Moving beyond an approach based on crisis and disasters to address environmental chronic emergencies

The chapter surveys what the concept of ECE entails and why it is used to shape the international law of tomorrow. It clarifies the conceptual difference between disasters and ECEs and highlights that the prevailing interpretation of international law is anchored to the radical dichotomy of exception/normality, which mystifies the reality of everyday environmental degradation. Preventing ECEs requires more than coordinated humanitarian efforts, operational preparedness and mitigation tools. It implies the rereading of international obligations and the rethinking of the future normative strategy in order to address the chronic dimension of ECEs and the structural conditions that cause them.