A legal revolution for the rights of nature

The author advocates for a 'legal revolution' to address the climate and environmental crisis by granting legal personhood to species and ecosystems. This approach aims to replace the current system, where nature is treated as an object for exploitation, with a framework that recognizes planetary boundaries and holds corporate executives accountable through the criminalization of ecocide. The text highlights the work of the non-profit Notre Affaire à Tous in mobilizing citizens and pursuing legal action, such as the Affaire du Siècle, to force state accountability.

• Current environmental law is insufficient because it is based on an anthropocentric worldview where nature is managed according to human needs and treated as an object to be appropriated.
• The author proposes a legal paradigm shift that would grant legal personhood to ecosystems and species, establishing a legal status for natural commons and prioritizing the conservation of the living world over private property and commercial law.
• Recognizing ecocide as a crime is presented as a necessary tool to hold the biggest polluters and corporate executives accountable, shifting the burden of responsibility away from individual citizens.
• The non-profit Notre Affaire à Tous employs a three-part strategy to drive this transition: mobilizing citizens through projects like Super Local, using lawsuits (such as the Affaire du Siècle) to expose institutional failures, and proposing institutional reforms.

APA

Cabanes, V. (2020). A legal revolution for the rights of nature. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/a-legal-revolution-for-the-rights-of-nature/

Chicago

Cabanes, Valérie. A legal revolution for the rights of nature. Green European Journal, 2020. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/a-legal-revolution-for-the-rights-of-nature/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Cabanes |first1=Valérie |title=A legal revolution for the rights of nature |publisher=Green European Journal |date=11 March 2020 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/a-legal-revolution-for-the-rights-of-nature/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{cabanes2020legal, author = {Cabanes, Valérie}, title = {{A legal revolution for the rights of nature}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/a-legal-revolution-for-the-rights-of-nature/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }