Contemporary Environmental Law and Policy – serie

Over a time lapse of only about 170 years, the trajectory of greenhouse gas (GHG) in the atmosphere has exceeded the 1.5°C security level established in the Paris Agreement. States and international organisations have thus far addressed global warming primarily by means of policy-making and law-making–that is, from the standpoint of ‘primary’ rules, but convergence is still limited. Climate science indeed warns that the timely achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050 currently necessitates drastic cuts in GHG emissions on a yearly basis. Can therefore a progressive implementation of ‘secondary’ norms, that is, sanctions and ensuing enforcement procedures, meaningfully contribute to fostering a fast transition to a low-carbon economy based on renewables and, possibly, nuclear energy and further innovative technologies, including corresponding adaptation measures? ‘Hard’ and ‘soft’ mechanisms, both ‘public’ and ‘private’ in nature, whereby enforceable sanctions integrate goal setting, pledges and a variety of behavioural incentives, disclose a fragmented ‘enforcement deficit’, which compels case-by-case decentralised solutions, whereby the threshold is by now set at a 2°C temperature increase above pre-industrial levels, with fast-approaching tipping points.

This open access book explores the rise of ecological jurisprudence, a transformative legal theory that challenges traditional legal boundaries. Drawing on over 15 years of research and teaching, the book offers a comprehensive theoretical exploration of this new approach to law, via a comprehensive examination of a wide range of initiatives from around the world, as well as a deep theoretical engagement with the implications of this novel legal theory.  Covering a breadth of topics never before brought together with such clear and wide-ranging scope, this book points to the emergence of an ecological jurisprudence not only as a profound transformation of legal norms, but as a radical reimagination of law itself, and serves as a vital resource for scholars and practitioners interested in the future of environmental law Along with Stone’s Do Trees Have Standing? (1972), Cullinan’s Wild Law (2002), and the Ecuadorian Constitution (2008), we can now name Pelizzon’s Ecological Jurisprudence as a key milestone in the field. (Herman F. Greene, JD, DMin, Thomas Berry Scholar-in-Residence, The Earth Law Center)An immense gift to the field and to generations of lawyers to come, Ecological Jurisprudence contains teachings from which one could learn for a lifetime. (Katarina Hovden, University of Copenhagen)Alessandro Pelizzon's Ecological Jurisprudence is deeply-rooted in how the law can best serve the natural world, inspiring future lawyers with the kind of jurisprudence the natural world so urgently needs to exist. (Maria Mercedes Sánchez, Former Coordinator of the United Nations Harmony with Nature Programme)Pelizzon coins the term ‘ecological jurisprudence’ and mobilises it to create deep normative foundations for future environmental law developments. Any serious environmental scholar will have to engage with him because of the breadth and depth of what he achieves in this book. (Professor Afshin Akhtar-Khavari, QUT)

This open access book explores the rise of ecological jurisprudence, a transformative legal theory that challenges traditional legal boundaries. Drawing on over 15 years of research and teaching, the book offers a comprehensive theoretical exploration of this new approach to law, via a comprehensive examination of a wide range of initiatives from around the world, as well as a deep theoretical engagement with the implications of this novel legal theory.  Covering a breadth of topics never before brought together with such clear and wide-ranging scope, this book points to the emergence of an ecological jurisprudence not only as a profound transformation of legal norms, but as a radical reimagination of law itself, and serves as a vital resource for scholars and practitioners interested in the future of environmental law Along with Stone’s Do Trees Have Standing? (1972), Cullinan’s Wild Law (2002), and the Ecuadorian Constitution (2008), we can now name Pelizzon’s Ecological Jurisprudence as a key milestone in the field. (Herman F. Greene, JD, DMin, Thomas Berry Scholar-in-Residence, The Earth Law Center)An immense gift to the field and to generations of lawyers to come, Ecological Jurisprudence contains teachings from which one could learn for a lifetime. (Katarina Hovden, University of Copenhagen)Alessandro Pelizzon's Ecological Jurisprudence is deeply-rooted in how the law can best serve the natural world, inspiring future lawyers with the kind of jurisprudence the natural world so urgently needs to exist. (Maria Mercedes Sánchez, Former Coordinator of the United Nations Harmony with Nature Programme)Pelizzon coins the term ‘ecological jurisprudence’ and mobilises it to create deep normative foundations for future environmental law developments. Any serious environmental scholar will have to engage with him because of the breadth and depth of what he achieves in this book. (Professor Afshin Akhtar-Khavari, QUT)