Mohammed Rashid Al-Sulaiti
Climate change is a caveat sign of inefficient environmental regulations. Therefore, looking at environmental regulations conscientiously gives us the ability to envisage a better environmental quality domestically.
Having attended COP26, I was rather disappointed that legislation development in relation to climate change was not a prominent part of the agenda. Nevertheless, the hosting country pre-empted the passing of the Climate Change Act (2008).
Generally speaking, it is crucial to set out impenetrable environmental legislation to curtail any consequences that could have occurred. Since the preindustrial period, a myriad of environmental laws have been enacted. Arguably, implementing a large number of environmental laws is not the solution per se, the implementation of these laws is what can be convoluted. When looking at particular environmental legislation, it is important to stress that environmental protection is the exclusive duty of all sectors under a jurisdiction.
For instance, it is important that public and private sectors bolster their connection in the context of environmental protection. Climate change is increasingly becoming a contentious topic that the policymakers have failed in several attempts to come up with a momentous decision nationally and internationally.
Environmental law is a nascent branch of law. However, a large number of legal scholars made an optimistic prophecy of its future, envisaging a better world. Most environmentalists are discontent with the status quo, and many concerns have been raised to curtail the spending on fossil fuels. For some, investing in renewable energy is a lucrative and pre-emptive action. For others, it is too presumptuous for an uncertain future. The real predicament here is that a lot of vulnerable groups have been stripped of their basic rights because of environmental changes. The consequences of climate change have become both pervasive and noticeable. Most of these consequences are idiosyncratic and down to climate change.
The same as for human beings, when the earth’s circadian has been disrupted, it would be easy to pervasively see the disruptions everywhere. Unfortunately, as of its pluralistic problems, environmental laws have to be made by dextrous lawmakers. Many environmental lawyers connote evidence in environmental cases, and are ascertainable through a number of valid methods including brief policy papers, qualitative and quantitative research papers. In an environmental case that usually happens between two parties, it is straightforward to identify the “polluter” or the “delinquent”. In many cases the delinquent will claim that the pollution activity was inadvertent. However, it can be argued that some environmental cases are ephemeral, and there will be no need to bring the case to court.
At an international level, environmental cases can be capricious and will require equal and monolithic understanding between all parties.
To this end, environmental law is increasingly becoming tumultuous. For any state to avoid an anarchic situation it may have, its legal system should be a springboard for further development of exhaustive environmental legislation. For this reason, it is important to look at the minor changes and not leave the imperceptible environmental changes to go unnoticed.
*The author is a doctoral researcher at the Centre for Environmental Policy of Imperial College London.
