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Chapter 2. Complexity and interrelatedness in environmental law of which later gained legal importance. One of the main achievements of the Stockholm Conference was the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Others followed the first Conference, and in 1992, the Earth Summit (Conference on Environment and Development)" was held in Rio de Janeiro. The Conference established the link between environment and development, placing sustainable development at the centre. The Rio Declaration of 27 principles covers all aspects of environmental protection and relies heavily on the previous soft law document accepted in Stockholm. At this landmark Conference, several instruments were adopted: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Agenda 21 is a comprehensive action plan that sets the course for the 21st century. It was reaffirmed at the Johannesburg Conference of 2002. After the Rio Conference, the main question was how effective enforcement mechanisms could be established to guarantee the implementation of environmental standards. Since 1992, UN programmes have largely focused on sustainable development. Only ten years after the Rio Conference, the World Summit on Sustainable Development took place in Johannesburg in autumn 2002 and opened the era of integration of environmental standards. From 20-22 June 2012, states returned to Rio de Janeiro for another conference on sustainable development (The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development or Rio+20), which launched the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a series of policy documents for green economic development. As we can see, within the frames of the United Nations, the environmental conferences provided the place and opportunity for the growing number of member states to discuss global environmental problems and to accept a set of binding and non-binding instruments to fight the most pressing issues including biodiversity loss and climate change. 2.1.2. The definition of International Environmental Law and its main sources International environmental law is a field within international public law. Some legislative areas of international law have a long history, going back to ancient times, such as norms concerning diplomatic and consular relations, the law of the sea and some aspects of statehood. Environmental 60 3-4 June 1992. 35
