MUMBAI, INDIA – NOVEMBER 16: Renowned conservationist and primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall spoke during her visit to the Museum of Solution as part of her renowned “Hope Global Tour”, on November 16, 2024 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Raju Shinde/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
In September, the European Law Institute held its annual meeting in Vienna, Austria. The meeting brings together judges, attorneys, professors, and policy experts from throughout Europe to discuss issues facing the European Union. The theme for the 2025 annual meeting focused on sustainability and climate change. Before a keynote panel addressing the legal links between fundamental human rights and the environment, renowned primatologist Jane Goodall presented a recorded message to attorneys, encouraging them to lead on environmental issues.
ELI is an independent legal think tank funded, in part, by the European Union to draft model rules and provide guidance on emerging topics, focusing on European legal development in a global context. ELI was founded in 2011 and is based at the University of Vienna. ELI Fellows gather in the fall for annual meetings that alternate between Vienna and other host countries in the EU.
The keynote panel, Fundamental Rights and the Environment, was moderated by Owen Bowcott, Former Legal Affairs Correspondent for The Guardian. The panelist were Georg Kodek, President of Austrian Supreme Court; Sirpa Rautio, Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA); and Andreas Wolter, Chairman of the Climate Alliance, Mayor of the City of Cologne.
Before the panel began, ELI President Pascal Pichonnaz introduced a prerecorded message from Jane Goodall, provided by the Jane Goodall Institute in Austria. In the message she encouraged the legal field to lead on environmental issues and the fight for environmental justice. She died only a week later at the age of 91.
Goodall states “as you all know, planet earth is facing major threats today, including climate change, loss of biodiversity, and industrial agriculture, with it’s pesticides, herbicides, and artificial fertilizers that are killing soil…
“It is so important to realize that we humans are not only part of the natural world, but we depend on it for food, water, the air we breath… for almost everything. In other words, we need to protect the natural world. To be responsible stewards. Not only for the sake of wildlife, but for the future generations of our own species.”
Looking at the role of businesses in the environmental and sustainability debates, Goodall went on to say “more and more people and businesses are recognizing the importance of living in harmony with the natural world and working to protect pristine areas and restore those that we have destroyed. These people need the support of environmental laws and it is clear that the legal community has a critical role to play in this respect.”
However, Goodall was quick to point out the limitations of the Courts, laws, and the legal system. “I am not naive. I know only too well that the legal system faces challenges. That too often, money and power can find ways of bypassing laws through corrupt officials. There are many courageous people in the legal profession that never give up fighting for justice.”
After describing efforts by environmental law attorneys in the United States that are pushing back on actions by the Trump Administration to rollback climate change and other environmental actions put into place under Biden, Goodall stated, “it’s these efforts that are giving people hope in their fight for justice.”
In a prescient statement, Jane Goodall closed by saying “my last word. Please never give up your fight to protect the natural world and all its inhabitants. For the sake of future generations of our children and the future of all life on planet earth.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmcgowan/2025/10/21/in-one-of-her-final-appearances-jane-goodall-encourages-attorneys-to-protect-the-environment/
