{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Fossil vs Future","title":"WHAT ABOUT LAW? Too hard to enforce or our best line of defence? | Ft. Philippe Sands","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2905,"description":"Environmental law is the law relating to environmental problems – but these problems are anything but simple. Traditional legal systems weren’t designed with challenges like climate change or biodiversity loss in mind, making this one of the most diverse, evolving, and demanding areas of law today.\n\nIn this episode, James and Daisy are joined by Philippe Sands KC – a leading international lawyer, professor at UCL and Harvard, and author of East West Street and the recently published 38 Londres Street. Together, they explore the role of international law in protecting the environment. When did international law begin to take environmental issues seriously? Can nature itself have legal rights? What might international environmental law look like for future generations? \n\nSOME RECOMMENDATIONS: \nFinancial Times (2025) – Philippe Sands argues that our planet – not just its people – should have legal rights. \n“Should Trees Have Standing?” by Christopher Stone (1972) – A landmark law review article that launched the idea of legal rights for nature. \nLSE (2024) – Analysis of climate change litigation cases in 2023, drawing on the Sabin Center’s Climate Change Litigation Databases. \nStop Ecocide International – Leading the movement to make ecocide a crime. Philippe helped draw up the legal definition: “Ecocide\" means unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts.\n\nKEY CASES AND LEGAL CONCEPTS: \nChernobyl – The most serious nuclear accident in history. Philippe’s book, Chernobyl: Law and Communication, explores the international legal aftermath of the disaster.\nICJ Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons (1996) – Paragraph 29 recognised a state’s obligation to respect the global environment. A new ICJ advisory opinion on climate change is expected in 2025. \nChagos Islands – Philippe has long represented...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/dCUOC8ZSbKuKa-ws2silA6bT7eQxC922J__RXwMyKeI/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8xZTI3/MGYwMjk3YzIwZjhj/YTlmODI0NmI3NzJk/ZmM5ZC5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}