Alessandra Accogli (UCD Ad Astra PhD Scholarship)
Research Area
Climate Change and Environmental Law, Human Rights
(opens in a new window)alessandra.accogli@ucdconnect.ie
Supervisor
Dr Amrei Müller
Thesis title
Legal Protection of Carbon Sinks: Balancing Climate, Ecosystem and Human Rights Considerations Through a Case Study of Peatlands in Ireland
Abstract
In line with the Paris Agreement, the protection and restoration of ecosystems that act as carbon sinks is key for achieving climate-neutrality. As this aspect is less explored in legal literature, the study foregrounds the role of carbon sinks in the climate change legal regime. Rather than considering ecosystems only in light of their capacity to store carbon, the study adopts a holistic approach that understands them as places of natural and human importance. Adopting a socio-ecological perspective, the analysis is conducted through a case-study of peatlands in Ireland and combines in-depth research on the interaction between climate and environmental law, on the one hand, and human rights law, on the other. Navigating these two areas of law, each at three levels, i.e. domestic, European and international, the study explores synergies and tensions between the protection of Irish peatlands as important carbon sinks and the human rights of local people. It concludes with selected proposals as to how these interests might be better balanced in the applicable law.
Biography
Alessandra has completed her PhD in Law at University College Dublin, Sutherland School of Law under the UCD Ad Astra PhD Scholarship. Alessandra has recently submitted her doctoral thesis in the fields of climate change, environmental and human rights laws. Alessandra holds an LLM in Public International Law from Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Prior to this, she completed a one-year Master’s degree in Political Science at ULB and a Second cycle Master’s degree in Law at the Università del Salento (UniSalento). Alessandra has been a lecturer in environmental law in UCD and a guest lecturer in climate change law in ULB. Additionally, she has acted as a tutor in EU law and mooting and advocacy in UCD. Alessandra is a member of the UCD Environmental Law and Justice Group (ELAJ) at Sutherland School of Law and was deputy editor of the UCD Law Review for volume 23. Alessandra was recently awarded the Climate Change Graz Post Doc Fellowship 2024 to spend a three-month research stay at the University of Graz, where she will relocate from October to December 2024. She speaks Italian, English and French.
Research funding/awards
UCD Ad Astra PhD Scholarship (Sept 2020- Sept 2024)
Field of Excellence Climate Change Graz Post Doc Fellowship 2024
Short-Term Research Fellowship within GreenDeal-NET 2024
Publications
Alessandra Accogli, ‘Access to Justice for NGOs to Challenge Climate Commitments Under the new European Climate Law: A Lost Hope?’ in Tilak Ginige and others (eds), Social and Scientific Uncertainties in Environmental Law (Intersentia 2024)
Alessandra Accogli, ‘Making sense of existing legal requirements to regulate emissions and removals from land use activities on peatlands in Ireland’ (2023) 28(2) Environmental Liability 71
Alessandra Accogli, ‘Friends of the Irish Environment v Minister for Communications: one stretch of “the long and winding road” to bring peat extraction into the Irish planning regime’ (2021) 28(4) Irish Planning and Environmental Law Journal 151
Alessandra Accogli, ‘Peatlands in Ireland: the clash between EU requirements and the rights of turf cutters in the age of the climate crisis (Property [IN]justice, 15 November 2022)
Conferences
‘"Taking inaction on carbon sinks to court": A new legal avenue for peatland degradation in Ireland?', Workshop ‘Comparing National Climate Policies and Law: Challenges and Opportunities 2023’, 9-10 October 2023, University of Heidelberg
'Climate change related cases before the European Court of Human Rights: An alternative legal argument based on land carbon sink degradation', European Human Rights Law (EHRL) Conference 2023, 28-29 September 2023, University of Cambridge
'Protection and restoration of carbon sinks through a socio-ecological perspective: The case of peatlands in Ireland', IUCN Academy of Environmental Law Colloquium 2023, 31 July-4 August 2023, University of Eastern Finland
'Challenges in the transition to a low-carbon economy through the case of peatlands in Ireland', 7th International Conference 2023 ‘Climate, Energy, and Environmental Justices and Transitions: rethinking global environmental law’, 6-7 July 2023, European University Institute
XI Postgraduate Colloquium of Environmental Law & Governance 2023, 15 June 2023, Strathclyde University
19th Annual Conference ‘Law and the Environment 2023’, 19-20 April 2023, University College Cork
'Peatlands in Ireland: The clash between EU nature conservation requirements and turf cutting activities in the age of the climate crisis', EPA and ICEL ‘Environmental Law Enforcement’ Conference, 30 November 2022
'“We really did have everything, didn’t we”: The interaction between climate change and ecosystem degradation through the case of peatlands in Ireland', SCOTLIN Early Career Scholars Symposium, 1-2 June 2022, University of Edinburgh
'Legal response to climate change through ecosystem protection & restoration in the Colombian case', Rijeka Doctoral Conference 2021, 10 December 2021, University of Rijeka
‘Climate change, the SDGs and the law’ Conference 2021, 29-30 October 2021, University of Cambridge
'The scope of judicial review of climate commitments under the new European Climate Law: An analysis of the role played by the Aarhus Convention in allowing NGOs to bring rights-based arguments', 8th EELF Annual Conference 2021, 8-10 September 2021, Bournemouth University
'Can Urgenda be replicated before the European Court of Human Rights: Duarte Agostinho and others', SLS Annual Conference 2021, 31 August-3 September, Durham University