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Earth System Law

Governing Planetary Transformations in the Anthropocene

Earth System Law cover

Earth System Law

Governing Planetary Transformations in the Anthropocene

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Pre-order. Available 03 Sep 2026
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Description

Written by leading experts, this 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.

Table of Contents

1. Earth System Law for the Anthropocene, Louis J. Kotzé (Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands), Mike Angstadt (Colorado College, USA), Rakhyun E. Kim (Utrecht University, the Netherlands), Isik Girgiç and Frank Biermann (Utrecht University, the Netherlands)
2. The Evolution of Earth System Law: New Pathways for Legal Innovation, Louis J. Kotzé (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. Kotzé (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 Iván 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 (York University, 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, Benoît 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)

Product details

Published 03 Sep 2026
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 368
ISBN 9781509994663
Imprint Hart Publishing
Dimensions 234 x 156 mm
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Anthology Editor

Louis J Kotzé

Louis J Kotzé is Chair of the Law Group and Profes…

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