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Home > Projects > Legal Roadmap for Sustainability

RESEARCH

International and European Law

Legal Roadmap for Sustainability

Responsible Researchers:
Heloísa Oliveira

LPL Researchers:
Carla Amado Gomes, Hong Cheng Leong, Aylin Yildiz Noorda

External Researchers:
Manuel Pinheiro, Tiago Melo Cartaxo

Consultants:
Madalena Perestrelo de Oliveira (NOVA School of Law) Chen Chen (NOVA School of Law e Centro de Investigação de Direito Privado); Marjan Peeters (Universidade de Maastricht); Caroline Cauffman (Universidade de Maastricht); Manuel Pinheiro (Instituto Superior Técnico); Alexandra Paula Leitão (Católica Porto Business School)

Financing:
UIDB/04310/2020

Project Status:
Ongoing

Summary

Starting from a concept of sustainability based on the satisfaction of present needs without compromising the satisfaction of future needs, the three pillars on which sustainability is based can be identified: economic, social and environmental. The pursuit of environmental sustainability translates into the adoption of effective measures to reduce the consumption of natural resources in the broadest sense. The proposed project aims to produce theoretical and practical knowledge relating to the various areas in which the law is called upon to intervene in the pursuit of environmental sustainability. Given current law and the lack of scientific legal production, the following interconnected areas are assumed as priorities: (i) the circular economy; (ii) climate change; and (iii) soil protection and regeneration.

Objectives

Legal analysis of the principle of sustainable development, particularly with regard to its contents and legal nature; conceptualisation of the circular economy and related normative concepts; in-depth study of current law relevant to the areas identified in the previous point; creation of a specialised critical mass on the topic, capable of providing support for the implementation of environmental policy objectives; systematisation of legal areas and relevant existing instruments, in an interdisciplinary manner within the scope of legal science; identify appropriate legal channels, with greater or lesser intensity of public intervention (from command-and-control techniques to self-regulation), using, as far as possible, the lessons of better regulation.

Relevance

The study of environmental sustainability invokes the participation and contribution of various areas of law (and extra-legal areas). However, in addition to certain areas being highly deficient in legal research (circular economy and soil protection), existing research outputs (climate change and sustainability) were produced mainly within the scope of international law. Finally, they are interconnected themes regarding the umbrella concept of sustainability, but usually studied in an isolated way. The scientific innovation of this project is therefore based on the interpenetration between different areas of public law, private law, and extra-legal areas; and from a practical perspective that aims to produce concrete outputs relevant to current legal and environmental issues that take into account the relationship between different themes within the scope of sustainability. Two partnerships are currently being implemented with researchers from various institutions, led by the University of Hasselt, to submit a project for Horizon 2020 funding in the area of soil protection; and for the creation of a European national reporting platform on climate change.