Active learning ideas
Global environmental protection explores the role of international law in addressing issues that transcend national borders, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and marine pollution. Students examine the tension between state sovereignty (the right of a nation to govern itself) and the need for global cooperation. They evaluate the effectiveness of international treaties like the Paris Agreement and how these are implemented through Australian domestic law.
Activity 01
Students represent different nations (e.g., Australia, a Pacific Island nation, a major industrial power) at a mock climate summit. They must negotiate a treaty amendment, balancing their national interests with the global need for emissions reductions.
How does state sovereignty impact international environmental law?
Activity 02
Groups choose an international environmental treaty (e.g., CITES or the World Heritage Convention) and trace how it has been 'brought home' into Australian law through specific acts like the EPBC Act. They present a case study of a protected site or species.
What role do international treaties play in environmental protection?
Activity 03
Post news stories about environmental legal battles (e.g., the Adani mine, whaling in the Southern Ocean). Students move around and identify the legal mechanisms being used: international courts, domestic litigation, or diplomatic pressure.
How does Australia implement international environmental obligations?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
International law is just like domestic law and can be easily enforced.
There is no 'world police' to enforce international law; compliance relies on state consent, diplomacy, and trade pressure. A 'sovereignty vs cooperation' tug-of-war activity helps students understand why international environmental law is often 'soft law' and harder to enforce.
Australia must follow every international treaty it signs.
A treaty only becomes legally binding in Australia once it is 'ratified' and then incorporated into domestic legislation by parliament. Peer research into the 'Tasmanian Dam Case' shows how the High Court uses the 'external affairs power' to give effect to international treaties.
Methods used in this brief
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