This course is designed to convey the basics of environmental law in a simple and straightforward manner, so that you can respond readily and effectively to the numerous legal questions which arise in this complex field. It will help you understand environmental law principles and how they are applied by courts, administrative agencies, and private parties.
This module can be taken as standalone or as part of building up to a certificate, diploma or master’s degree. You can take up to three standalone modules before deciding whether you want to work towards any of these.
If you do decide to build up to a qualification, then you will need to complete and pass the following amount of modules within a five year period: four modules for a certificate; eight modules for a diploma; eight modules and a dissertation for a degree. Please note that certain modules will be compulsory depending on the degree you opt to take.
If you would like to gain a qualification then you will need to register onto one of our master’s courses:
Module overview
This module will discuss the foundation principles of the legal system related to the protection of the environment in context, the framework of environmental law at UK, EU and international level, law relating to the protection of land, air, waste, water and wildlife and biodiversity as well as solving environmental pollution problems and achieving compliance and enforcement.
1 Environmental Security and Sustaining Peace
Environmental Security and Sustaining Peace is a free online course offered by the SDG Academy. The course is intended for peace specialists, security specialists, natural resource experts, sustainable development practitioners, advanced undergraduate students and graduate students with an interest in sustainable development and peace promotion. Although the class is self-paced, it is recommended that students complete the coursework over an eight-week period, spending two to four hours on the class weekly. The modules that comprise the class are: Overview with case studies: Natural Resources and Conflict Causes; Natural Resources and the Environment during Armed Conflict; and Post-Conflict Environmental Peacebuilding. At the end of the class, students take a final exam.
2 Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy
Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy is a free online law course offered by the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in the United States. To be successful in the class, students will need some previous knowledge of law. The class lasts for six weeks and requires four to six hours of study time during each week. Coursework is presented through online video lecture modules that include: Common-Law Approaches to Environmental Problems; Property and the Environment; Two Famous Statutory Programs: Environmental Impact Analysis and Endangered-Species Protection; Risk Analysis and Toxic Substances: Pesticides, Trade Disputes over Synthetic Hormones and the Cleanup of Contaminated Sites; Environmental Justice, Water Pollution, Claims to a Human Right to Drinking Water, Fracking, and Insights from an Economic Model of Regulatory Cost-Effectiveness; and Pollution and Climate Change. Students have the option to complete a research exercise at the end of the course.
3 International Water Law
International Water Law is a free online law course offered by the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Coursework is presented through online videos that are produced in French and have English subtitles. The class lasts for five weeks with students completing one video module plus supplementary readings, quizzes and assignments during each week. Modules include Introduction to International Water Law; The Evolution of the International Regulation on Fresh Water Resources; The Principles of the Law on Transboundary Water Resources I; The Principles of the Law on Transboundary Water Resources II; and Prevention and Resolution of Water-Related Disputes.
4 Water Resources Management and Policy
Water Resources Management and Policy is a free online environmental science course offered by the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Anyone with an interest in water science can enroll in the course regardless of previous education and work experience. The class lasts for five weeks and is presented through a series of videos. With each video module, students must also complete readings and take quizzes to assess their mastery of the course material. The modules that comprise the course are: From Resource Definition to the Ideals of Community Management; The Rules of the Resource, their Uses and their Circumvention; From Integrated Water Resource Management to the Water-Food-Energy and Ecosystem Nexus; The Integrated Watershed Management (IWM); and Water as a Source of Conflict and Cooperation.
5 International Climate Change Law and Policy
International Climate Change Law and Policy is a free online law course offered by the University of New Castle in the United Kingdom. This four-week class requires two to three hours of study time per week and can be beneficial for individuals who work in sustainability consulting, environmental management and public policy. Each week, students complete one module of video lectures and supplemental assignments. The modules are: Introduction to Climate Change and the Social Cost of Carbon; Evolution and Architecture of the International Climate Change Regime; Climate Change Policy and The Theory of Externalities; and How Prices Can Save the Global Climate: The Standard-Price-Approach.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:
- Understand the key characteristics of environmental law
- Handle complex problems of pollution of the environment involving corporate and private interests
- Have critical awareness of the policy context for environmental law
- Have critical understanding of the role of EU and international law in the operation of environmental law
- Demonstrate an ability to analyse and discuss in a reasoned and cogent manner the principles of environmental law
- Apply the principles of environmental law so as to be able to propose and evaluate alternative solutions to practical fact based problems
- Present legal information effectively, according to accepted practice and convention.
Course content
Content includes the following:
- Criminal procedures and actions (roles of evidence, expert evidence, prosecuting and defending environmental claims, courtroom scenario)
- Enforcement and compliance
- Planning inquiries: Practice and procedure, participative exercise.
- Regulatory frameworks for environmental law at UK, EU and international level
- Substantive pollution laws in outline at EU level e.g. water law, waste law, atmospheric pollution, biodiversity law, land use planning and environmental impact assessment
- The civil courts: Actions for damages.
Learning and teaching methods
The learning and teaching methods include:
- Lectures and class discussions
- Courtroom scenario exercises
- Use of videos and films
- Debate
- Mock planning inquiry
- Independent study.
Assessment
- Coursework based on selected questions, to be completed over the four-week period following this module.
Please note: If you are taking this as a standalone course, then you are not required to complete the coursework, however, this will mean that you won’t gain any credits for completing the module and so won’t be able to work towards a qualification if you later decide to do so.
