EACL 2025 news for the website
On 23 September 2025, Prof. Oliver C. Ruppel, Director of the Research Center for Climate Law (ClimLaw: Graz), and Atieh Khatibi, Research Project Assistant at ClimLaw: Graz, contributed to the inaugural first conference of the European Association of Climate Law (EACL), held in Berlin in cooperation with the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (IKEM) and Leuphana University Lüneburg.
Their presentation, “Soil Protection and Climate Law”, formed part of the Panel on Climate Law as a Cross-Cutting Area of Law, which addressed key intersections between climate law and other legal fields.
In their joint talk, Prof. Ruppel and Ms. Khatibi explored the often-overlooked role of soil in climate governance and human rights protection. Drawing on the recent ICJ Advisory Opinion of July 2025, they argued that healthy soils are a cornerstone of food security, water regulation, and environmental integrity, and that soil degradation exacerbated by climate change must be understood as both an environmental and a human rights concern. Their presentation emphasized that soil protection is not merely a best practice in agricultural management but a legal obligation under international climate and human rights law.
The First EACL Conference, themed “Climate Law in Europe: Taking Stock, Looking Forward”, brought together leading scholars and practitioners from across Europe and beyond to discuss the evolving landscape of climate law. ClimLaw: Graz is proud to have contributed to these critical discussions, and the team looks forward to continuing collaboration within the growing EACL community.