Is law failing to address air pollution? Reflections on international and EU developments

Abstract

Air pollution is a major global environmental problem, with various adverse effects on health and the environment. This introductory article provides an overview of related global and regional legal instruments. The article evaluates the legal landscape in terms of its coverage, geographic scope and effectiveness, and concludes that the legal measures currently in place fall far short of providing an adequate response to the problem of air pollution. Thus, there is a clear need to strengthen global and regional cooperation to improve air quality. Such cooperation is likely to take non-binding and flexible forms and involve both wider participation among States and broader engagement of various stakeholders. The informal character of cooperation also makes it possible to experiment with new governance approaches that are difficult to implement within the context of traditional international law.