On September 19, 2024, the GW Law Environmental & Energy Law Program hosted its Environmental Law Fellows Panel, spotlighting prominent environmental law leaders who previously served or currently serve as Environmental Law Fellows in our program. Moderated by Assistant Dean Randall Abate, the hybrid event featured Achinthi Vithanage (Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University), Nick Bryner (LSU Law),Caitlin McCoy (Commission for Environmental Cooperation), and Giovanna Gismondi (The George Washington University Law School). Dayna Matthew, Dean of GW Law, delivered introductory remarks that drew attention to the pressing need for innovative legal strategies to promote effective climate change and biodiversity governance and environmental justice protections, while highlighting the vital role of legal education in shaping future leaders in this critical field.
Caitlin McCoy began by exploring the submissions process under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), focusing on recent environmental enforcement actions. McCoy highlighted significant recent cases presented to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) Secretariat, including the investigation into Mexico’s failure to protect the critically endangered Vaquita Porpoise and the Secretariat’s recommendation for a factual record regarding vessel pollution in Pacific Canada. These cases underscore the rising importance of enforcement mechanisms in international trade agreements for biodiversity conservation.
Professor Achinthi Vithanage shifted the discussion to the high seas, presenting her scholarship on the newly adopted Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (“BBNJ Agreement”). Her analysis explored the intricate legal frameworks of international environmental law that shape marine conservation, particularly focusing on the precautionary principle’s role in addressing deep-sea mining and overfishing. Prof. Vithanage’s work, to be published in a forthcoming volume, argues that the BBNJ Agreement could serve as a vital tool in bridging gaps left by earlier treaties such as United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Professor Nick Bryner addressed the evolving principle of non-regression in environmental law, drawing comparisons between Latin American constitutional frameworks and U.S. environmental statutes. Non-regression means that environmental law protections should not be removed or reduced because regression implicates human rights. He emphasized how courts across Latin America, including Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador, have leveraged non-regression to fortify citizens’ rights to a clean environment. Prof. Bryner’s exploration extended to international agreements such as the Escazú Agreement and the Paris Agreement in framing non-regression as a key doctrine in both hemispheric and global environmental governance.
Professor Giovanna E Gismondi concluded the panel by examining the right to a healthy environment within the Inter-American human rights system. She spotlighted two landmark cases: La Oroya v. Peru, the first Inter-American Court of Human Rights case to fully flesh out the substance of the right to a healthy environment, and Cordella and Others v. Italy, an environmental pollution case from the European Court of Human Rights. She addressed state liability and compensation for environmental damage from air pollution. Prof. Gismondi underscored the growing trend in environmental litigation that places the burden of proof on states to prove, based on evidence, that they are fulfilling their environmental obligations, framing these cases as potential blueprints for future international human rights-based environmental claims.
Overall, the panel discussion highlighted the ongoing evolution of environmental law, where national sovereignty, human rights, and global ecological crises intersect, reinforcing the need for strong legal frameworks to ensure environmental accountability across jurisdictions. Following the presentations, a Q&A session engaged the audience in further dialogue on these pertaining issues. The event concluded with a networking session, allowing attendees to engage with the panelists and each other, fostering valuable connections and discussions on pressing environmental governance issues.
