HL lenses revision

Law

Rules that govern human behaviour and are enforced by social or governmental authority.

Why are laws important

• enforcing social norms

• Protecting individual rights

• Ensuring safety

• Resolving disputes

• Limiting power of individuals and groups, including government power

Why do laws change over time?

• Sociocultural

• Technological/scientific

• Environmental

• Economic

• Ethical

• Political

• Laws can be required for important societal shifts

STEEPLE

Environmental law

The legal frameworks that protect the natural environment. Specifically to the rules about how human beings use and impact natural resources, with the aim of improving social and ecological sustainability.

Why do we need environmental laws?

• Common resources are open to exploitation

• Attempt to prevent overexploitation and degradation of natural resources

• Protect long term interests of the common good

• Ensure ethical behaviours when economic systems incentivise environmental and social harm

Examples of environmental law

• Pollution management:

The London clean air act 1956 - legal regulations to control the contamination of air, water and land.

• Management of natural resources:

The Whanganui River in New Zealand was granted legal personhood in 2017 - managing the use of natural resources including the ocean, forests and rivers.

The river is protected by law as if it was a real person.

• Biodiversity protection:

CITES (Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) - implementing local, national, and international laws to conserve habitat and species diversity.

Came from UN as a form of protection of biodiversity and habitats.

• Construction and Development projects:

The European Union Environmental Impact Assessment Directive - The use of Environmental impact assessments (EIA) to understand the possible impact of human development on ecosystems.

The Eu protects the environment from the construction works that initiated the introduction of an environmental assessment beforehand, so that it lowers the environmental impact on the ecosystem.

• Tragedy of the Commons - Great Pacific Patch:

Local Level = Laws to help promote the reduction of plastic use and promote individuals to recycle.

National Level = Individual nations have strict laws on their own territorial waters.

International level = UN convention law of the sea in 1982

No single authority can pass laws that protect the entire ocean. Each country can only manage and protect the ocean resources along its coastlines, leaving the shared common space beyond any particular jurisdiction vulnerable to pollution.

London Smog - Clean Air Act 1956

• Over 4000 people died from respiratory problems in a single week.

• Allowed local authorities to ban the released of excessive smoke and the burning of fuel in urban smokeless zones where smoke control orders have been made.

Environmental justice

The right of all people to live in a pollution-free environment, and to have equitable access to natural resources, regardless of issues such as race, gender, socio-economic status and nationality.

Willow Project

• an oil drilling project by ConocoPhillips in Alaska USA.

• Project received government approval from the Biden administration in 2023

• In 2020 Joe Biden pledged not to allow drilling on public lands and waters.

• In 2021 Biden announced a target of reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% by 2030 with 2005 as the baseline.

• 2023 - Biden approved ConocoPhillips’ Willow project for oil drilling on a federally managed reserve on Alaska’s North Slope.

• ConocoPhillips in 2022 spend a lot of money - around $8.7 million on lobbying activity, prior to the approval of Biden.

Lobbyists

The people who try to push the legislators into making some laws more demanding.

Fundraise money to buy a lobbying company and spend it on one running candidate or a certain law. It might influence the socio-economic sustainability. They influence legislators to make some laws happen and be written.

How is environmental law dependent on economic development

Corporations might lobby governments to push agendas that favour profit over the environment.

The Story of Stuff video

5 stages of the lifecycle of consumer goods:

Extraction: exploitation of natural resources, often unsustainably, leading to deforestation, habitat destruction, and depletion of non-renewable resources.

Production: factories produce goods using raw materials and chemicals, causing pollution and contributing to climate change.

Distribution: products are transported globally, consuming fossil fuels and creating carbon emissions.

Consumption: encourages a culture of consumerism, with planned obsolescence (products designed to break and become outdated) driving repeated purchases.

Disposal: Products often end up in landfills or are incinerated, causing further environmental damage and waste accumulation.

„Take-make-waste” liner economic model is unsustainable, prioritising profit over the environment and societal wellbeing.

Environmental law part 2.

• built into existing legal frameworks, but its success can vary from country to country.

• Requires effective enforcement of laws through:

• Strong administrative and legal institutions

• General acceptance by society

• Adequate funding

• To support the environmental protection measures required by law.

What are the requirements for effective enforcement

• strong administrative and legal institutions

Examples: Germany’s Federal Environmental Agency, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• general acceptance by the society

Methods: Education campaigns in Sweden, Public awareness programs in Costa Rica

• adequate funding and resources

Sources: European Union Funding for Environmental projects, Green Climate Fund.

