A Barrister for the Earth: Ten Cases of Hope for Our Future

A top climate barrister shares ten legal battles that give hope for the protection of the planet.

‘Can a planet have legal rights? Could it be defended in a court of law?’

A revolution is taking place. Around the world, ordinary people are turning to courts seeking justice for environmental damage. At the forefront of this movement, pioneering barrister Monica Feria-Tinta advocates not only for the people fighting for their homes and livelihoods, but also for those who have no voice: for rivers, forests and endangered species.

In A Barrister for the Earth, Monica takes us behind the scenes of ten real cases – as she argues against the destruction of cloud forests in the world’s first Rights of Nature case, to holding Sovereign states to account for inaction in addressing climate change in a landmark win for the Torres Strait Islanders.

Each of these hopeful stories are landmarks signalling that we are at an important juncture, in which the law can be a powerful tool for the lasting change that we need.

About the Author: Monica Feria-Tinta is a British-Peruvian barrister specialising in Public International Law. She has been called one of ‘the most daring, innovative and creative lawyers’ in the United Kingdom, and was shortlisted for “Barrister of the Year” at The Lawyers’ Awards 2020 and at Chambers and Partners UK Bar Awards 2023 for her work in addressing climate change and environmental degradation. In 2020 she acted before the Constitutional Court of Eduador in Los Cedros case, the first 'Rights of Nature' case in the world. In September 2022 her work as Counsel secured a win in the Torres Strait Islanders cas, a landmark moment in which the UN Human Rights Committee found a Sovereign state responsible, for the first time in history, for lack of action in addressing climate change.