Trying to Express Climate Concerns through Environmental Law? The Changing Lawscape of Public Participation

Abstract

The ‘lawscape’ (landscape) of public participation in environmental decision-making in Australia is evolving as climate change has become society’s dominant environmental concern. The traditional modes for citizens to express their concerns through administrative and legislative processes are losing their legitimacy and efficacy. The growth of civil disobedience by climate protesters is a response to this deficit. Rather than viewing such dissent as purely a phenomenon ‘outside’ the legal system, in defiance of the law, climate protest can also plausibly be understood as a shift in the mode of public participation within the legal system as discussions about climate science and action extend to new forums, especially courtrooms hearing criminal prosecutions against climate activists.