Time and environment: a bridge between past and present

This article critically analyzes and retraces some of the main turning points in the evolution of environmental law, from a domestic and international point of view, providing some references to sciences adjacent to legal science. The latest events marked by the Green New Deal and the NRRP, also dictated by the need to respond to the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, open scenarios for a new phase of environmental law, which may be re-founded in a non-more purely anthropocentric key. © 2023, Societa Editoriale Federalismi s.r.l.. All rights reserved.

Biodiversity conservation in a post-COVID-19 economy

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic extend to global biodiversity and its conservation. Although short-term beneficial or adverse impacts on biodiversity have been widely discussed, there is less attention to the likely political and economic responses to the crisis and their implications for conservation. Here we describe four possible alternative future policy responses: (1) restoration of the previous economy, (2) removal of obstacles to economic growth, (3) green recovery and (4) transformative economic reconstruction. Each alternative offers opportunities and risks for conservation. They differ in the agents they emphasize to mobilize change (e.g. markets or states) and in the extent to which they prioritize or downplay the protection of nature. We analyse the advantages and disadvantages of these four options from a conservation perspective. We argue that the choice of post-COVID-19 recovery strategy has huge significance for the future of biodiversity, and that conservationists of all persuasions must not shrink from engagement in the debates to come.

Town, Country and Wilderness: Planning the Half-Earth

Theorists of Half-Earth Socialism Troy Vettese, Drew Pendergrass and Filip Mesko explain their global societal vision and explore how eco-socialist planning can create a just and sustainable society. They argue that the problem of land scarcity is an opportunity to erode the separation of city and country, while vast swathes of the world could be rewilded.

Design Perspectives from the Global South: The Case of Mexico

Guest-Editor of this AD and Director of the Architectural Association (AA) Ground Lab in London, Jose Alfredo Ramirez recognises that the Green New Deal is predicated on the success of previous, historical economic stimulus packages in the Global North. Here he calls for the inclusion of Global South perspectives, using Mexico as a case study.

Crises and Contestations: The Promise and Peril of Designing a Green New Deal

It is clear that we are facing a tipping point in global politics, climate change and social justice. Much has been trumpeted under the banner of the 'Green New Deal'. Billy Fleming, the Wilks Family Director of the Ian L McHarg Center at the Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania, describes the history and various approaches encompassed within this ubiquitous epithet and how designers can get involved.

Visualising a Transformative Space that Puts People and Climate First

Miriam Brett, Director of Research and Advocacy at London-based think tank Common Wealth, believes the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed numerous inequalities in our societies. Common Wealth engages in projects that seek to replace these inequalities with sustainable, equitable and remodelled economic frameworks on which our cities and landscapes can be rebuilt. Here she describes a recent scheme where Green New Deal policies are implemented in Glasgow.

Discourse of the Post-COVID 19 New Deal in South Korea.

In July 2020, the South Korean government announced a 5-year, post-pandemic plan. This purportedly proactive policy aimed to advance digital and green industries to lay the groundwork for the post-pandemic era. This article examines the South Korean government's early proposal of a post-pandemic policy, titled the Korean New Deal, in order to explore how the pandemic crisis may affect the policymakers' envisioning of the post-crisis society. Moreover, the study examines how this early predictive plan may reveal the ways in which the pandemic is utilized for discursive politics. Drawing on the critical discourse analysis of policy documents and news coverage, this article questions how the "old" language of the developmental state is incorporated into the "new" policy. The study also shows how COVID-19's impacts and uncertainties are translated into political discourses.

Greening the Post-pandemic Recovery in the G20.

Rebuilding G20 economies after the COVID-19 pandemic requires rethinking what type of economy we need and want in the future. Simply reviving the existing 'brown' economy will exacerbate irreversible climate change and other environmental risks. For G20 economies, investing in a workable and affordable green transition is essential. A good place to start is learning what worked and what did not from previous efforts to green the economic recovery during the 2008-2009 Great Recession, examining the cases of the United States and South Korea. Policies for a sustained economic recovery amount to much more than just short-term fiscal stimulus. Transitioning from fossil fuels to a sustainable low-carbon economy will require long-term commitments (5-10 years) of public spending and pricing reforms. The priorities for public spending include support for private sector green innovation and infrastructure, development of smart grids, transport systems, charging station networks, and sustainable cities. Pricing carbon and pollution, and removing fossil-fuel subsidies, can accelerate the transition, raise revenues for the necessary public investments, and lower the overall cost of the green transition.