Environmental Law: Concepts and Skills

Briefly describe how you have integrated these themes into your module

The module LAW1094 Environmental Law: Concepts and Skills is informed by my direct engagement with United Nations (UN) negotiations on global environmental governance at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) – the UN agency that regulates pollution from the international shipping sector. It encourages students to critically analyze diverse international regimes—including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the IMO, and the European Union (EU)—and the complex interactions between them.

Students are evaluated through a simulated UN negotiation, in which they are asked to draft a submission related to the creation of an international treaty and defend this submission in a "UN-style" diplomatic forum. Such simulations are recognized in pedagogical scholarship for fostering deep engagement and help illustrate the vital importance of multilateralism in a time when multilateralism is severely under attack.

By providing guiding questions on the key characteristics of assigned countries, I help students identify competing national interests. This assessment method utilizes problem-based learning to cultivate essential transferable skills, including higher-level critical thinking and self-directed learning.

I am aware that multilateral negotiations are often far removed from students’ daily experience, and therefore, their dynamics and real-world impacts can be difficult to grasp in a traditional classroom setting. To address this challenge, over the years, I have worked to bring real-life experience into the classroom as a way to enhance learning. In particular, I: i) I invite guest speakers directly involved in UN negotiations, prioritizing voices from developing countries to provide diverse perspectives on environmental law; iii) I also integrate current media coverage of climate summits to maintain engagement and demonstrate the material's immediate relevance.  
 

Briefly describe the impact you hope integrating these approaches will have on students who complete the module

The key objective of this module is to help students understand the complexity of United Nations negotiations on climate change treaties (and multilateral environmental agreements more broadly). These negotiations involve countries with very different interests, economic and social situations, and environmental vulnerabilities. Students explore how multilateralism and dialogue are fundamental in reaching international agreements on climate action. The structure of the simulated UN negotiation also helps students understand the importance of multilateralism to give a platform to climate-vulnerable countries that may otherwise struggle to have their voice and interests heard, such as some Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

The use of UN-style negotiations aims to encourage student engagement with the material and to strengthen critical thinking through the combination of a written assessment and an oral assessment. The written assignment allows students to develop their analytical and research abilities, while the oral component gives them the possibility to discuss, explain, and defend their ideas in a more interactive way. In this sense, the two forms of assessment complement each other in the development of different sets of skills and support a deeper understanding of the topics covered in the module.

In order to reduce problems connected with the use of GenAI, the module provides students with clear instructions regarding the acceptable use of AI tools in the written assessment, with explicit reference to the UCC scale and university guidelines on academic integrity. By defining clearly what is permitted and what is not, students are encouraged to engage with GenAI in a responsible and transparent manner. At the same time, the oral assessment helps ensure that students can demonstrate their own understanding of the material and their capacity for independent critical reflection.

Related Sustainable Development Goals