the-uk
Europe
European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law (IMPEL)
www.impel.eu
Euro LegalJobs
www.eurolegaljobs.com/job_search/category/environment_and_energy_law
Greenpeace International, internships
www.workfor.greenpeace.org/interns
Asia
LAWASIA
www.lawasia.asn.au
www.lawasiafiji2020.com/conference-programme
Asia Pacific Journal of Environmental Law
www.elgaronline.com/view/journals/apjel/apjel-overview.xml
Chinese Journal of Environmental Law
www.brill.com/view/journals/cjel/cjel-overview.xml
Africa
www.africa-legal.com/jobs
www.gostudy.net/occupation/environmental-lawyer
Law Society of South Africa
www.lssa.org.za
Environmental Law Association South Africa
www.elasa.co.za
North America
Environmental Law Institute
www.eli.org
Law Crossing
www.lawcrossing.com
Eco Justice
www.ecojustice.ca
Harvard Law School - A Trail Guide to Careers in Environmental Law
www.hls.harvard.edu/content/uploads/2008/07/full-working-draft.pdf
Yale Law School – Environmental Law
www.law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/area/department/cdo/document/cdo_environmental_law_public.pdf
South America
National Law Review - Latin American Environmental Regulatory Tracker
www.natlawreview.com/article/latin-american-environmental-regulatory-tracker-december-16-2018-january-15-2019
ORyan R., Ibarra C. (2016) Environmental Policy in Latin America. In: Farazmand A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. www.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_2670-1
Oceania
National Environmental Law Association (NELA)
www.nela.org.au
Environmental Justice Australia
www.envirojustice.org.au/who-we-are
Environmental Law Australia
www.envlaw.com.au
www.envlaw.com.au/links
New Zealand Centre for Environmental Law
www.auckland.ac.nz/en/law/our-research/research-institutes-centres/new-zealand-centre-for-environmental-law.html
Australia public jobs
www.apsjobs.gov.au
Global
The Legal 500
www.legal500.com
UN Jobs
www.unjobs.org/themes/environmental-law
Client Earth
www.clientearth.org