Legal Strategies for protecting the environment

• Regulations of harmful practices through laws

• Example: Fines for illegal dumping

• Real-World Example: CLEAN WATER ACT (U.S) - regulates discharges of pollutants into water bodies.

Economic strategies to protect the environment

• valuation of ecosystem services to incentivise sustainable practices

• Example: Carbon credits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions

• Real World Example: EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) - a cap-and-trade system to reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions.

Integration approaches

• Successful outcomes often arise from combining legal and economic strategies

• Example: Laws imposing fines for oil spills incentivise companies to adopt better practices

• Real World Example: California’s Cap and Trade Program - integrates regulatory measures and market-based approaches.

Challenges:

• Stakeholder agreement = difficulty in achieving consensus among various interest groups

• Valuation issues = complexities in assigning economic value to ecosystem services and addressing degradation

Constitution

The basic principles and laws for a nation, state or social group that determine the powers and duties of the government and guarantee certain rights to the people in it.

Environmental constitutionalism

The introduction of environmental rights and obligations into the constitution of individual countries.

“Bill amended”

When environmental laws are approved in a country

Local, National and International levels of laws

• National and international level laws supersede those made at a local level

• International laws / bilateral agreements (between 2 countries) may be created and applied in transboundary issues related to pollution and resource management.

Examples of Local, National and International

Local:

• Traffic Congestion London $30 fee = toll roads

• Fly Tipping fines - waste & recycling laws

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT ACT 1999 SG (NEA)

National:

• USA EPA (1970)

• Clean Water Act (USA)

• China’s new air law 2015

• EU Soil Health Law 2023

• India Biological Diversity act 2002

• German Verpackungsverodnung 1991

• Closed substance cycle and Waste management act in 1996

International:

• Montreal protocol (ozone)

• Kyoto Protocol (GHGs)

• Paris Agreement (Climate Change)

• CITES (Trade of Endangered species)

• IUCN (conservation of nature - red list)

Transboundary issues of pollution

Pollution that originates in one country but can cause damage in another country’s environment, by crossing over borders through pathways like water or air.

Transboundary resource management

Any process of cooperation across boundaries that facilitates or improves the management of natural resources to the benefits of all parties concerned.

ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary haze pollution

Legally binding environmental agreement signed in 2002 by the member states of the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations to reduce haze pollution in Southeast Asia.

The agreement recognises that transboundary haze pollution, which results from land and/or forest fires, should be mitigated through concerted national efforts and international co-operation.

UN conferences

Produce international conventions (agreements) that are legally binding, and protocols that may become legally binding, to all signatories.

International level environmental organisations

1. United Nations (UN)

2. United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)

3. World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

4. Greenpeace

5. Client Earth

6. CITES

Causes of climate change, its consequences and solutions inevitably cross national borders, so environmental law frequently requires international discussion and regulation.

The UN held one of the first international summits on environmental problems and issues in 1972. Since then, governments at multiple levels - involving human rights groups, NGOs, and other international groups - have developed various frameworks, policies and treaties to safeguard natural resources, protect the environment and forge connections between nations. International environmental lawyers have played a significant role in this.

Montreal Protocol

• 1987, Montreal

• Further amendments: 2016 Kigali Amendment

• Reduction in production and consumption of ozone depleting substances (ODS)

• Issues/economic impact: timeline for implementation between MEDC/LEDC and problems with HCFCs

Rio Earth Summit

• 1992, Rio de Janeiro

• Further amendments: Kyoto and Paris agreements

• Sustainable Development, Protect indigenous land from environmental degradation

• Issues/economic impacts: failure of political leadership, commitment and vision; subsequently Rio+10 and Rio+20

Kyoto Protocol

• 1997, Kyoto, Japan at COP3

• Further amendments: Copenhagen 2009, Durban 2011

• Agreements made to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases with legally binding targets

• Issues/economic impact: Larger more powerful nations can veto the agreements, China, USA, and Australia did not sign.

Paris Agreement

• 2015 Paris, France at COP2

• Further amendments: future COP conferences

• Hold the increase in average global temperature well below pre-industrial levels

• Issues/economic impact: USA signed up to the agreement with President Obama. President Trump then withdrew.

CITES

• an international agreement drafted in 1963 and finalised in 1975 to ensure that the trade in animals and plants does not threaten the species survival.

