Climate Technology and Law in the Anthropocene

by Jonathan Verschuuren (Contribution by), Gareth Davies (Contribution by), Kaisa Huhta (Contribution by), Kateryna Holzer (Contribution by), Yulia Yamineva (Contribution by)

Overview

Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. As climate change accelerates, our window for action is closing. To stay within the "Anthropocene" - an epoch in which humankind as the dominant force shaping the planet retains a degree of control over the destructive processes it has unleashed - global warming must be kept below 2° Celsius.

This book explores the unprecedented technological and legal changes required to achieve this. Featuring contributions from leading experts, the essays examine the intersection of technology, law, and environmental values, offering diverse viewpoints on navigating the Anthropocene.

Revealing the controversies of rapid technological adoption and legal reform, this is a crucial analysis of a complex future whose many dangers for our society are barely understood.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781529232882
Publisher:	Bristol University Press
Publication date:	08/05/2025
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	538
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alexander Zahar is a lawyer specializing in environmental litigation at Ashurst Australia. He is also a Lead Reviewer of greenhouse gas inventories, national communications, and biennial reports, as well as a Technical Expert of biennial update reports submitted by developing countries. He is the founder and editor of the journal Climate Law. His publications include Debating Climate Law (Cambridge UniversityPress, 2021), co-edited with Benoit Mayer.

Leonie Reins is Professor for Public Law and Sustainability at Erasmus School of Law. Prior to joining ESL she worked as an Assistant Professor at the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society (TILT) at Tilburg University. She obtained her FWO-financed PhD from KU Leuven, where she subsequently also worked as a Post-Doctoral Researcher. In addition Leonie worked as Legal Advisor at a Brussels-based environmental law and policy consultancy, where she was involved in projects on environmental, energy and climate change law and policy.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction - Alexander Zahar and Leonie Reins

Part A: Climate Technologies

2. Are Renewable Energy Technologies Compatible With Biodiversity Conservation? The Energy-Conservation Legal Nexus - Floor Fleurke and Phillip Paiement

3. Ambition in Nationally Determined Contributions: The Case of Hydropower - Alexander Zahar

4. An Essential Zero-Carbon Solution or a Perilous Energy Technology? Exploring the Nuclear Debate in EU Law - Kaisa Huhta

5. Critical Raw Materials in the Anthropocene: Regulatory Perspectives on Their Promise and Pitfalls - Seita Vesa

6. Hydrogen: What Does Its Deployment at Speed and Scale Mean for Legal Systems? - Ruven Fleming and and Kelsey Pailman

7. Genetically Modified Organisms: Is the Proof in the Pudding or the Process? - Mirta Alessandrini and Josephine Van Zeben

8. Cultured Meat and Dairy as a Game-Changing Technology in the Agricultural and Food Transition in the EU: What Role for Law? - Jonathan Verschuuren

9. Regulating Geoengineering - Gareth Davies

10. Solar Radiation Management Technologies: Research and Development Are Essential and Risks Can Be Governed - Manon Simon, Kerryn Brent, Jeffrey McGee, and Jan McDonald

11. Whither Law and Regulation on Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Technology? A Comparative Analysis - Hao Zhang

12. Evidence Based Climate Law? The Case of Carbon Capture, Use and Storage - Bettina Lange

13. Nature-Based Climate Solutions and the Rights of Nature: A Conundrum of Values - Felicity Deane and Justine Bell-James

14. Ban on Coal: Rationale and Legality for Restrictions on Coal Production, Sale, and Use - Daria Shapovalova

Part B: The Broader Normative Context

15. Should Owners of a Carbon-Intensive Assets Be Compensated if Required To Cease Operation Due to the Energy Transition? - Gunnar S. Eskeland and Ignacio Herrera Anchustegui

16. Rising Tides, Rising Justice: Navigating the Intersection of Climate Mitigation and Energy Justice - Laura Kaschny

17. Promethean Dreams: Intellectual Property and Climate Change in the Anthropocene - Matthew Rimmer

18. The Interface of Climate Technologies and International Trade Law: Tensions and Opportunities - Kateryna Holzer and Yulia Yamineva

19. Debating the Architecture of the International Climate Regime and Its Potential for the Regulation of Technology - Alberto Quintavalla and Leonie Reins

20. Thinking Technology Transfer Beyond Development - Morag Goodwin