Professor Margherita Pieraccini appointed to Office for Environmental Protection's College of Experts

Professor Margherita Pieraccini, Professor of Law at the University of Bristol, standing outside with coastal bays and cliffs in the background.

Press release issued: 22 March 2024

The Law School’s Professor Margherita Pieraccini has been appointed to the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) College of Experts group.

The OEP is a non-departmental public body created under the Environment Act 2021 to protect and improve the environment by holding government and other public bodies to account. Their work covers England and Northern Ireland as well as reserved matters across the UK.

The OEP has established a College of Experts group to increase the OEP’s scientific understanding and evidence base by drawing on expert input on specific issues, providing peer review, and for prospective analyses and horizon scanning in relation toemerging strategic issues.

Professor Margherita Pieraccini, Co-Director of the Law School’s Centre for Environmental Law and Sustainability, is one of the 58 members of the new College of Expert group who will serve in their personal capacities to support the work of the OEP.

Professor Pieraccini said: "I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to bring my expertise in environmental law and governance to this role and be part of a diverse and interdisciplinary group of environmental experts.

"At a time of biodiversity and climate crises, it is essential towork together to critically reflect about current trends in environmental law and governance and support the development of sustainable legal solutions in changing social-ecological systems."

Further information

Professor Margherita Pieraccini is Professor of Law at the University of Bristol. She has been researching in the field of environmental law and socio-legal studies for over ten years, focussing on protected areas and commons in the UK and Italy. Her work crosses the boundaries between law and environmental social sciences, exploring environmental law and justice, sustainability, marine conservation and the governance of the commons.

The Centre for Environmental Law and Sustainability (CELS) is an international centre of excellence for critical scholarship, teaching and public engagement with environmental law, sustainability studies, and interdisciplinary environmental research.