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Research on Soft Law Governance of Marine Plastic Pollution
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This article analyzes the current state of soft law governance for marine plastic pollution, identifying gaps in global and regional frameworks and proposing pathways to convert non-binding agreements into enforceable hard law. Effective international governance is essential for reducing the estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic entering oceans annually, making this legal analysis directly relevant to halting the source of marine microplastic accumulation.
Marine plastic pollution has become a major environmental issue threatening global ecological security. Its cross-regional and mobile characteristics determine the necessity of international cooperation for governance. Soft law, as an important governance tool in the field of international law, plays a crucial role in supplementing rules and promoting cooperation in the governance of marine plastic pollution. This article takes the soft law governance of marine plastic pollution as the research object. By reviewing the core definition and governance theories of soft law, analyzing the current status of soft law practices at the global and regional levels, and dissecting the current practical challenges in governance, this article ultimately proposes specific paths for optimizing soft law and transforming it into hard law. This article strives to provide readers with a systematic and comprehensive understanding.
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Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.