The project of a Global Pact for the Environment was born in the wake of the adoption in 2015 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement. In this context of positive momentum, this initiative led by France set itself the objective of producing a universally adopted text to promote and strengthen the implementation of international environmental governance. On the basis of a UN technical report identifying and assessing possible gaps in international environmental law and environmental texts, Member States must now decide whether to initiate intergovernmental negotiations with a view to adopting such an international instrument.

    During this session of the Sustainable Development and Environmental Economics Seminar (SDDEE), the speakers will analyse, respectively: (1) the challenges of the consultation process that begins on 14 January in Nairobi, Kenya, from a historical perspective that will help provide a better understanding of the motivations for this initiative and the potential pitfalls of its implementation; (2) the usefulness of the Pact within an international environmental governance already richly endowed with agreements, treaties and other instruments; (3) the ability of the Pact to advance the effective implementation of international environmental law, particularly around the concept of climate justice.

    The speakers will be:

    • Elisabeth Hege, Research Fellow, Governance and Financing of Sustainable Development, IDDRI
    • Michel Prieur, President of the International Centre for Comparative Environmental Law
    • Marta Torre-Schaub, Research Director at the CNRS, Director of the Law and Climate Change Network

    The debate will be moderated by Lucien Chabason, IDDRI Senior Adviser.