• Supervises international trade in certain animals and plants through a licensing system.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

• provides research and support to various stakeholders to support biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources

• Red List: uses a variety of quantitative and qualitative factors to assess the extinction risk of animals, plants, and fungi.

Court

A group of people presided over by a judge dealing with administration of legal issues

Tribunal

A specific or specialised set of people (court) chosen to handle a specific legal issue.

International Court of Justice

• 1945

• The Hague, Netherlands

• The principal judicial organ of the United Nations; settles legal disputes between states and gives advisory opinions on International legal issues.

• Key focus: addresses issues related to international law, including environmental disputes (e.g. Argentina vs. Uruguay).

International tribunal for the law of the sea (ITLOS)

• 1996

• Hamburg, Germany

• Provides a forum for the settlement of disputes arising out of the interpretation and application of The United Nations Convention on the law of the sea (UNCLOS)

• Key focus: protects marine environment and manages disputes related to maritime boundaries and resources (eg MOX plant case)

European Court of Justice (ECJ)

• 1952

• Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

• Ensures EU law is interpreted and applied uniformly across member states; resolves disputes between EU institutions, member states, and individuals.

• Key focus: enforces EU environmental laws and regulations addressing issues like waste management compliance (eg. Commission vs. Belgium).

Personhood

The status of being a person. Legal person can have rights, protections and legal liability in law.

Environmental personhood

Links with indigenous knowledge systems that do not recognise the distinction between humans and nature, environmental value systems (anthropocentric vs. Ecocentric) and to a rights based (deontological) ethics approach. Granting this can promote stronger environmental protection.

Corporate Personhood / Juridical personality

The legal notion that a juridical person such as a corporation, separately from its associated human beings (owners, managers, or employees), has at least some of the legal rights and responsibilities enjoyed by natural persons. In most countries, a corporation has the same rights as a natural person to hold property, enter contracts and to sue or be sued.

What is nature became a legal person?

1. By granting legal personhood, natural entities could sue, ensuring that their interests and needs are directly represented and protected in legal proceedings.

2. Granting legal personhood will allow for compensation to be directed towards the restoration and preservation of the affected natural entity, ensuring that the environment itself benefits from legal remedies.

Whanganui River - New Zealand

• largest navigating river in Aotearoa.

• The river has provided physical and spiritual support to Whanganui river iwi (tribes) and their hapu (families) from mount Tongariro to the Tasman sea.

• March 2017 - became the first river in the world to be granted legal personhood, after a legal battle of 160 years.

• Impacts: making sure that the river is legally protected and represented by legal proceedings, has human rights, ensures benefits from legal remedies, allows to continue indigenous traditions, motivation for other countries and promotion of treating rivers like human entities, caring for the environment, elevated image of NZ.

Mar Menor - Spain

• southern Spain, once a sanctuary for marine life

• Affected by agricultural practices in the region between 2016-2021

• Plagued by algae blossoms from excessive use of fertilisers

• Eutrophication depletes oxygen from the water causing death of many aquatic species.

• The Spanish parliament passed a law 19/2022 in September 2022 in an effort to restore and protect Mar Menor.

• The law recognised the lagoon and its basin as a legal person and granted it a set of explicit legal rights.

Whales and dolphins in the pacific

In April 2024, pacific indigenous leaders from the Cook Islands, French Polynesia , New Zealand and Tonga signed the „Ha Whakaputanga Moana” treaty, granting legal personhood to whales and dolphins. This designation aims to protect these cetaceans by recognising their rights, including freedom of movement and a healthy environment. The treaty needs stronger national enforcement and action against threats like fishing, mining, and climate change. It also reflects the cultural bond between Pacific communities and marine life, as well as highlighting the importance of indigenous perspectives in environmental conservation.

Hippos of the Magdalena River

In October 2021, a US federal court recognised animals as legal persons for the first time, allowing the Animal Legal Defence Fund to collect testimony in the US on behalf of hippos in Colombia. The hippos, descendants of animals once owned by Pablo Escobar, were at risk of culling. This historic ruing set a precedent for using legal systems to defend animal rights, emphasising their recognition as individuals with interests worth protecting, though its long term impact on broader animal welfare law remains to be seen.

Happy Elephant, Bronx Zoo

In June 2022 New York’s highest court ruled that Happy, an Asian elephant in the Bronx zoo, is not a legal person thus cannot be released via habeas corpus - a legal procedure to address unlawful detention. The court acknowledgment elephants’ intelligence but stated that habeas corpus applies to only humans. Animal rights advocates had argued for Happy’s personhood based on her cognitive abilities, including passing a mirror self-recognition test, which indicates self-awareness.

