Environmental Rule of Law: Tracking Progress and Charting Future Directions

United Nations 2 years ago

NAIROBI – 22  November 2023 – The Environmental Rule of Law: Tracking Progress and Charting Future Directions report provides a comprehensive assessment of developments since the release of the First Global Report on Environmental Rule of Law in 2019. Through collecting and analysing data from a survey of 193 UN Member States regarding their laws, institutions, civic engagement, rights and justice, the report highlights the most prevalent aspects of environmental rule of law across countries and tracks progress in addressing the triple planetary crisis. Six cross-cutting findings are highlighted: the COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on environmental rule of law, both positive and negative; the recognition and integration of environmental rights has accelerated; there is growing attention to specialised environmental enforcement, particularly in the development and capacity building of institutions; women are champions of environmental rule of law; environmental rule of law is undergoing a technological revolution; and climate change continues to be both a dominant context for environmental rule of law efforts and a driver of actions to advance it.   Further, the report makes four recommendations: standardize and track environmental rule of law indicators; develop guidance on environmental rule of law in emergencies and disasters; integrate social justice in environmental institutions; and establish a technology-policy interface. This report seeks to fulfil the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP’s) mandate to promote and advance environmental rule of law pursuant to UNEP’s 2013 Governing Council Decision 27/9, the 2019 United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) Resolution 4/20 which adopted the Fifth Montevideo Programme for the Development and Periodic Review of Environmental Law, as well as the Political Declaration of the special session of the UNEA to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of UNEP.
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layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 7 hours ago



Holcim’s decision to concentrate its global innovation hub in Switzerland strengthens its leadership in sustainable construction and signals a decisive step toward net zero whole life carbon. Advances in low‑clinker cements and mineralised aggregates are redefining embodied carbon in materials and transforming perceptions of green construction.

These innovations support whole life carbon assessments that measure not only operational performance but also the carbon footprint of construction through every phase of a building lifecycle. Teesside’s deployment of 3D‑printed low carbon construction materials within the East Coast Cluster demonstrates how low carbon design can deliver resource efficiency in construction while cutting waste and emissions. The application of such technologies reinforces a wider shift toward circular economy practices in construction, linking material innovation with end‑of‑life reuse in construction and lifecycle assessment disciplines.

The Santa Marta Conference’s legally binding drive for fossil‑fuel phase‑out enhances regulatory certainty for developers pursuing net zero carbon buildings and carbon neutral construction pathways. At the same time, major investors overseeing $1.3 trillion are demanding stronger climate accountability, warning that projects lacking genuine sustainable building design now face financial and reputational penalties.

This intensifies the need for developers to embed whole life carbon strategies from concept to completion, integrating life cycle cost forecasting with comprehensive environmental sustainability in construction frameworks such as BREEAM and BREEAM v7. Policy, capital and innovation are coalescing around effective eco‑design for buildings.

The convergence of low carbon building technologies and sustainable material specification highlights a structural transition in the sector, where sustainability and life cycle thinking in construction underpin competitiveness. Governments aligning energy security with the built environment are reinforcing the circular economy and encouraging renewable building materials that deliver measurable environmental product declarations (EPDs). The implication is unequivocal: sustainable building practices and sustainable design are no longer aspirational but mandatory drivers of value creation across green infrastructure and sustainable urban development. Decarbonising the built environment has become the operational benchmark of responsible growth.

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