environmental policies and law 2020-21 2s evolution of ......seveso disaster, italy the impact •...

António Gonçalves Henriques

2021-03-10 1

Environmental Policies and Law 2020-21 2s

Evolution of Environmental Policies – Part 2

ENVIRONMENT POLICIES EVOLUTION

Part 2


1973

Oil Crisis - OPEC• The 1973 oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of

the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC,

consisting of the Arab members of the OPEC plus Egypt and

Syria) proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at

nations perceived as supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur

War.

• By the end of the embargo in March 1974, the price of oil had

risen from $3 per barrel to nearly $12 (current prices). The oil

crisis had many short-term and long-term effects on global

politics and the global economy.

Members of OPEC

Saudi Arabia (1960)

Iran (1960)

Iraq (1960)

Kuwait (1960)

Venezuela (1960)

Qatar (1961)

Libya (1962)

Indonesia (1962-2009)

United Arab Emirates (1967)

Algeria (1969)

Nigeria (1971)

Ecuador (1973 to 1992 and from 2007)

Gabon (1975 to 1994)

Angola (2007)

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1973

The Yom Kippur War• Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement (reparation or expiation for sin),

is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Its central themes are atonement and

repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a day-long fast and

intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services.

• The Yom Kippur War, also known as the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6

to 25 October 1973, by a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria against

Israel. The war took place mostly in Sinai and the Golan Heights — occupied by

Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. Egypt's initial war objective was to use its

military to seize a foothold on the east bank of the Suez Canal and use this to

negotiate the return of the rest of Sinai.

1973

The Yom Kippur War• The war began when the Arab coalition launched a joint surprise attack on Israeli

positions. Egyptian and Syrian forces crossed ceasefire lines to enter the Sinai

Peninsula and the Golan Heights, respectively. Both the United States and the

Soviet Union initiated massive resupply efforts to their respective allies during the

war, and these efforts led to a near-confrontation between the two nuclear

superpowers.

• By 24 October, the Israelis had improved their positions considerably. This

development led to tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, and

a second ceasefire was imposed cooperatively on 25 October to end the war.

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1973

CITES CONVENTION

Washington, DC

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between

governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in

specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their

survival.

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1973

CITES CONVENTION• International wildlife trade is estimated to be worth billions of dollars and to

include hundreds of millions of plant and animal specimens.

• The trade is diverse, ranging from live animals and plants to a vast array of

wildlife products derived from them, including food products, exotic leather

goods, wooden musical instruments, timber, tourist curios and medicines.

• Levels of exploitation of some animal and plant species are high and the trade

in them, together with other factors, such as habitat loss, is capable of heavily

depleting their populations and even bringing some species close to extinction.

• Many wildlife species in trade are not endangered, but the existence of an

agreement to ensure the sustainability of the trade is important in order to

safeguard these resources for the future.

1973

CITES CONVENTION• Because the trade in wild animals and plants crosses borders between

countries, the effort to regulate it requires international cooperation to

safeguard certain species from over-exploitation. CITES was conceived in the

spirit of such cooperation. Today, it accords varying degrees of protection to

more than 35,000 species of animals and plants, whether they are traded as

live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs.

• The text of the Convention was agreed at a meeting of representatives of 80

countries in Washington, D.C., the United States of America, on 3 March 1973,

and CITES entered in force on 1 July 1975.

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1973

CITES CONVENTION• CITES is an international agreement to which States (countries) adhere voluntarily.

States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention ('joined' CITES) are known

as Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties – in other words they

have to implement the Convention – it does not take the place of national laws.

Rather it provides a framework to be respected by each Party, which has to adopt

its own domestic legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national

level.

• CITES has now 183 Parties.

1973

CITES CONVENTION

Parties to the CITES Convention

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1973

CITES CONVENTION• Roughly 5,600 species of animals and 30,000 species of plants are protected by

CITES against over-exploitation through international trade. They are listed in the

three CITES Appendices.

• CITES works by subjecting international trade in specimens of selected species to

certain controls. All import, export, re-export and introduction from the sea of

species covered by the Convention must be authorized through a licensing system.

1973

CITES CONVENTION• Appendix I lists species that are the most endangered. They are threatened with

extinction and CITES prohibits international trade in specimens of these species

except when the purpose of the import is not commercial, for instance for

scientific research.

• Appendix II lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction

but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. International trade in

specimens of Appendix-II species may be authorized by the granting of an export

permit or re-export certificate. Permits or certificates should only be granted if

certain conditions are met, above all that trade will not be detrimental to the

survival of the species in the wild.

• Appendix III is a list of species included at the request of a Party that already

regulates trade in the species and that needs the cooperation of other countries to

prevent unsustainable or illegal exploitation.