Economics

Studies how humans produce, distribute and consume goods and services both individually and collectively.

It examines how resources are allocated based on supply and demand and the effects of market interactions. It looks at the decisions made by individuals, businesses, governments and countries regarding resource distribution.

Sustainable development

Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future generations.

Component: Economic growth / environmental protection / social equity / institutional capacity

Examples: reducing single use plastic consumption

Market failure

When allocation of goods and services by the free market negatively impacts the environment

Example: Pollution from a factory causes more damage to welfare than goods its producing

Externalities

When the impact of economic activity affects third parties not directly involved - can be positive or negative.

Example: Negative - air pollution impacting neighbouring countries.

Valuation

Assigning economic value to natural resources and their depletion. Considers use and non-use value.

Example: non-use value = intrinsic value / beautiful scenery

Cost-benefit analysis

Opportunity cost - considering the benefits of a policy with the perceived cost.

Example: increased cost may decrease human well being.

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

One of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history. Exxon settled in 1991 with funds disbursed in 3 discrete parts: criminal plea agreement ($25 million), criminal restitution ($100 million) and civil settlement ($900 million).

Negative externalities

Creates unplanned outcomes that harm the environment or the general public.

Also called “third party effects” or “spillover effects”.

Positive externalities

Occasionally economic endeavours can have positive impacts of the environment and public.

Polluter pays principle

The costs of stopping, managing and cleaning up the pollution are covered by the polluter.

Environmental economics has created solutions such as quotas, fines, taxes, tradable permits, carbon neutral certification that ensure polluters pays to limit the burden to society.

Greenwashing / green sheen

Where companies use marketing to give themselves a more environmentally friendly image.

It is a form of misinformation when companies or organisations spend time and money on marketing themselves as sustainable or environmentally friendly rather than on changing practices to become more sustainable.

Examples:

• oil companies who claim to transition to clean energy

• Carbon off setting

Accounting

The process of recording and processing information about economic entities, such as business and corporations.

Environmental accounting

Attempt to attach economic value to natural resources and their depletion.

• what we are losing in the long term

• Intrinsic value

• Impact of the economy on the environment.

A statistical system bringing together economic and environmental info in a common framework to measure the contribution of the environment on the economy and the impact of the economy on the environment.

Green accounting

Problematic in achieving a consensus value for all stakeholders

Environment as resource of capital

Everything we have comes from nature. Without it there would be an economic downfall. $75 trillion = man-made GDP - $125 trillion = added value of nature. 13% of economic value is accountant for the to the environment made from primary and secondary production.

Tragedy of commons

Where individuals have access to a shared resource (common) and act in their own interest, at the expense of other individuals. This can result in overconsumption, underinvestment and depletion of resources.

Highlights the problem where property rights are not clearly delineated and no market price is attached to a common good, resulting in overexploitation.

Ostrom principles

1. Commons have clearly defined boundaries

2. Local circumstances considered

3. Many users involved in decisions

4. Monitoring of the commons

5. Sanctions imposed for abuse of the commons

6. Resolve conflicts effectively

7. Rights of the commons assigned

8. Commons nested within a larger network

Elinor Ostrom

Was awarded the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for her analysis of economic governance and commons law

International waters - tragedy of the commons

Overexploitation of the aquatic species of the international waters has led to it being classified as a Tragedy of the Commons and as a result the UN high seas treaty was agreed in Sept 2023 - with a specific target to prevent biodiversity loss in the high seas in two thirds of the planet’s oceans.

Iceland Cod - Sustainable harvesting

Iceland sustainably manages its cod fisheries through strict quotas, scientific monitoring and ecosystem-based approaches to maintain fish stocks and biodiversity. Transparency (share data on locations) and weigh the haul (public data within 24hrs) + sustainable management certificate (SDGs - life below water).

Use value economics

When people benefit directly from the use of the goods or service. For example using water from a well.

Calculation:

• opportunity cost (the price of missing out on the next best alternatives (it actually costs))

• Replacement cost

• Pricing techniques

Non-use value

May include the intrinsic value of a species, the potential for future use or the value it may have for forthcoming generations. It can be established by estimating through surveys how much people would be willing to pay for a common good, or how much compensation would they be willing to accept in return for the destruction of the common good.

