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The editorial in Transnational Environmental Law discusses the impact of the re-election of US President Donald Trump on environmental law, highlighting concerns about environmental policies. It explores the challenges faced by established environmental legal systems and the need for long-term governance to protect present and future generations. The editorial also delves into the role of courts in shaping environmental law, focusing on future generations litigation and climate litigation. The articles in the issue emphasize the importance of intergenerational equity and the transformative potential of litigation in reshaping governance frameworks. [Extracted from the article]

Reflexive environmental law (REL) techniques create potential for reflexivity by regulated companies. This reflexivity is fundamental to overcoming various regulatory hurdles posed by complex and dynamic sustainability challenges, such as plastics circularity. However, even when European Union (EU) environmental legislation incorporates REL techniques, Member State transposition may either undermine or enhance these techniques' potential for driving regulatee reflexivity. This article examines REL's evolution within complex, transnational legislative frameworks, taking the EU's Single‐use Plastics Directive (SUPD) as a case study. It compares reflexivity techniques in the SUPD to those in transpositions by France and Germany. Our analysis is based on the coding of 11 REL techniques and three overarching reflexive drivers—autonomy, accountability and adjustability—within four SUPD instruments. Identifying divergence in REL between the SUPD and Member State transpositions allows us to highlight three explanations as to why REL evolves in certain ways through the transposition process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we argue that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should be viewed through the lens of the capability approach. The capability approach lens normatively instils the SDGs with positive human rights protection obligations for business actors, obliging business actors to not merely refrain from breaching human rights but to actively provide affected individuals and communities with capabilities that ensure the protection and fulfilment of their human rights. The capability approach perspective also allows us to bring together two parallel regulatory frameworks, that of the SDGs and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), which considerably enhances the transformative potential of existing and developing corporate human rights due diligence legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the complexity of transnational environmental law and the challenges it presents. It highlights the intricate nature of global environmental problems and the need for transnational legal norms and processes to address them. The article explores various examples, such as the issue of marine litter and the structural dimensions of flooding in Eastern India, to illustrate the complexity of transnational environmental problems. It also examines the governance of markets and technologies, including the evaluation of the European Union Emissions Trading System and the regulation of hydrogen technologies in China. Additionally, the article discusses the challenge of ensuring voluntary adherence to transnational environmental norms and the role of soft law instruments in influencing state behavior. The authors provide insights and propose frameworks to enhance the effectiveness of transnational environmental law in addressing these complex challenges. [Extracted from the article]