Environmental Law in Transformation

This open access book examines the changing role of environmental law as it evolves from a framework primarily concerned with limiting environmental harm into an instrument for actively shaping the ecological transformation of society. Environmental law is increasingly expected to steer long-term change across energy systems, land use, and entire economic sectors. Environmental Law in Transformation provides a systematic analysis of this emerging legal paradigm and the governance challenges it raises. Drawing on the European Green Deal and landmark legislation such as the EU Climate Law and the Nature Restoration Law, this volume explores how environmental law is developing into a formative instrument for societal transformation. Leading German scholars examine the fundamental tensions of transformative governance: How can law commit to long-term objectives under conditions of deep uncertainty? How can environmental law reconcile precaution with the need to promote innovation? And to what extent can planning-oriented legal instruments shift political power from the legislature to the executive? Covering planetary boundaries and constitutional law, legal drivers for sustainable innovations, multifunctional land use, and knowledge obligations in environmental quality management, the contributions combine critical analysis of current developments with forward-looking perspectives on the future of environmental law. The volume will be of particular interest to legal scholars, environmental practitioners, and policymakers seeking to understand the changing role of law in shaping the ecological transformation of society in the 21st century.