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

Summary ‘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.