Rights of Nature in Brussels July 2nd

 JOIN US ONLINE at the European Parliament, Brussels

On Thursday, 2 July 2026, the Rights for Nature European Citizens’ Initiative comes to the European Parliament in Brussels for a day of public action, political dialogue and movement-building, before the official launch of our Signature Collection in October

Join us for a Day for the Rights of Nature at the European Parliament -

From environmental lawyers to academics and writers, our speakers are helping shape the conversation around how nature can be better represented and protected in Europe.

Meet the speakers of the Rights for Nature event at the European Parliament on July 2nd - Featuring: Marine Yzquierdo, Jérémie Gilbert, Camille de Toledo, Emmanuel Schlichter, Jessica den Outer and Daniela Vancic - who will explore how citizens can help shape stronger legal protections for ecosystems across Europe.

Together, everyone will explore new ways of strengthening the relationship between people, democracy and the living world.

Rights for Nature : Empower Citizens to Represent and Protect Ecosystems 

Overview:

On 27 March 2026, CELT, as Irish Partner alongside a coalition of 14 European organisations, NGOs and individuals submitted a European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) to the European Commission, calling on the EU to recognise the rights of nature in law. The ECI was officially registered on 19 May. This conference on July 2nd marks the public launch of the Rights for Nature European Citizens' Initiative and opens the campaign's mobilisation phase ahead of the signature collection period beginning in autumn 2026. 

For each of the three topics below, a series of short testimonies from ECI representatives and independent experts is followed by a political response from a Member of the European Parliament. The aim is not to arrive at settled answers, but to surface what is at stake, to hear from those already working on the ground, and to establish a visible moment of political accountability at the outset of the campaign. 

JULY 2nd PROGRAMME 

15:45 – Opening 

● MEP Marie Toussaint, Vice -President of the Greens/EFA 

Manuela Ripa, MEP Group of the European People's Party (EPP)

● Thomas Wallentin, Attorney at law, Vienna Bar, ECI Coalition, Austria 

16:00 – 16:45 I Session 1 : From local precedents to European law – Is the EU ready to recognise the rights of nature? 

● What are the political, legal, and cultural obstacles? 

● What can existing local and national experiments teach us? 

● What would recognition of nature's rights change in European decision-making? Testimonies: 

● Marine Yzquierdo, Attorney at law, Paris bar and Board member of Notre Affaire à Tous, France 

● Jérémie Gilbert, Professor of Social and Ecological Justice at the University of Southampton, UK

● Camille de Toledo, Writer & Associated Researcher at the Institute for advanced studies Nantes, France and KHK, CURE, Germany 

Moderation : MEP Saskia Bricmont, Greens/EFA 

16:45 – Break 

17:00 – 17:45 I Session 2: Empowering citizens to represent ecosystems 

● Who can legally represent a river or an ecosystem, and how? 

● What mechanisms of oversight and coordination have worked, and what pitfalls should be avoided? 

● What do we learn from local examples & struggles? 

Testimonies: 

● Eduardo Salazar-Ortuño, Professor in Environmental Law at the University of Murcia, ILP Mar Menor, Spain 

● Robert Rient, Journalist and writer, initiator of the recognition of the Odra River as a legal person, Poland 

● Cenaida Guachagmira, Defender of Life, co-plaintiff against the Ecuadorian government, Ecuador 

Moderation : Cillian Lohan, President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Civil Society Organisations' Group

17:45 – 18:30 I Session 3 :From rights to reality – building the movement Topics covered: 

● What does it take to collect one million signatures across 27 countries? ● How do you build a coalition broad enough to win? 

● What can other successful ECIs and campaigns teach us? 

Testimonies: 

● Emmanuel Schlichter, Lawyer and Founder of Rechte der Natur e.V., Germany

● Jessica den Outer, Founder and Director of Stichting Rechten van de Natuur, Netherlands 

● Daniela Vancic, European Policy and Advocacy Lead at Democracy International, Germany 

Moderation : MEP Bruno Tobback, S&D 

18:30 – Closing remarks 

Marie Toussaint, Bruno Tobback MEP 

Collective call to sign up once the campaign starts in October + invitation to the reception 

18:45 – 19: 45 I Reception

Register to join us online at the link and for all information here-  https://rightsfornature.eu/.../conference-rights-for.../