The IX Tarragona International Environmental Law Colloquium (TIEC) jointly organized by the Tarragona Centre for Environmental Law Studies (CEDAT-URV) and the Tarragona Environmental Law Students Association (AAEDAT) was held on 6 and 7 June 2024. This hybrid event was organized as an activity carried out by the Faculty of Legal Sciences (Department of Public Law) of theUniversitat Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona, Spain). This colloquium was carried out with the support of the Department of Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia (AGAUR).
The theme of the IX TIEC was Eco-social Synergies: Legal Challenges at the Intersection of the Environmental and Employment Realms. While different efforts are being made to protect and preserve ecosystems and biodiversity, these mostly respond to an anthropocentric view that ensures the continued exploitation of nature. Indeed, biodiversity is generally seen as a natural resource. Ecosystem processes are conceived as services that nature provides uniquely to the human species. What is more, the protection of species is often limited to the fulfillment of human development needs. In this process, Law plays a vital role. As the world confronts unprecedented environmental crises and grapples with the transition towards more sustainable economies, the welfare of the workforce stands intrinsically linked to the health of the planet. The urgency to comprehend, analyse, and address the legal, social, political, and economic facets of this interplay has never been more pronounced.
This year’s colloquium has fostered an intellectual exchange and multidisciplinary dialogue, facilitating a nuanced understanding of the challenges and opportunities that arise at the intersection of environmental protection and labour rights (health and safety both inside and outside the workplace, right to a decent work, fight against environmental degradation through labour law, right to develop green skills, green collective bargaining, green social protection, etc.). To that end the IX TIEC aimed to explore the critical nexus of Legal Challenges at the Intersection of the Environmental and Employment Realms ” by focusing on three tracks/themes – legal perspectives, key stakeholders, and future challenges.
Dr. Consuelo Chacartegui (University Pompeu Fabra), Dr. Dimitris Stevis (Colorado State University) and Dr. Tonia Novitz (University of Bristol Law School) addressed the overall theme of the colloquium in their outstanding presentations as keynote speakers in the 9th edition of the TIEC.
FINAL PROGRAMME (It includes abstracts)
Shadows of Strife: The role of Environmental Law in Safeguarding People and the Environment in Times of Conflict 