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1973

CITES CONVENTION

Common name: Giant PandaScientific name:Ailuropoda melanoleucaDistribution: ChinaCITES listing: Appendix I

Common name: Asian ElephantScientific name:Elephas maximusDistribution:South and Southeast Asia, ChinaCITES listing: Appendix I

Common name: Wolf, Grey Wolf, Timber WolfScientific name: Canis lupusDistribution: Asia, Europe,North AmericaCITES listing: Appendix II

1974

Warning that CFCs could cause serious harm

to Earth's protective ozone layer

“Nature” Journal• Sherry Rowland and Mario Molina, chemists at the University of California, Irvine,

published the first scientific paper warning that human-generated

chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) could cause serious harm to Earth's protective ozone

layer. They calculated that if CFC production continued to increase at the going

rate of 10%/year until 1990, then remain steady, CFCs would cause a global 5-7%

ozone loss by 1995 and 30-50% loss by 2050.

• They warned that the loss of ozone would significantly increase the amount of

skin-damaging ultraviolet UV-B light reaching the surface, greatly increasing skin

cancer and cataracts. The loss of stratospheric ozone could also significantly cool

the stratosphere, potentially causing destructive climate change. Although no

stratospheric ozone loss had been observed yet, in 1974, CFCs should be banned,

they said.

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1974

Warning that CFCs could cause serious

harm to Earth's protective ozone layer

1974


to Earth's protective ozone layer• At the time, the CFC industry was worth about 8 thousand million USD in

the U.S., employed over 600,000 people directly, and 1.4 million people

indirectly .

• Critics and skeptics – primarily industry spokespeople and scientists from

conservative think tanks – immediately attacked the theory.

• Despite the fact that Molina and Rowland's theory had wide support in

the scientific community, a handful of skeptics, their voices greatly

amplified by the public relations machines of powerful corporations and

politicians sympathetic to them, succeeded in delaying imposition of

controls on CFCs for many years.

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1974


to Earth's protective ozone layer

1976

Catastrophe or New Society? A Latin

American World Model.

Fundacion Bariloche

– Response of the 3rd World to "Limits to Growth“

claims growth and equity for the 3rd World.

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1976

Seveso Disaster, Italy• The Seveso disaster took place on the premises of ICMESA (Società Industrie

Chimiche Azionaria Meda), a chemical plant owned by Roche.

• An uncontrollable surge in temperature and pressure caused the rupture of a safety valve, resulting in release into the air of a mixture of chemicals.

• This toxic cloud containing TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin), then widely believed to be one of the most toxic man-made chemicals, contaminated a densely populated area about six kilometres long and one kilometre wide, lying downwind from the site.

1976

Seveso Disaster, Italy

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1976

Seveso Disaster, ItalyThe Impact

• This event became internationally known as the Seveso disaster, after the name of a neighboring municipality that was most severely affected. The product spread over large area on the Lombard plain, between Milan and Lake Como. More than 700 people were evacuated, 2,000 treated for dioxin poisoning, and restrictions were applied to another 30,000. More than 25 km2 of land and vegetation were contaminated.

• Seveso, with 17,000 inhabitants, located 21 km north of Milan was the most severely affected.

• Due to contamination, 3300 animals were found dead (especially poultry and rabbits), and more than 80 000 had to be slaughtered to prevent the entry of dioxin into the food chain.

• Although no immediate fatalities were reported, the full horror of the incident slowly emerged over the following days, months and years. More than 200 people have been treated for dioxin poisoning.

1976

Seveso Disaster, Italy• A monitoring program was initiated for environmental systems and media to determine

the level of exposure, the extent of contamination, and the behavior and fate of TCDD released into the environment. Information about exposures was also obtained from signs/symptoms. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for TCDD and blood chemistry. The early screening of thousands of children revealed chloracne as the main health effect.

• The studies on long-term effects of mortality and cancer incidence revealed an increased occurrence of cardiovascular diseases that might have been related to stressors caused by the disaster. Results from the cancer incidence study showed an increased risk of hepatobiliary cancer particularly in those residing for more than five years. Some men had an increased risk of leukemia, and women exhibited an increase in multiple myeloma and myeloid leukemia.

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1976

Seveso Disaster, ItalyThe Lessons Learnt from the Disaster

• At the time of the Seveso disaster, the complexity of communication problems under conditions of severe uncertainty was recognized.

• Before the gas release, no one outside the plant, neither residents nor political or health authorities , had any idea that a hazard of such magnitude could be possible. The explosion and release were greeted by incredulity, followed by alarm and dismay.

• The firm's initial behavior led to subsequent suspicion about their motives; various instructions for precautionary measures were issued almost immediately, but the firm denied knowledge of the toxic substances involved. Ten days passed before the firm confirmed that dioxin had been released. Only then did the governmental authorities and the public learn that there was a grave risk.

