Marjan Peeters (M.)
Marjan started studying environmental law in 1987. Since then, her research has focused on understanding how a high level of environmental protection can be effectively and efficiently achieved based on the rule of law and in the context of sustainable development. Her core research focuses on the legal aspects of climate change, regulatory instruments for reducing emissions, environmental procedural rights and how law deals with uncertain risks. She was appointed as professor of environmental policy and law in 2008.
Marjan has co-edited several books, among which 'Greening the EU and the Rule of Law. Opportunities and Limits of the EU's Legal Powers' (with Mariolina Eliantonio, Kati Kulovesi en Annalisa Savaresi, 2026);the `Research Handbook on EU Environmental Law' (2020), co-edited with Mariolina Eliantonio, and `Climate Change Law' (2016), co-edited with Daniel A Farber. From September 2022 until August 2025 Marjan was a member of the Greendeal-NET project: GreenDealnet | Homepage | GreenDealnet.eu
In context of this, she coordinated the free lecture series "Strengthening EU environmental law: Legal perspectives on Greening Europe" Environmental Law Lecture Series - Events - Maastricht University
Marjan leads the courses “European Environmental Law” (master) and “Global Environmental Law" (master) at Maastricht University and co-supervises several PhD projects in the field of environmental law.
All publications by Marjan can be found here ( Dutch and English publications).
She is a member of Maastricht Centre of European Law and several other organisations such as the European Environmental Law Forum.
Career History
Between 1993 and 2002 Marjan gained practical experience as environmental lawyer at the Dutch Ministry of Water Management and Transportation. Before that she conducted a PhD study at Tilburg University (The Netherlands, 1988-1992) which concerned one of the first legal analyses of emissions trading in Europe. This much-debated instrument has become one of the core instruments of EU climate law.
From 2008 to 2013 Marjan was member to the governing council of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law, in which she acted as the representative of member institutions in West Europe (www.iucnael.org). From 2009-2012 she was guest lecturer at the University of Liège, and from 2012-2014 she was International Guest Researcher at Leuphana University, Germany, where she contributed to the research project ENERGION which concentrates at the regional promotion of renewable energy, particularly storage of renewable electricity. Furthermore, from 2004-2010 she chaired the climate change working group of the Dutch Association of Environmental Law during which several conferences and books have been delivered.
From 2012 until 2022, Marjan was a member to the Maastricht Sustainability Institute (coordinating a master course on Sustainability and environmental law).
Key publications
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Peeters, M., & Eliantonio, M. (2020). On regulatory power, compliance, and the role of the Court of Justice in EU environmental law: Concluding chapter to the Research Handbook on EU environmental law. In M. Peeters, & M. Eliantonio (Eds.), Research Handbook on EU environmental law (pp. 475-500). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788970679.00043More information about this publication
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Peeters, M. (2018). About Silent Objects and Barking Watchdogs: The Role and Accountability of Environmental NGOs. European Public Law, 24(3), 449-472. https://doi.org/10.54648/euro2018026More information about this publication
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Peeters, M., & Misonne, D. (2022). The European Union and its rule-creating force on the European continent for moving to climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest. In L. Reins, & J. Verschuuren (Eds.), Research Handbook on Climate Change Mitigation Law (2 ed., pp. 59-102). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839101595.00010More information about this publication
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Peeters, M. (2020). Judicial Enforcement of Environmental Democracy: a Critical Analysis of Case Law on Access to Environmental Information in the European Union. Chinese Journal of Environmental Law, 4(1), 13-43. https://doi.org/10.1163/24686042-12340048More information about this publication
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Peeters, M. (2018). Environmental principles in international climate change law. In L. Krämer, & E. Orlando (Eds.), Principles of Environmental Law (pp. 509-524). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781785365669.VI.36More information about this publication
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Peeters, M. (2021). Climate Science in the Courts. In V. Abazi, J. Adriaensen, & T. Christiansen (Eds.), The Contestation of Expertise in the European Union, European Administrative Governance (pp. 145-172). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54367-9_7More information about this publication
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Peeters, M. (2021). The global stocktake. In G. van Calster, & L. Reins (Eds.), The Paris Agreement on Climate Change: A Commentary (pp. 326-346). Edward Elgar Publishing.More information about this publication
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Faure, M., & Peeters, M. (2019). Liability and climate change. In H. von Storch (Ed.), Climate Science (pp. 1-30). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.648More information about this publication
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Peeters, M. G. W. M., & Uylenburg, R. (Eds.) (2014). EU environmental legislation. Legal perspectives on regulatory strategies. Edward Elgar Publishing. New Horizons in Environmental and Energy Law series https://doi.org/10.4337/9781781954775More information about this publication
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Peeters, M. (2021). Dare to be a leader: do not take that next flight. Web publication/site, Maastricht University. https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/blog/2021/05/dare-be-leader-do-not-take-next-flightMore information about this publication
Publications
An overview of publications (Dutch and English) by Marjan can be found here.
Teaching
Marjan teaches European and International Environmental Law and supervises bachelor, master and Phd thesis projects in the field of environmental law.
She regularly gives guest lectures at other Universities.
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Work for third parties
- Review editor at Frontiers in Climate (open access / open science)
- Tijdschrift Milieu & Recht (annotator) at Dutch Journal Environmental Law(Tijdschrift Milieu en Recht)
- Vrijwilligerswerk (natuurbeheer) at Natuurmonumenten
Additional roles & tasks
Professor of environmental policy and law