Protecting Future Generations Through International Environmental Law

The protection Of future generations is one Of the most difficult challenges facing international environmental law. Environmental and climate harm caused today may unfold over decades or centuries, while those who will bear many of its consequences have no direct representation in present political or judicial This thesis examines the extent to which existing international environmental law adequately protects the interests of future generations and considers which legal mechanisms could narrow the gap between intergenerational equity as a normative principle and obligations capable of practical enforcement. The study adopts primarily a doctrinal method, analysing treaties, customary international law, general principles, soft-law instruments and international jurisprudence. Particular attention is given to sustainable development, the precautionary principle, due diligence, the no-harm rule, and the principal treaty regimes governing climate change, biodiversity and the marine environment. The thesis also provides a detailed analysis of the 2024 ITLOS Advisory Opinion and the 2025 ICJ Advisory Opinion on climate change, read alongside relevant international human-rights jurisprudence, including Inter-American Advisory Opinions ()C-23/17 and DC-32/25. enle analysis finds that international law increasingly recognises the intergenerational dimension of environmental protection and that recent judicial developments have clarified the content Of several State obligations. Significant limitations nevertheless remain in enforcement, representation Of future generations, institutional fragmentation, and the translation of general standards into operational duties. The thesis concludes by proposing legal and institutional reforms aimed at strengthening intergenerational representation, compliance review and the consistent use of the best available science in long-term environmental decision-making.

Lo studio presta particolare attenzione allo sviluppo sostenibile, al principio di precauzione, alla due diligence, alla regola del no-harm, nonché ai principali regimi convenzionali in materia di cambiamento climatico, biodiversità e ambiente marino. La tesi offre inoltre un’analisi dettagliata del Parere consultivo ITLOS del 2024 e del Parere consultivo della Corte Internazionale di Giustizia del 2025 sul cambiamento climatico, letti congiuntamente alla pertinente giurisprudenza internazionale in materia di diritti umani, comprese le Opinioni consultive interamericane OC-23/17 e OC-32/25. L’analisi mostra che il diritto internazionale riconosce in misura crescente la dimensione intergenerazionale della protezione ambientale e che i recenti sviluppi giurisprudenziali hanno chiarito il contenuto di diversi obblighi degli Stati. Permangono tuttavia limiti significativi in materia di enforcement, rappresentanza delle generazioni future, frammentazione istituzionale e traduzione di standard generali in obblighi operativi. La tesi si conclude proponendo riforme giuridiche e istituzionali volte a rafforzare la rappresentanza intergenerazionale, i meccanismi di verifica della conformità e l’uso coerente delle migliori conoscenze scientifiche disponibili nei processi decisionali ambientali di lungo periodo.