Towards a future-proof environmental law?

This chapter serves as the introduction to this book, which brings together contributions from the 2023 International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Academy of Environmental Law Annual Colloquium, held at the University of Eastern Finland in Joensuu. It establishes the book’s central theme by examining the concept of future-proofing law and its relevance to environmental governance. The chapter outlines the three key objectives of the book: first, to explore the theoretical foundations of future-proofing environmental law; second, to assess how future-proof legal solutions function in practice; and third, to identify pathways for strengthening environmental law’s capacity to anticipate and respond to emerging challenges. Finally, it connects these objectives to the structure and content of the book, providing a roadmap for the discussions that follow.