Global Environmental Court Could Punish U.S. and Others

[n2doc]

By Robert Roy Britt, Editorial Director
posted: 01 December 2008 09:35 am ET

The United States' dodge of the Kyoto Protocol and other environmental initiatives might no longer go unpunished in the future.

A British judge has proposed an international "supreme legal authority" to rule on environmental issues and punish countries and companies that degrade the environment, according to a news report.

The ruling body — just an idea at this point — would be similar to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

The new body would enforce any global agreements on limiting greenhouse gas emissions, for one thing. But it would also "fine countries or companies that fail to protect endangered species or degrade the natural environment and enforce the 'right to a healthy environment,'" according to The Telegraph.

The United States is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, an international environmental treaty aimed at stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, but the effect is non-binding because the country has never ratified the protocall.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has reportedly agreed that the concept of an international environmental authority "will be taken into account when considering how to make these international agreements on climate change binding," the newspaper reports.

more:

http://www.livescience.com/environment/081201-environment-court.html