All too often, international environmental law is presented as a kind of guided tour of different treaties and environmental problems. Professor Hey succeeds beautifully in articulating the themes that connect all of these disparate areas, an effort that both students and scholars will appreciate.'
- Daniel Farber, University of California, Berkeley, US'This volume presents a superb overview of international environmental law by a long-time observer. Ellen Hey shares her deep insight into the historical, environmental, technical and policy context of the law, and introduces the reader to regulatory techniques and choices, the main legal tools at actors' disposal, and the key developments in the field. The result is an accessible, yet sophisticated introduction to the evolution of the field, and its expanding modes of action and range of participants.'
- Jutta Brunée, University of Toronto, Canada

'This is a significant contribution from a leading figure in the field. Of particular note is the effort to embed international environmental law in its broader context, not only through the detailed analysis of its foundational principles or of its deep interactions with other fields of international law but, more generally, through the overarching theme of the Anthropocene. It is to be thoroughly recommended.'
- Jorge E. Viñuales, University of Cambridge, UK

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars.

This accessible and concise introduction provides a salient overview of contemporary international environmental law as well as a critical assessment of the controversies that arise when trying to achieve environmental protection through international law.

Covering the origins, content, institutional structure and accountability mechanisms of international environmental law, in their social-economic and political context, Ellen Hey discusses substantive and procedural fairness, thus exploring questions of distributive justice, accountability and legitimacy. Providing an invaluable entry point to this complex area of the law, this book enables a rapid understanding of the core principles of this multi-faceted topic.

Key features include:
- Concise and compact overview
- Discusses contemporary developments
- Examines IEL's relationship to other areas of international law
- Considers the social-economic context.