B6181 - ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND LAW

Learning outcomes

Having successfully completed the course, students will have acquired advanced knowledge of policies and legal tools related to environmental protection and climate change. They will become familiar with technical terminology and critical concepts of constitutional and legal arrangements alongside political instruments to face the field's challenges. Additionally, the course will assess how international, domestic, and local levels can intertwine the approaches of different disciplines to elaborate innovative solutions, both in policy-making and law-making.

Course contents

1. International Environmental and Climate Governance

• Evolution of international environmental law and climate governance
• Global environmental and climate policies
• The Paris Agreement 
• Landmark international environmental and climate cases

2. European Environmental and Climate Policies

• Evolution of EU environmental policy
• Environmental principles in EU law
• The European Green Deal and the EU Climate Law
• Landmark European environmental and climate cases

3. Comparative Environmental Law and Constitutionalism

• Comparative environmental and climate constitutional standards 
• Rights of Nature and emerging legal subjects
• Comparative perspectives from Western and non-Western legal traditions
• Landmark constitutional and supreme court environmental cases

Readings/Bibliography

D. Amirante and S. Bagni (eds), Environmental Constitutionalism in the Anthropocene: Values, Principles and Actions, Routledge, 2022, chapter 4

E. Louka, International Environmental Law: Fairness, Effectiveness, and World Order, 2nd ed, CUP, 2025, chapters 1 and 2.

Manual of European Environmental Policy (Institute for European Environmental Policy – IEEP), open access online.

S. Ragone, G. Smorto, Comparative Law: A Very Short Introduction, OUP, 2023, chapters 1 and 3

E Rhodes, WA Scott, M Jaccard, Designing flexible regulations to mitigate climate change: A cross-country comparative policy analysis, Energy Policy, 2021

P. Viola, Climate Constitutionalism Momentum. Adaptive Legal Systems, Springer, 2022

CASES:

Urgenda Foundation v. The Netherlands (Supreme Court of the Netherlands, 2019)

Atrato River Case (Judgment T-622/16) (Constitutional Court of Colombia, 2016)

Neubauer et al. v. Germany (Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, 2021)

Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland (European Court of Human Rights, Grand Chamber, 2024)

Advisory Opinion OC-23/17 – The Environment and Human Rights (Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 2017)

Advisory Opinion OC-32/25 – Climate Emergency and Human Rights (Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 2025)

Teaching methods

The course combines traditional lectures with interactive learning methods. In addition to lectures, students will engage in the discussion and analysis of landmark judgments delivered by international, European, constitutional, and supreme courts, as well as selected legislative and policy documents. Classes will be supported by presentations and other teaching materials. Students will also deliver individual or group presentations on selected topics and case studies. Active participation in classroom discussions and critical engagement with the assigned readings are expected throughout the course.

Assessment methods

Attending students will be assessed through an in-class written examination and an individual or group presentation on a topic agreed with the instructor.

Non-attending students will take a written examination, followed by an oral examination on the same day, covering the entire course syllabus and the assigned readings.

Teaching tools

Powerpoint, Newspapers, Policy papers, blogs.

Office hours

See the website of Sabrina Ragone