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Introduction: law in a changing climate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2025

Susan M. Sterett Open the ORCID record for Susan M. Sterett [Opens in a new window] ,
Vitor Martins Dias  and
Anna-Maria Marshall
Susan M. Sterett*
Affiliation:
School of Public Policy, The University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
Vitor Martins Dias
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Criminology, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Anna-Maria Marshall
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
*
Corresponding author: Susan Sterett; Email: ssterett@umbc.edu
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Abstract

As societies grapple with mitigating or adapting to climate change, law plays a prominent role in the social relations that constitute a response. In this essay, we briefly review of the many different perspectives on law and climate change offered by the authors in this special issue of Law and Society Review. From transnational human rights activism to constitutional litigation to local practices and all around the globe, both the powerful and the marginalized draw on legal institutions and actors in multiple arenas and at multiple scales to address the consequences of climate change. Together, these articles show that law is not confined to courtrooms or judicial systems or regulations; rather, law offers both limitations and opportunities in the ongoing struggle over climate change.

Keywords

Climate changelegal mobilizationlegal pluralismhuman rightstransnational advocacy
Type
Essay
Information
Law & Society Review , First View , pp. 1 - 8
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Law and Society Association.

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