Exxon Valdez oil spill 1989

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (1989)

The Exxon Valdez oil spill released 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska, causing extensive ecological damage to marine life, coastal habitats, and local fisheries. It highlighted the vulnerability of ecosystems to human activity and the long-lasting effects of pollution.

Non-Use Value Example (IB ESS):

The spill harmed the intrinsic value of pristine Alaskan wilderness, which many people value for its existence alone (existence value). Even individuals who may never visit the area felt the loss of biodiversity and the damage to this untouched ecosystem, demonstrating the significance of non-use values in environmental decision-making.

How a lake would be assessed on use and non use value

Water Quality, drinking water, recreational and aesthetic pleasure, spiritual importance, flood prevention.

Methods: Willingness to pay surveys, choice experiments, environmental impact assessments.

Opportunity cost

The benefit forgone from making a decision. Economists analyse the benefit forgone - which means economists look at the benefit that the unsuccessful choice would have given.

Mexico deepwater horizon (Deepwater Horizon oil spill) - polluter pays principle

An explosion on the oil rig April 20th 2010 caused an 87 day leak of 210 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean in the Gulf Mexico. It is considered one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. 11 people died in the explosion and the environmental damage and the subsequent clean up led to an $18.4 billion USD settlement.

Ecological economics

• views the economy as a subsystem of Earth’s larger biosphere and the social system as being a subcomponent of ecology.

• Places emphasis on the sustainable use of natural capital, applying the precautionary principle to minimise environmental and social impacts.

• Says that the tragedy of the commons happened because we have assigned no value to natural capital.

• Addendum = addition

Precautionary principle

If a product, an action or a policy has a suspected risk od causing harm to the public or the environment, protective action should be supported before there is complete scientific proof of a risk (Olsen and Motarjemi, 2014).

Ecological economist

Perceives the biosphere as a system with inputs of solar energy sustaining natural energy and material resources that enter the economic subsystem which, in turn, produces wastes and an overall loss of low-grade thermal energy from the biosphere.

Environmental economics

• studies the relationship between the economy and the environment

• Considers the value of natural capital and cost of depletion of resources and damage to ecosystems

• Aims to support policies to protect the environment

Ecological economics

• emphasises the value of natural capital alongside physical, human and financial capital.

• More inclusive

• Cross disciplinary

• More holistic

• Views the economy as a subsystem to Earth’s larger biosphere

GDP

The monetary measure of all goods and services produced by a country in a given period of time.

Influence of economic growth

Influenced by supply and demand and may be perceived as a measure of prosperity.

Per capita GDP (per person)

A more accurate assessment of living standards but does not consider inequalities in the actual distribution of income.

GPI

Genuine progress indicator considering everything the GDP uses but also adds other figures that represent the cost of negative effects related to economic activity, such as the cost of crime, ozone depletion, and the cost of resource depletion, among others.

Negative effects on the environment from economic growth

• can be a complex issue as it raises questions about environmental justice for those who are impacted by increased consumption

• May lead to a higher consumption of non-renewable resources, increased pollution levels, global warming and the loss of natural habitats.

Positive effects on the environment from economic growth

• can provide resources to protect the environment and increased education and awareness to address environmental problems like pollution.

Eco-economic decoupling

The notion of separating economic growth from environmental degradation.

Economic decoupling

An economy still able to grow without causing impact to the environment. It can be measured using a variety of decoupling indicators such as CO2 emissions.

• while some countries such as Sweden have claimed some success in decoupling CO2 emissions from economic growth, it seems impossible that there should ever be absolute decoupling.

Indefinite growth

Would seem to require infinite availability of resources, though some argue that technological development can make this possible. Relative Decoupling may occur, where resource degradation is at least reduced - although rigs still allows for some degradation.

Slow/no/zero or degrowth

• ecological economics supports the need for de-growth, zero growth or slow growth, and advocates planned reduction in consumption and production, particularly in high income countries.

• Kate Raworth - designer of the donut model suggested economic stagnation is an indication of prosperity.

• Stagnation indicates a country has neared its ceiling for economic success or has shifted the material basis of economy from manufacturing to services.

De-growth

A planned reduction of energy and resource use designed to bring the economy back into balance with the living world in a way that reduces inequality and improves human wellbeing.

• higher productivity can be achieved by higher efficiency (and not higher GDP), however this may lead to fewer jobs and equity issues.

Goal of ecological economics

Balancing the ecological footprint of a country with its bio-capacity leads to sustainability.

