Earth Law: Europe

Rights of Nature and similar movements seek to extend legal rights to the more-than-human world across Europe. While the European Union tends to have strong environmental protections, uneven application can harm marginalized groups and ecosystems. Scholars and practitioners are actively exploring new models such as granting nature legal rights and integrating environmental justice as a dynamic process. For example, the continent’s first ecosystem to be recognized as a legal person and receive rights is the coastal saltwater lagoon in Spain known as Mar Menor. Earth Law is gaining traction, especially in response to climate change. Though progress varies across nations, these trends demonstrate that safeguarding nature requires sophisticated legal, institutional, and social transformation rooted in justice and ecological respect.