Diritto ambientale: esplorando la protezione e la responsabilità dalla prospettiva di Cina, Stati Uniti e Unione Europea

Environmental law is gaining increasing interest in the legal landscape due to growing societal, media, and scientific attention, along with the pressing urgency of the global environmental situation. In recent decades, there has been a significant shift from peripheral consideration of the environment to an intense awareness of approaching the point of no return. This is evidenced not only by scientific research but also by the growing frequency of natural events affecting the Earth. Nevertheless, the history of environmental law began centuries ago and went through various phases that have led to the law we have today. During these periods, usually identified as three, environmental law has grown important features, among which its general principles, that have guided and influenced its development in the national and international sphere. Indeed, with time, a stronger legal intervention has become essential, leading to an expansion of environmental influence across various branches of law and systems. To observe how environmental law has differently evolved, the thesis will be focused on three distinct legal systems: the European Union, the People's Republic of China, and the United States of America. Through the analysis of these systems, the aim is to observe how environmental matters are conceived, safeguarded, and legislated. The three actors analysed display opposite features, besides common environmental objectives. The first actor analysed will be the People’s Republic of China, a communist centralized state, where environmental issues emerged drastically due to the prompt economic growth. Environmental legislation begins its rapid development once the Nation decides to open its doors to the world, becoming, over time, one of the protagonists of international law and all agreements deriving from it, not only concerning the environment. The second analysis will focus on the European Union, a supranational organization currently unifying 27 members. The Union, within years, has shown great empathy towards environmental protection and has developed many legal instruments to legislate on the matter as an institution and as a mentor for its MS. The Union has established numerous instruments aimed at safeguarding the environment, and in recent years, as well as China, has developed plans to obtain the drastic result in favour of the environmental situation. The third and last analysis will be focused on the United States of America, the federation which became over time one of the world’s superpowers. Concerning the environment, it has established at the federal level numerous instruments to protect and control its large environmental sphere. The U.S. is also part of numerous international agreements that laid down the groundwork for the development of stronger environmental measures. The dissertation will end with the display of liability over environmental matters. Environmental liability has many facets that together create a functional system of liability. With this ultimate oversight over environmental liability regulations, the dissertation has provided extensive analytical material to understand how environmental law works at the national level and worldwide. The choice of three actors has shown how three different legislative and governmental systems can pursue very similar objectives by adapting their legal body to satisfy specific environmental requirements.