Assessing the state of earth system law

Du Toit, Louise (2025) Assessing the state of earth system law. Symposium and Author Workshop on Earth System Law, Wageningen & Utrecht, Netherlands, Wageningen; Utrecht, Netherlands. 12 - 13 Nov 2025.

Abstract

The proposed paper will undertake an analysis of all earth system law-related literature in order to trace the development, and assess the current state, of earth system law. The analysis will be based on an initial ‘database’ – consisting of nearly 300 publications containing the term ‘earth system law’ (ESL) – generated since the author set up a Google Scholar alert in 2020, and supplemented by searches undertaken in academic databases, including Westlaw, Lexis+, and HeinOnline. Duplicate results and publications that are not available in English or are otherwise inaccessible will be excluded from the assessment. The remaining results will be analysed to determine which ESL publications are being cited and the purpose of such citation. It is anticipated that: some publications simply record the fact that a new paradigm critiquing environmental law has been proposed; some publications use the ESL paradigm to support the arguments made therein or as a frame through which to explore a separate issue (such as the Energy Charter Treaty, transnational environmental law, fossil fuel production, non-humans, or plastics, among others); while others are critical of the ESL paradigm; yet others may offer proposals for advancing ESL. Analysing ESL-related literature in this way will contribute to understanding the extent to which, how, where, and by whom, the ESL paradigm is being utilised as well as its perceived weaknesses. Although much has been written on ESL, such a detailed understanding of its value, and limits, is not fully developed. In turn, insights gained through this assessment will be useful to identify future directions for ESL.

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Contributors

Author: Louise Du Toit

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