Rethinking Expropriation Law IV: Takings for Climate Justice and Resilience

The latest IPCC report makes it abundantly clear that we are failing to reach the target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era. If we are to reach this target, we need to take measures to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, to move away from fossil fuels as energy sources and to adopt renewable energy sources. Particularly high-income countries need to reduce consumption and the exploitation of nature. Enforcement is in order when incentives such as subsidies are not sufficiently effective.

To explore and reflect on the scope for state action that limits or expropriates property for climate protection, we gathered a group of scholars from around the world at the 2022 conference 'Takings for Climate Justice and Resilience', hosted by the University of Groningen. We sought to address the scope for States to expropriate property for renewable energy projects, to prohibit harmful activities on land, and to compel owners to refurbish their buildings.

This fourth book in the 'Rethinking Expropriation Law' series of the Expert Group on Expropriation Law (www.expropriation.info) contains fourteen double-blind peer-reviewed contributions based upon presentations given at the aforementioned conference. This book aims to contribute to the legal debate on how to better protect our climate, intended for academics, practitioners, policymakers and politicians.