• Even so, it was impossible to assess the danger with any precision. There was an onset of genuine dread, about illness in general and about malformed babies in particular. The widespread illness and deaths of animals of many species was a threatening sign.

1976

Seveso Disaster, Italy• The authorities had their own severe problems of decision-making under uncertainty,

including the definition of different polluted zones, programmes of evacuation of endangered residents, and disposal of contaminated material.

• From the very beginning of the disaster, situational uncertainty was salient; decisions had to be taken, sometimes under conditions of great urgency' in the nearly complete absence of information that might guide actions. Scientific uncertainty was crucial to the local magistrate’s decision to close the site eight days after the accident.

• Societal uncertainty was severe because there had been no previous institutional preparation or consultation for the accident. Legal/moral uncertainty was also severe.

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1976

Seveso Disaster, ItalyThe Seveso Directive

• Nations downstream from other nations will always be threatened by environmental spills and accidents caused by upstream nations.

• For this reason, international treaties and laws governing transboundary pollution are crucial for preventing disasters. They are needed to resolve issues related to liability and compensation. They are also needed to protect countries from domestic disasters caused by the carelessness or exploitative activities of foreign companies.

• Legislation aimed at the prevention and control of accidents involving dangerous substances in the EU was significantly prompted by this particular disaster, among others.

• As a result, in 1982, the Seveso Directive (Council Directive 82/501/EEC) on the major accident hazards of certain industrial activities was adopted, later amended in light of two other major accidents.

• In 1996, the Seveso Directive II (Council Directive 96/82/EC) replaced its predecessor, and in 2012 the new Directive 2012/18/EU (Seveso-III) was adopted, and Seveso Directive II was repealed.

1976

Seveso Disaster, ItalyThe Seveso III Directive

The principles

• The Seveso Directive aims at the prevention of major accidents involving dangerous substances. However, as accidents may nevertheless occur, it also aims at limiting the consequences of such accidents not only for human health but also for the environment.

• The Directive covers establishments where dangerous substances may be present (e.g.during processing or storage) in quantities above a certain threshold. Excluded from the Directive are certain industrial activities which are subject to other legislation providing a similar level of protection (e.g. nuclear establishments or the transport of dangerous substances).

• Depending on the amount of dangerous substances present, establishments are categorised in lower and upper tier establishments, the latter are subject to more stringent requirements.

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1976


Main obligations for operators

• Operators are obliged to take all necessary measures to prevent major accidents and to limit their consequences for human health and the environment. The requirements include:

• Notification of all concerned establishments;

• Deploying a major accident prevention policy;

• Producing a safety report for upper-tier establishments;

• Producing internal emergency plans for upper tier establishments;

• Providing information in case of accidents.

1976


Main obligations for Member State authorities

• Member States need to ensure that a number of requirements are fulfilled, those include:

• Producing external emergency plans for upper tier establishments ;

• Deploying land-use planning for the siting of establishments ;

• Making relevant information publically available ;

• Ensuring that any necessary action is taken after an accident including emergency measures, actions to ensure that the operator takes any necessary remedial measures and informing the persons likely to be affected;

• Reporting accidents to the Commission;

• Prohibiting the unlawful use or operation of establishments;

• Conducting inspections.

• Member States may maintain or adopt stricter measures than those contained in the Seveso Directive.

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1976


Citizens' rights

• The public concerned has to be consulted and involved in the decision making for specific individual projects;

• Subject to the conditions outlined, Member State authorities need to make available any information held pursuant to the Seveso Directive;

• Access to justice needs to be granted in some specified cases.

1976

Habitat

Vancouver, Canada• Habitat I refers to the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, in Vancouver,

Canada, 1976, convened by the United Nations as governments began to recognize the

magnitude and consequences of rapid urbanization.

• Following the Conference, the General Assembly adopted the Vancouver Declaration on

Human Settlements, which carried an action plan with 64 recommendations for National

Action.

• A further outcome of the conference, was the establishment of the United Nations Centre

for Human Settlements - UNCHS (Habitat) with headquarters at Nairobi, Kenya.

• It is mandated to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.

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1976

Habitat

Vancouver, Canada• Cities are facing unprecedented demographic, environmental, economic, social and

spatial challenges.

• There has been an exceptional shift towards urbanization, with 6 out of every 10 people

in the world expected to reside in urban areas by 2030. Over 90 per cent of this growth

will take place in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

• In the absence of effective urban planning, the consequences of this rapid urbanization

will be dramatic. In many places around the world, the effects can already be felt: lack of

proper housing and growth of slums, inadequate and out-dated infrastructure – be it

roads, public transport, water, sanitation, or electricity – escalating poverty and

unemployment, safety and crime problems, pollution and health issues, as well as poorly

managed natural or man-made disasters and other catastrophes due to the effects of

climate change.

