Details zur Publikation

Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Buchkapitel
DOI 10.1007/978-3-032-31567-0_1
Lizenz creative commons licence
Titel (primär) Fundamental legal issues in the anthropocene
Titel (sekundär) Environmental law in transformation
Autor Markus, T. ORCID logo
Herausgeber Reese, M.; Markus, T.; Schaller, R.
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
Department UPR
Seite von 3
Seite bis 40
Sprache englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Keywords Anthropocene; Transformation of environmental law; Planetary boundaries; Rights of nature
Abstract

This chapter examines how legal scholarship has employed the Anthropocene concept to diagnose structural weaknesses in existing legal systems and to outline potential pathways for reform. It first considers law’s historical role in enabling the economic growth and resource use that have contributed to humanity’s entry into the Anthropocene. It then surveys emerging scholarly debates and reform proposals in environmental and natural-resource law. These include revising foundational legal doctrines, reinterpreting or introducing new guiding principles, reforming constitutions, and strengthening polycentric regulatory approaches. The article also identifies five overarching challenges for law in the Anthropocene: a growing loss of orientation and increasing doubts about the prevailing anthropocentric paradigm; the need to curb resource overuse; shrinking civil liberties; fragmented regulatory authority; and the difficulty of adapting legal frameworks to an increasingly dynamic Earth system. It concludes that environmental law must move beyond merely mitigating harm and instead begin to support the societal transformation required to ensure long-term Earth-system stability.

Markus, T. (2026):
Fundamental legal issues in the anthropocene
In: Reese, M., Markus, T., Schaller, R. (eds.)
Environmental law in transformation
Springer International Publishing, Cham, p. 3 - 40
10.1007/978-3-032-31567-0_1