Following the Earth Summit (aka "Rio") in 1992, the task became to develop agreements on how to curb greenhouse gas emissions across the globe. One of the great challenges was, and still is, to address developing nation such as China that are ever growing emitters of greenhouse gasses. In this video, Dr. Thomas Heller discusses some of the major issues involved with international environmental law and how they relate to China.

In the present age, where humans are beginning to recognize their substantial, and often negative, impact on the environment, lawyers, philosophers, and activists are trying to find ways to use the established legal system to handle issues of environmental damage. In this talk, University of Southern California law professor Christopher Stone explains his bold idea to make natural objects legally considerate. Stone explains the various legal, moral, and environmental implications of his proposal.

How do we get states to comply with international agreements that are themselves not very well specified, in a system that have no sanctions or other coercive instruments to bring to bear? In this lecture, Harvard government professor Abram Chayes, discusses the problem of compliance with respect to international agreements and suggests that international cooperation can occur without harsh coercive measures.