Sustainable finance in the EU – what can corporate reporting schemes add to climate policy
By Saga L Eriksson, PhD Candidate The European Commission introduced the first sustainable finance measures in its 2018 Sustainable Finance Action Plan. The Action Plan has the aim of fostering “stability, transparency and long-termism” in the EU economy and “reorienting” private finance towards achievement of the low carbon transition. The measures are part of the […]
Recognizing the Right to a Healthy Environment at the Council of Europe: Why it matters
By Corina Heri, Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Zurich, Linnéa Nordlander, Assistant Professor at University of Copenhagen, and Annalisa Savaresi, Professor at University of Stirling and Associate Professor, University of Eastern Finland. First published in the GNHRE blog on 5 January 2024. Established in 1949, the Council of Europe (CoE) is the world’s oldest human rights system. It now […]
“Historic” or “Historic Failure”? Fossil Fuels at COP28
By Harro van Asselt, Professor of Climate Law and Policy. First published in the EJIL:Talk! Blog on 28 December 2023. Another climate change COP has come and gone. As has become quite common by now, a complex set of intergovernmental negotiations are ultimately reduced to a fight over one particular issue. At the UN Climate Change Conference […]
Climate COP-28: What is all the hype about, what exactly is it that COPs do in legal terms?
By Tuula Honkonen, Senior Lecturer of International Law. First published in the 2035Legitimacy blog on 1 December 2023. In the advent of yet another UN Climate Change Conference, it is relevant to ask what these massive gatherings produce in legal terms. What exactly are the COP decisions that are the main legal outcome of the […]
Challenging established legal doctrines in the face of the climate crisis: Four legal experts assess the outcome of the Finnish climate case
By Kristiina Ella Markkanen. First published in English on the 2035Legitimacy blog on 26 October 2023 and first published in Finnish on the 2035Legitimacy blog on 13 September 2023. In November 2022, Greenpeace Nordic and the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation launched legal proceedings against the Finnish Government arguing that its inadequate climate action violated the Finnish Climate […]
How to avoid missteps of accelerated EIA and permitting? – Reflections on the proposal for the EU’s Critical Raw Material Act
By Ismo Pölönen, Professor of Environmental Law (Bioeconomy and Natural Resources Law) Photo by Saara Österberg. In March 2023 the EU Commission proposed a Critical Raw Material Act (CRMA). Since then, the proposal has moved from the EU parliamentary reading to trilogue negotiations between the EU Council, Parliament and Commission. The aim is to conclude […]
“Oikeus kehittyy, kun sitä käytetään”: Asiantuntijoiden analyysi Suomen ensimmäisestä ilmasto-oikeudenkäynnistä
Kirjoittajat: Kati Kulovesi, Maiju Mähönen, Milka Sormunen. First published in 2035Legitimacy blog on 13 September 2023. Ympäristöjärjestöjen valitus hallituksen riittämättömistä ilmastotoimista johti tilanteeseen, jossa korkeimman hallinto-oikeuden täytyi arvioida vakiintuneita käytäntöjään. Neljä asiantuntijaa purkaa oikeudenkäynnin vaikutuksia ilmastolakiin, oikeusturvaan ja Suomen ilmastopolitiikkaan. “Ilmastonmuutos on parhaan tieteellisen tiedon perusteella ihmiskunnan kohtalonkysymys, joka uhkaa nykyisen ja tulevien sukupolvien elinehtoja […]
What is energy solidarity? A view from the EU and the energy crisis
By Leonie Reins, Professor of Public Law and Sustainability, Rotterdam Erasmus School of Law and Kaisa Huhta, Associate Professor of European Law, especially Energy Law, UEF Law School. This Blog has also been published as a Blog on the GreenDeal-NET website. The recent two years have been tumultuous for the European energy sector. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in early […]
Could the law of the sea be used to protect small island states from climate change?
By Ellycia Harrould-Kolieb, Lecturer and Research Fellow in Ocean Governance, University of Melbourne and Postdoctoral Researcher, UEF Law School, University of Eastern Finland and Margaret Young, Professor, The University of Melbourne. First published in The Conversation on July 24 2023. Climate change will wreak havoc on small island developing states in the Pacific and elsewhere. […]
The impact-based regulatory strategy in environmental law: Hallmark of effectiveness or pitfall for legitimacy?
By Niko Soininen, Professor of Environmental Law and Water Law, Seita Romppanen, Docent, Senior Lecturer on International Environmental Law and Senior Research Scientist at Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Mika Nieminen, Principal Scientist at Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE) and Sampo Soimakallio, Head of Unit at Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) Environmental law was created to protect […]