Global Environmental Constitutionalism in the Anthropocene

(Hardback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

There is persuasive evidence suggesting we are on the brink of human-induced ecological disaster that could change life on Earth as we know it. There is also a general consensus among scientists about the pace and extent of global ecological decay, including a realisation that humans are central to causing the global socio-ecological crisis. This new epoch has been called the Anthropocene. Considering the many benefits that constitutional environmental protection holds out in domestic legal orders, it is likely that a constitutionalised form of global environmental law and governance would be better able to counter the myriad exigencies of the Anthropocene. This book seeks to answer this central question: from the perspective of the Anthropocene, what is environmental constitutionalism and how could it be extrapolated to formulate a global framework In answering this question, this book offers the first systematic conceptual framework for global environmental constitutionalism in the epoch of the Anthropocene.

Reviews

The first comprehensive treatise of the burgeoning literature on global environmental constitutionalism, this book is incredibly well researched, insightful and inspirational. A landmark publication for years to come. -- Professor Klaus Bosselmann, University of Auckland, New Zealand
This is a book about responsibility in the age of the Anthropocene. It identifies the core issues of the current socio-ecological crisis, points out priorities, and proposes interventions. Kotz delivers a compelling argument that humanity finds itself in a rare global constitutional moment that requires us to reimagine the law at a planetary scale and to create, enact, and advance global environmental constitutionalism. -- Professor Maria Ivanova, University of Massachusetts, United States
With humanity poised on the precipice of an environmental abyss, we need intellectual visionaries to design and build the bridge to a sustainable future. With Global Environmental Constitutionalism in the Anthropocene, Professor Louis Kotz demonstrates that he not only possesses such vision, but can articulate it in a clear, concise, and compelling fashion. While Kotz acknowledges the formidable magnitude of the challenges we face, his book identifies prospective solutions and thus offers a much-needed beacon of hope. -- Professor David Boyd, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Global Environmental Constitutionalism in the Anthropocene comes none too soon... The book is a thorough and hopeful account of how constitutionalism can quite literally, and perhaps with no time to spare, help to constitutionalize responses to the Anthropocene. -- James R May, Distinguished Professor of Law, Widener University Delaware Law School * Journal of Human Rights and the Environment *

Author Bio

Louis J Kotz is Research Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law of the North-West University, South Africa.