Nature as a subject of rights for mitigating the climate emergency: a decolonial perspective
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The environmental crisis and, concomitantly, the hegemonic context of the capitalist and colonial world-system bring with them new forms of domination, exclusion, and discrimination, both in human conditions and in the ecological dimension. It is within this context that the hegemonic project of normative Eurocentrism of regulation and control is situated, imposing a devastating and exclusionary coloniality upon Nature. Against this backdrop, the present study addresses the following research problem: how can the decolonization of the hegemonic legal tradition, so as to encompass Nature as a subject of rights, assist in combating and mitigating the climate emergency? Accordingly, the objective of this discussion is to understand the aspects of the coloniality of Nature and how decolonization and, consequently, the recognition of Nature as a subject of rights can contribute to combating the climate emergency. The method employed is dialectical-deductive, with a qualitative approach, monographic and historical-critical procedures, and bibliographic review as the research technique. The research findings demonstrate that decolonization involves breaking with the hegemonic paradigm of normative Eurocentrism of regulation and control, one of whose foundations is the capitalist logic of the destruction of nature. Thus, extending the protection of nature to the international sphere represents a path toward overcoming the colonial logic, as a condition for preserving human diversity, biodiversity, ecosystems, and life on the planet.
Author: Iris Pereira Engelmann
Institution: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
Language: English
Topic: Environmental law and policy
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7220692995