China, EU and Serbia and their status in international environmental agreements

Todić, Dragoljub and Jelisavac Trošić, Sanja (2017) China, EU and Serbia and their status in international environmental agreements. In: Initiatives of the "New Silk Road" ‐ Achievements and Challenges. Institute of International Politics and Economics, Belgrade, pp. 476-497. ISBN 978‐86‐7067‐246‐8

Text Initiatives of the ‘New Silk Road’-477-498.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (153kB)

Abstract

The paper aims to overview the similarities and differences between the People’s Republic of China, the European Union (EU) and the Republic of Serbia (RS) regarding their membership in the international environmental agreements. At the beginning of the paper, the authors point out to the growing importance of international agreements in the field of environmental protection, as instruments of contemporary politics and environmental law. The focus is on global environmental issues and on international agreements in this area (climate change and ozone layer protection, water resources management, soil protection, biodiversity protection, hazardous chemicals and hazardous waste management, etc.). In the central part of the paper, the authors address the status of China, the EU and the Republic of Serbia in the most important international multilateral environmental agreements. The bases of the analysis are international multilateral agreements with the global character. The length of time required to become a party to certain international agreements of a global character is examined. The general framework of the discussion is determined; on the one hand, by the estimates that China is a country with serious environmental problems and, on the other hand, by the fact that the EU is one of the leaders in global environmental policy. The position of the RS, as a country candidate for the EU membership, is largely determined by the obligations regarding the harmonization of national regulations with the EU regulations, including ratification of a relevant international agreement in the field of environment. In conclusion, it is noted that there are no significant differences between China and the EU in terms of the length of time needed to become a party to the most important global international environmental agreements, but there are differences in terms of the several protocols and the speed of acceptance of amendments to several international agreements. Due to various circumstances, there are some differences in terms of the RS membership in international environmental treaties.

Actions (login required)

View Item