C-EENRG Seminar: 'The Failures of Environmental Law and the Shift to Ecological Law'

The Cambridge Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance will host a talk on 'The Failures of Environmental Law and the Shift to Ecological Law'.  The talk is given by Prof. Massimiliano Montini, from the University of Siena (Italy).

Environmental law in the last few decades has evolved along two main phases, featuring two parallel and sometimes conflicting trends.

The first phase corresponds to the “environmental regulatory trend”, characterised by the attempt to protect the environment through the management of the negative externalities caused by the dominant economic model based on the pursuit of endless growth. The second phase relates to the “environmental deregulatory trend”, which promotes the progressive revision of environmental legislation, with a view to simplify and streamline it.

Unfortunately, both approaches have resulted in substantial failures. In order to address them, an ecological approach to law is proposed. The new regulatory regime should prioritise the protection of the health and integrity of ecosystems which support life on Earth. To this effect, it should promote a shift from the sectorial approach of environmental law to the holistic approach of ecological law.

The talk will be followed by coffee and biscuits in the Common Room.