Earth System Law
Governing Planetary Transformations in the Anthropocene
Will be published approx. on 6. August 2026
Book
Hardback
344 pages
978-1-5099-9466-3 (ISBN)
Description
Written by leading experts, this open access book provides the first comprehensive and critical exploration of Earth system law.
Environmental law, as it stands, does not meet the challenge of governing the many complex planetary transformations of the Anthropocene. Earth system law marks a new legal paradigm-replacing the fragmented, human-centred, state-based approach with an integrated, Earth-centred approach to planetary governance, purpose-built for our turbulent epoch.
The book offers innovative proposals for legal principles, actors, institutions, and ethics designed to safeguard the stability and integrity of Earth's life-support systems. It also delivers the first full stocktake of the Earth system law framework and its scholarship, coupled with a forward-looking research and implementation agenda.
Earth System Law is for all those who are frustrated by the persistent inability of environmental law to address the interconnected governance challenges of the Anthropocene-and for those ready to help shape the next legal frontier. Researchers, students, practitioners, and policymakers alike will find here both the vision and the tools to rethink law for a human-dominated planet.
The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Bloomsbury Open Collections Library Collective.
Environmental law, as it stands, does not meet the challenge of governing the many complex planetary transformations of the Anthropocene. Earth system law marks a new legal paradigm-replacing the fragmented, human-centred, state-based approach with an integrated, Earth-centred approach to planetary governance, purpose-built for our turbulent epoch.
The book offers innovative proposals for legal principles, actors, institutions, and ethics designed to safeguard the stability and integrity of Earth's life-support systems. It also delivers the first full stocktake of the Earth system law framework and its scholarship, coupled with a forward-looking research and implementation agenda.
Earth System Law is for all those who are frustrated by the persistent inability of environmental law to address the interconnected governance challenges of the Anthropocene-and for those ready to help shape the next legal frontier. Researchers, students, practitioners, and policymakers alike will find here both the vision and the tools to rethink law for a human-dominated planet.
The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Bloomsbury Open Collections Library Collective.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5099-9466-3 (9781509994663)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Louis J Kotze is Chair of the Law Group and Professor of Law, Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands.
Content
1. Earth System Law for the Anthropocene, Louis J. Kotze (Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands), Mike Angstadt (Colorado College, USA), Rakhyun E. Kim (Utrecht University, the Netherlands), Isik Girgic and Frank Biermann (Utrecht University, the Netherlands)
2. The Evolution of Earth System Law: New Pathways for Legal Innovation, Louis J. Kotze (Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands), Mike Angstadt (Colorado College, USA) and Rakhyun E. Kim (Utrecht University, the Netherlands)
3. Law, Legal Principles and Planet Earth, Louis J. Kotze (Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands) and Louise du Toit (University of Southampton, UK)
4. (Past) Reflections on the (Future) Origins of Earth System Law Principles, Michael Leach (Tilburg University, the Netherlands)
5. Earth System Law and The Praxis of Being De-Principled, Emille Boulot (University of Tasmania, Australia), Laura Mai (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands ) and Shaun Sellers (McGill University, Canada)
6. The Imperative Need for a New Relational Ethic to Underpin Earth System Law for the Anthropocene, Karen Morrow (Swansea University, UK)
7. Earth Made up of Territories of Life: An Inspiration for Earth System Law, Geoffrey Garver (McGill University, Canada) and Ivan Dario Vargas Roncancio (York University, Canada)
8. Stain-guarding Earth System Law in the Enshittocene: Back to the Future for Sustainable Development, Michelle Lim (Singapore Management University, Singapore)
9. Kinship as a Metaphor for Earth System Law, Rosalind Warner (Okanagan College, Canada)
10. Between Idealism and Reality: Reflecting on the Viability of Earth System Law through the Lens of Ecological Integrity, Peter Burdon (University of Adelaide, Australia)
11. Architectural Principles for Earth System Law: Constitutive Regulation, Cameron Holley (University of New South Wales, Australia), Clifford Shearing (University of Cape Town, South Africa ) and Samantha Moyo (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
12. The 'Near Frontier': Seeking Institutional Pathways to Earth System Law, Mike Angstadt (Colorado College, USA)
13. The Earth System Law-makers, Benoit Mayer (University of Reading, UK)
14. Moving Images, Moving Society: Environmental Cinema and Earth System Law, Benjamin Richardson (University of Tasmania, Australia)
15. The United Times - A Chronopolitan Thought Experiment in Earth System Law, Frederic Hanusch (Justus-Liebig-University, Germany)
2. The Evolution of Earth System Law: New Pathways for Legal Innovation, Louis J. Kotze (Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands), Mike Angstadt (Colorado College, USA) and Rakhyun E. Kim (Utrecht University, the Netherlands)
3. Law, Legal Principles and Planet Earth, Louis J. Kotze (Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands) and Louise du Toit (University of Southampton, UK)
4. (Past) Reflections on the (Future) Origins of Earth System Law Principles, Michael Leach (Tilburg University, the Netherlands)
5. Earth System Law and The Praxis of Being De-Principled, Emille Boulot (University of Tasmania, Australia), Laura Mai (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands ) and Shaun Sellers (McGill University, Canada)
6. The Imperative Need for a New Relational Ethic to Underpin Earth System Law for the Anthropocene, Karen Morrow (Swansea University, UK)
7. Earth Made up of Territories of Life: An Inspiration for Earth System Law, Geoffrey Garver (McGill University, Canada) and Ivan Dario Vargas Roncancio (York University, Canada)
8. Stain-guarding Earth System Law in the Enshittocene: Back to the Future for Sustainable Development, Michelle Lim (Singapore Management University, Singapore)
9. Kinship as a Metaphor for Earth System Law, Rosalind Warner (Okanagan College, Canada)
10. Between Idealism and Reality: Reflecting on the Viability of Earth System Law through the Lens of Ecological Integrity, Peter Burdon (University of Adelaide, Australia)
11. Architectural Principles for Earth System Law: Constitutive Regulation, Cameron Holley (University of New South Wales, Australia), Clifford Shearing (University of Cape Town, South Africa ) and Samantha Moyo (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
12. The 'Near Frontier': Seeking Institutional Pathways to Earth System Law, Mike Angstadt (Colorado College, USA)
13. The Earth System Law-makers, Benoit Mayer (University of Reading, UK)
14. Moving Images, Moving Society: Environmental Cinema and Earth System Law, Benjamin Richardson (University of Tasmania, Australia)
15. The United Times - A Chronopolitan Thought Experiment in Earth System Law, Frederic Hanusch (Justus-Liebig-University, Germany)