IGIR & Sustainability

Sustainable development is a holistic approach that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This concept, as defined in the Brundtland Report ("Our Common Future"), emphasises the balance between sustainability and development, reflecting two sides of the same coin.

The transition towards sustainability necessitates a comprehensive understanding of regime interaction, particularly the interplay between international economic regulation and other areas of international law, such as international environmental law, human rights law, and public international law (PIL). This interaction underscores the importance of science-based regulatory changes, informed by knowledge from various social and natural sciences.

The transition towards sustainability prompts regulatory changes at multiple policy levels: international, regional and domestic levels. It results in a dynamic interplay between these policy levels, and with domestic and international litigation. The EU plays a prominent role in this context, developing unilateral regulatory changes with the ambition to level the playing field between domestic and foreign products and companies.

Governments employ various policy levers to internalise environmental externalities, using both incentives ("carrots") and disincentives ("sticks"). Examples of carrots include subsidies that encourage positive environmental practices, while sticks may involve taxes, product standards, bans, and labeling requirements aimed at mitigating negative environmental impacts. Additionally, through ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) reporting and due diligence obligations, governments increasingly leverage companies’ responsibilities and capabilities to bring about the green transition, indirectly also affecting other companies across the value chain.

A critical aspect of the transition towards sustainability relates to inclusiveness, both within societies (internal inclusiveness) and across societies (external inclusiveness). This involves analysing whether regulatory changes lead to a "just transition," considering the costs and benefits of such changes in light of the responsibilities and capabilities of various stakeholders, including states, companies, communities, and individuals.

This interdisciplinary collaboration at Maastricht University involves the Faculty of Law, Faculty of Science & Engineering and UNU-MERIT, funded by Sustainable UM2030. The project focuses on transitioning from fossil-fuel-based products to biobased alternatives to combat climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Our research aims at (i) measuring accurately the environmental price (including carbon footprint) of biobased products; (ii) analysing international regulations promoting the use of biobased products in an inclusive and sustainable way; and (iii) developing industry strategies to facility this transition.

Belén Gracia and Prof. Dominic Coppens are actively engaged with the global plastic treaty negotiations. Belén is conducting PhD research on the intersection of international law and the circular economy in plastics, with a particular focus on developing countries.

We organised roundtable discussions to facilitate dialogue on circular economy regulations between the EU and Brazil. These discussions involve representatives from the public and private sectors, as well as academia.

IGIR participated in Making Agricultural Trade Sustainable (MATS), an interdisciplinary consortium funded under EU Horizon 2020 and comprising 14 partners in the North and the South.  MATS focused on changes in agricultural trade policy that foster positive and reduce negative impacts of trade on sustainable development and human rights. For more information, see here.

Prof. Dominic Coppens was part of a group of leading international experts in trade, environmental, and public international law. This group developed guidance on principles of international law relevant to the design and implementation of trade-related climate measures and policies. For more information, see here.