OUR APPROACH
The biggest challenges facing our planet require a holistic and multi-pronged approach, involving lawmakers, private companies and individuals. Our goal is to build frameworks that enable a sustainable planet, by reforming law and policy, supporting and incentivizing behavioral change and scaling up conservation action.
WE ACHIEVE THIS THROUGH:
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PUBLISHING SOLUTIONS
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LEGAL SUPPORT FOR PROJECTS
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COMMUNICATION & AWARENESS RAISING
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LEGAL DRAFTING & ADVICE
Throughout our work we focus on identifying leverage points for change, where a cost-effective policy tweak can have an outsized impact on human behavior and the global environment.
AREAS OF WORK
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BIODIVERSITY
The biodiversity crisis doesn’t just affect other species -- it hurts all of us. Biodiversity loss contributes to the spread of diseases and threatens our food supply. L4Earth works on strengthening implementation of proven tools for conservation and restoration, like private and community conservation areas and payments for ecosystem services, while supporting emerging legal mechanisms for scaling up conservation.
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AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES
Legal frameworks around land and water use and fishing rights create perverse incentives that lead to overexploitation and degradation on a massive scale. At the same time, farmers and fishers around the world are well positioned to be part of the solution. L4Earth identifies innovative policy mechanisms that can support and empower consumers and local communities to make a transition to a sustainable food supply chain that benefits everyone.
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CLIMATE CHANGE
The world needs stronger, fairer and more effective legal frameworks to catalyze and enable climate change mitigation and adaptation. From land and forest use, carbon tariffs, public transport and carbon footprint labeling to living shorelines, sustainable infrastructure, climate migration and financing for adaptation, L4Earth works to build policies that will let humans and ecosystems thrive in a climate change world.
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ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME
There is a growing global consensus that poaching and illegal wildlife trade, illegal fishing, dumping of hazardous waste, carbon credit fraud and other criminal activities related to the environment and natural resources need to be taken seriously. L4Earth explores emerging legal concepts and approaches related to environmental crime, such as the concept of ecocide, as well as new technologies and mechanisms to improve enforcement, such as use of earth observation. We believe in a holistic approach that engages government, law enforcement, the judiciary, civil society, industry and the public.
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CITIES
The same policies that make cities more sustainable and ecologically friendly also make them an amazing place to live. Zoning and planning reform can dramatically lower the environmental impact of housing while making it more affordable. Traffic, parking and public transit tweaks can make life more convenient while decreasing air pollution and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Municipal building codes and local subsidies and grants can be powerful tools for modernizing and greening the places where we live and work.
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OCEANS
L4Earth works to protect the global ocean from unprecedented threats. We support the development of a new international regime on marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction; help develop better business models for marine protected areas; evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of legal mechanisms intended to address plastic pollution; and endeavor to connect stakeholders and communicate on the importance of workable policies to safeguard the ocean.
PRINCIPLES
In our work both within and beyond our organization, we are guided by the following principles.
RESPONSIBILITY: All individuals, corporations, countries and sectors have a responsibility to build and maintain resilient ecosystems that sustain life on Earth.
INTEGRITY: Just as ecosystem integrity is necessary to maintain communities of living organisms, business integrity is a priority in our own decision-making, our relationships with partners and stakeholders, and our work.
INCLUSION: We recognize and respect the expertise of people from diverse backgrounds and experiences, and commit to foregrounding experts from the countries and cultures with which we work.
IMPACT: Everything we do is aimed at creating the greatest possible impact.
We take a systems approach looking across sectors, components and disciplines and tackling problems from different perspectives.
We look for leverage points to identify interventions that can catalyze outsize results.
We promote evidence-based policy change based on what we know works and consideration of alternatives and potential for unintended consequences.
INNOVATION: New technologies, ideas and approaches create opportunities for innovative solutions to environmental challenges.
ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE: Humans are part of our ecosystem and environmental degradation threatens human survival. At the same time, we believe in the intrinsic value of all life.
