Using the law to save the planet: Legal options to address climate change and ecological destruction

Abstract

Climate change and ecological destruction are among the most pressing issues of our time. In this special issue, academics from various legal and empirical disciplines contribute to providing an answer to whether, when and how different fields of law can be used as tools to enhance sustainability and to address climate change and ecological damage. These include (international) criminal law, liability and tort law, European law and regulations, competition law, corporate law, private law and tax law. These contributions were initially presented and discussed at a seminar held at the Erasmus University Rotterdam in May 2022. This editorial introduces the subject, discusses recent international developments and legal achievements to address the current ecological crisis, and describes how the law is increasingly mobilised from the ground up, by non-government organisations and individual legal professionals. It then progresses by summarising the keynote lecture of the seminar, given by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights. After this, all contributions to this special issue are shortly introduced and summarised.