Lord Carnwath in Rio
25 June 2012
The World Congress on Justice, Governance and Law for Environmental Sustainability was a gathering in Rio between 17 - 20 June 2012, of more than 150 judges, prosecutors, public auditors and enforcement agencies from some 60 countries.
Hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the event aimed to to improve the effective implementation of environmental commitments, including multilateral environmental agreements.
"While politicians may have failed to agree any headline-grabbing commitments in the main event at Rio this week, a sister conference quietly showed how judges in courts and tribunals across the world are adapting to give practical effect to laws for the protection of the environment. It also pointed the way to strengthening them nationally and internationally in the future," writes Lord Carnwath in an article for The Guardian.