1976

Habitat

Vancouver, Canada• Policies, and approaches towards urbanization need to change in order for the growth of

cities and urban areas to be turned into opportunities that will leave nobody behind.

• UN-Habitat envisions well-planned, well-governed, and efficient cities and other human

settlements, with adequate housing, infrastructure, and universal access to employment

and basic services such as water, energy, and sanitation.

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1977

United Nations Conference on

Desertification• “Desertification” is land degradation in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas resulting

from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.

• It remains potentially the most threatening ecosystem change impacting the socio-economic

conditions of millions of people living in the drylands, which account for a significant

proportion of the Earth’s land.

• It is caused by complex interactions of a number of physical, biological, political, social,

cultural, and economic factors. Generally, it is a detrimental process that brings about a

gradual and an unnoticed reduction in the productive capacity of land over a period of

years.

• Although desertification occurs in all regions, it has high concentrations in developing

countries, especially in Africa. For example, developing countries in Asia, Africa, and South

America have larger populations living in drylands. An estimated 40% of people in Africa and

Asia live in areas constantly threatened by desertification .

USDA US Department of Agriculture 'Global Desertification Vulnerability Map‘http://soils.usda.gov/use/worldsoils/mapindex/desert.html

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1977


Desertification• Achieving the core objectives of sustainable development will remain an impossible

mission for nearly two thousand million people living in the world’s drylands, whose

biological productivity is under serious threat from the intensifying trend of desertification.

• The global annual loss to desertification is in the order of 60,000 km2.

• Due to desertification, the annual loss of income is estimated at USD 65 thousand million,

and this does not include the costs incurred in social and environmental aspects.

• The costs of desertification are most often measured in terms of lost productivity, which

includes the reduced crop yields, grazing intensities, etc. Secondary costs are the loss of

ecosystem services and ecological functions that affect the very sustainability of the planet.

1977


Desertification• The international community has long recognized that land degradation/desertification is a

major economic, social and environmental problem of concern to many countries in all

regions of the world. In 1977, the United Nations Conference on Desertification (UNCOD), in

Nairobi, Kenya, adopted a Plan of Action to Combat Desertification (PACD).

• The Conference was the first occasion on which the nations of the world turned their

concerted attention to the need for a comprehensive plan to halt and reverse

desertification.

• The Conference concluded that both the causes of desertification and the technical

solutions to combating it are known. The key to combative measures is to be found in

proper land-use. If desertification is to be brought to a halt considerable financial resources

will, however, be necessary.

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1978

“Amoco Cadiz” accident

Coast of Brittany, France• Amoco Cadiz was a very large crude carrier (VLCC) under the Liberian flag of convenience

owned by Amoco.

• On 16 March 1978, she ran aground on Portsall Rocks, 5 km from the coast of Brittany,

France due to severe weather conditions and to the failure of the hydraulic steering

mechanism.

• Ultimately the crude carrier split in three and sank, releasing 1,604,500 barrels (219,797

tons) of light crude oil and 4,000 tons of fuel oil resulting in the largest oil spill of its kind in

history to that date.

Portsall Rocks

1978


Coast of Brittany, France• A slick 18 miles wide and 80 miles long polluted approximately 350 km of Brittany

coastline.

• Severe weather resulted in the complete break up of the ship before any oil could be

pumped out of the wreck.

• Beaches of 76 different Breton communities were oiled. The isolated location of the

grounding and rough seas restricted cleanup efforts for the two weeks following the

incident.

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1978


Coast of Brittany, France• At the time, the Amoco Cadiz incident resulted in the largest loss of marine life

ever recorded after an oil spill.

• Mortalities of most animals occurred over the two-month period following the

spill.

• Two weeks after the accident, millions of dead molluscs, sea urchins, and other

benthic species washed ashore. Although small crustacean populations almost

completely disappeared from some areas, populations of many species had

recovered within a year.

• Diving birds constituted the majority of the nearly 20,000 dead birds that were

recovered.

1978


Coast of Brittany, France• Oyster cultivation in the estuaries was seriously affected and an estimated

9,000 tonnes were destroyed because of contamination and to safeguard

market confidence.

• Other shell and fin fisheries (including seaweed gathering) were seriously

affected in the short-term, as was tourism.

• Failure to remove oil from temporary oil collection pits on some soft sediment

shorelines before inundation by the incoming tide also resulted in longer-term

contamination.

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1978


Coast of Brittany, France• In 1978, it was estimated to have caused 250 million USD in damage to fisheries and

tourist amenities. The French government presented claims totalling 2,000 million USD

to United States courts.

• In 1988 a U.S. federal judge ordered Amoco Oil Corporation to pay $85.2 million in fines;

$45 million for the costs of the spill and $39 million in interest. In 1992, Amoco agreed to

pay $230 million.

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