Precautionary Principle

Encourages us to act carefully when there’s a risk of environmental harm, even if we don’t have all the facts. This proactive approach helps us avoid irreversible damage and supports a sustainable future.

Burden of proof

Encourages us to act normally without any precautions, as we do not have any facts that it harms the environment.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

A set of social and environmental goals and targets to guide action on sustainability and environmental justice. Provides a framework for sustainable development supported by UN and address the global challenges faced by humanity including those related to poverty, inequality, climate environmental degradation, prosperity and peace and justice by 2030.

Uses:

-       Setting a common ground for policymaking; relating to both development and developing countries

-       Galvanizing the international community into addressing economic and social inequality

Limitations:

-       Goals not going far enough

-       Goals being top down and bureaucratic

-       Tending to ignore local context

• Lacking in supportive data

Planetary Boundaries Model

proposed in 2009 describes the nine processes and systems that have regulated the stability and resistanceof the Earth system in the Holocene epoch. (the last 11,700 years since the last ice age) The model also identifies the limits of human disturbance to those systems and proposes that crossing those limits increases the risk of abrupt and irreversible changes to Earth systems.

Boundaries:

-       Climate change

-       Stratospheric ozone depletion

-       Atmospheric aerosol loading

-       Ocean acidification

-       Biogeochemical flows

-       Freshwater change

-       Land-system change

-       Biosphere integrity

-       Novel entities

Uses:

-       Identifies science-based limits to human disturbance of Earth systems

-       Highlights the need to focus on more than climate change (which dominates discussion)

-       Alerts the public and policymakers about the urgent need for action to protect Earth systems

Limitations:

-       Focuses only on ecological systems and does not consider the human dimension necessary to act for environmental justice

-       The model is a work in progress – assessments for boundaries are changing as new data becomes available

The focus on global boundaries may not be a useful guide for local and country-level action.

Doughnut economy model

• a framework for creating a regenerative and distributive economy in order to meet the needs of all people within the means of the planet.

• Social foundation = inner boundary of the doughnut (based on the social SDGs).

• Ecological ceiling = outer boundary of the doughnut (based on planetary boundaries science).

• Together the social foundations and the ecological ceiling represent the minimum conditions for an economy that is ecologically safe and socially just - thus, the doughnut is the “safe and just space for humanity”.

Strengths:

• Ecological + social elements = environmental justice concept

• Reached popular awareness and it is being used at different scales (eg, city, country, neighbourhood, business) to support action on sustainability.

Limitations:

• a work in progress - different groups are trying to apply the model for concrete action.

• Advocates broad principles of regenerative and distributive practice but does not propose specific policies.

Circular economy model

• Promotes decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources.

• 3 principles: eliminating waste and pollution, circulating products and materials_{, and regenerating nature.}

• _{Promotes sustainability by designing systems that reuse resources, minimise waste and operate within natural cycles.}

Uses:

• regeneration of natural systems

• Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

• Improvement of local food networks and support of local communities

• Reduction of waste by extending product life cycle

• Changed consumer habits

Limitations:

• lack of environmental awareness by consumers and companies

• Lack of regulations enforcing recycling of products

• Some waste is not recyclable - technical limitations

• Lack of financial considerations

• Inequity - some countries cannot access the technology or recycling.

Food inequality Haiti, Caribbean

Food inequality in Haiti arises from poverty, reliance on costly food imports, environmental challenges, weak agriculture, and political instability. These food issues limit access to affordable, nutritious food, particularly for rural and poor communities, leading to malnutrition, health disparities, and economic stagnation. Sustainable solutions require supporting local agriculture, improving infrastructure, and reducing dependency on imports and aid.

Water toxicity – Flint Michigan, USA

Water toxicity in Flint, Michigan, refers to a public health crisis that began in 2014 when the city’s water supply was switched from Lake Huron to the Flint River. The river water, which was not properly treated, caused lead to leach from old pipes into the drinking water, exposing residents to high levels of lead. This resulted in widespread health problems, especially for children, and sparked a national outcry over water safety and government negligence.

Energy inequality, Beirut, Lebanon

Energy inequality in Beirut, Lebanon, refers to the uneven access to reliable electricity in the city. Due to a combination of outdated infrastructure, government mismanagement, and frequent power shortages, many residents experience daily blackouts and rely on expensive private generators for power. This creates a significant disparity, with wealthier areas able to afford stable electricity, while poorer neighborhoods suffer more from energy insecurity.