Environmental Law

Environmental law governs the protection of the environment and the management of natural resources through legal rules and institutions.

Scope

It covers pollution control, natural-resource and conservation law, environmental rights and standing, and the legal tools (regulation, liability, markets) for environmental protection.

Core questions

• How should law protect the environment?
• How should externalities and pollution be addressed legally?
• Can nature have legal rights or standing?
• How should resources be held in trust for the public?

Key concepts

• Externalities
• Public trust doctrine
• Standing
• Pollution control
• Liability
• Precautionary principle

Key theories

Externalities and legal rights

Coase showed how the assignment of property rights and transaction costs shapes the handling of environmental harms.

Public trust doctrine

Sax revived the public-trust doctrine as a basis for protecting natural resources.

Standing for nature

Stone argued that natural objects could be given legal standing.

History

Environmental law emerged around 1970 with major statutes and doctrinal innovations (Sax's public trust, Stone's standing for nature), informed by law-and-economics analysis of externalities (Coase), and now centers on climate law.

Debates

Regulation versus market instruments

Whether environmental protection is best achieved through command-and-control regulation or market-based tools.

Key figures

• Ronald Coase
• Joseph Sax
• Christopher Stone

Seminal works

• coase-1960
• sax-1970
• stone-1972

Frequently asked questions

What is the public trust doctrine?

The principle that certain natural resources are held by the state in trust for public use, a basis for environmental protection (revived by Sax).