International law

Over the semester we have grappled with issues that illustrate the complicated, or dare I say convoluted, nature of the international system. As we have progressed through the course material, we found ourselves increasingly contending with complexities involved with human rights, and how it is intimately connected with issues related to the environment and climate change. Because of this, it is appropriate that my final question to you focuses on this topic. Into the abyss go….
In 1972 the UN Conference on the Human Environment took three important steps. First, it created the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which functions as a primary actor in coordinating international action. Second, the conference codified environment as an area that necessitates international cooperation. Third, with almost all heads of state in attendance, several foundational treaties were agreed upon (and the signatory states overwhelmingly supported), which provided a framework for sustainable development.
In 2015 the Paris Agreement was hailed as a significant advancement towards collectively addressing climate change. Embedded within these statues is the following:
"Emphasizing the intrinsic relationship that climate change actions, responses and impacts have with equitable access to sustainable eradication and poverty,
Recognizing the fundamental priority of safeguarding food security and ending hunger, and the particular vulnerabilities of food production systems to the adverse impacts of climate change…"
"Acknowledging that climate change is a common concern of humankind, Parties should, when taking action to address climate change, respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the right to health, the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations and the right to development, as well as gender equality, empowerment of women and intergenerational equity…"(https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/english_paris_agreement.pdf (Links to an external site.))
Furthermore, the COP26 summit in Glasgow pushed states to agree on specific and measurable markers and goals (https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/cop26-heres-what-countries-have-pledged?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhYLX2Kab9AIVCXeGCh3k4gVeEAAYASAAEgLWIvD_BwE (Links to an external site.)). This summit represented a coordinated effort quantify each state’s commitment to addressing climate change.