MEPIELAN E-Bulletin is a digital academic and practitioner newsletter of the MEPIELAN Centre, launched in 2010. It features insight articles, reflective opinions, specially selected documents and cases, book reviews as well as news on thematic topics of direct interest of MEPIELAN Centre and on the activities and role of MEPIELAN Centre. Its content bridges theory and practice perspectives of relational international law, international environmental law and participatory governance , and international negotiating process, thus serving the primary goal of Centre: to develop an integrated, inter-disciplinary, relational, context-related and sustainably effective governance approach creating, protecting and advancing international common interest for the present and future generations. Providing a knowledge- and information-sharing platform and a scholarly forum, the Bulletin promotes innovative ideas and enlightened critical views, contributing to a broader scholarly debate on important issues of international common interest. The audience of the Bulletin includes academics, practitioners, researchers, university students, international lawyers, officials and personnel of international organizations and institutional arrangements, heads and personnel of national authorities at all levels (national, regional and local), and members of the civil society at large.
UN General Assembly Paves the Way for the Adoption of the 2022 Political Declaration on Environment
November 8, 2020
Ambitiously enough, the U.N Member States have begun negotiating a political declaration on the environment to be adopted in 2022 and coincide with the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.
In June 2017, the project Global Pact for the Environment (GPE) was launched by the French think tank “Le Club des Juristes” with the aim to strengthen the effectiveness of the international environmental law by synthesizing the principles outlined in the Stockholm Declaration, the World Charter for Nature, the Rio Declaration, the IUCN World Declaration on the Environmental Rule of Law into a legally binding international instrument under the United Nations. In May 2018, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution “Towards a Global Pact for the Environment” (No. 72/277) and established a Working Group to identify possible gaps in international environmental law and environment-related instruments, with a view to strengthening their implementation.
This Working Group convened three substantive sessions in Nairobi in January, March and May 2019 and agreed on a number of recommendations. More specifically, the Working Group encouraged UN Member States and all members of the specialized agencies to strengthen, “where needed,” environmental laws, policies and regulatory frameworks at the national level. In parallel, it encouraged UN Member States and all members of the specialized agencies to mainstream environment into sectoral policies and programmes at all levels, including national development and sustainable development plans. Furthermore, the Working Group encouraged the “active and meaningful engagement” of all relevant stakeholders at all levels in the different forums related to the implementation of International Environmental Law (IEL) and environment-related instruments. Finally, the UNGA endorsed the afore-mentioned recommendations and forwarded them to the Committee of Permanent Representatives to UN Environmental Assembly (UNEA). Respectively the Committee of Permanent Representatives organized three informal substantive consultation meetings in order to follow up the UNGA mandate.
The first meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives was held virtually from 21 to 23 July 2020 and focused on the exchange of views on international environmental law and the preparation of the political declaration. According to the report of the meeting released on 9 August, a “large majority of States” stressed the importance of the Rio principles to be incorporated in the political declaration. Some states called for the declaration to advance the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. Also, the EU suggested that common understanding is needed on interpreting the principles of international environmental law, and Colombia and New Zealand called for stating the principles in the declaration. The Civil Society Group also supported this view agreeing on a set of principles for environmental rights. Moreover, the Africa Group and Chile preferred the declaration to focus on the means of implementation, while Turkey said that the declaration should include practical measures of implementation but no technical details. From its side, the EU called for the political declaration to include a follow-up mechanism whereas the US reaffirmed that it will oppose action to follow up on the 2019 recommendations.
Finally, it is to be noted that the second substantive consultation meeting is expected to take place in October 2020, and the third and final meeting in January 2021, with the aim of defining a “framework” for UNEA-5, which is expected to convene in February 2021.
MEPIELAN Centre is an international research, training and educational centre established by Professor Evangelos Raftopoulos at the Panteion University of Athens in 2008.
Before its establishment as a University Centre, MEPIELAN operated as a successful international research, training and informational programme (2002-2007) under the scientific direction of Professor Evangelos Raftopoulos and the aegis of the Panteion University of Athens, supported by the Mediterranean Action Plan/UNEP and the Greek Ministry of the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works.
MEPIELAN Centre is an accredited UNEP/MAP PARTNER (since 2013), a Member of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) (since 2016), and a Member of the Steering Committee of the MCSD (since 2019).
On 22 May 2022, MEPIELAN Centre proceeded to the development of MEPIELAN as a Non- Profit Civil Organization (INGO) for the more effective and efficient advancement of its Goals and Missions and furtherance of its activities. MEPIELAN Centre as a Non- Profit Civil Organization (INGO) is registered in Greek Law (Hellenic Business Registry, Reg. No. 16477300100) in accordance with Laws 4072/2012 & 4919/2022 as applicable
Following the mandate agreed by the adoption of the historic UNEA resolution 5/14 in March 2022, the first of the five planned meetings of the International Negotiating Committee (also known as INC-1) took place in Punta del Este, Uruguay from 28 November to 2 December 2022. More than 2.300 delegates from 160 countries and representatives from the private sector and the civil society participated at the meeting. The ultimate task of the INC is to develop an internationally binding instrument to combat plastic pollution by 2024, based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics.
The annual session of the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF 2020), convened, in a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, was held from Tuesday 7 July, to Thursday, 16 July 2020 at the UN Headquarters in New York.
