The Estado ambiental de derecho under the 'state of siege': COVID-19 and Spanish environmental law

Authors: Enrico Buono

ABSTRACT

The aim of this essay is to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Spanish legal frame- work of environmental protection.
Evidence and experience are showing that the current pandemic is deeply rooted in anthropogenic climate change. Despite the evidence, the health crisis has initiated a season of regressive reforms in the Spanish Autonomous Communities that is undermining the Spanish environmental legal system.
This study provides a brief overview of the levels of environmental regulation in the Spanish Auto- nomic State, while discussing the implications of the two nationwide states of emergency declared so far.

Keywords: Spanish Environmental Law, States of Emergency in Spanish Constitutional Law, Climate Change in the Anthropocene, Zoonotic Pandemics

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