Fundamental Rights and AI in the EU: Taking the Environment Seriously
The twin – digital and green – transition has become a priority of the EU. However, while the digital and green transitions are sometimes mutually reinforcing, other times they enter in a competitive relationship. For instance, the development and deployment of artificial intelligence generates a large amount of carbon emissions and contributes to water pollution. To mitigate the high eco-footprint of AI, this project analyses the potential of environmental rights in the EU and what other instruments can be used to close remaining regulatory gaps. Accordingly, this project carries out a legal analysis to EU law and policy to assess the potential of environmental rights. A continuation of this project will consist of surveys and interviews as an empirical complement to create policy recommendations. The output of this project will therefore be academic publications laying down the legal analysis and a grant proposal.
Main Research Topics
- Artificial intelligence
- Environment
- Human Rights
- Water
- Law
Curriculum Vitae
- (Co-)Director, Erasmus Centre of Law and Digitalization, Erasmus University Rotterdam
- Assistant Professor, Department of Law and Markets, Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam
- Ph.D. Researcher, Rotterdam Institute of Law and Economics & Department of International and European Union Law, Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam (2020)
Publications and Presentations
- Porfido, S., & Quintavalla, A. (2025). Artificial Intelligence and environmental crime. In A Research Agenda for Environmental Crime and the Law (pp. 241-262). Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Quintavalla, A., & Yalnazov, O. (2025). Regulating eco-innovation in the European Union. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 68(3), 539-556.
- Victorio, A. P., Celeste, E., & Quintavalla, A. (2024). Greening AI? The new principle of sustainable digital products and services in the EU. Common Market Law Review, 61(4).
- Quintavalla, A. (2023). Artificial Intelligence and the Right to a Healthy Environment. In Artificial Intelligence & Human Rights (pp. 425-438). Oxford University Press.
- Quintavalla, A., & Temperman, J. (2023) (eds). Artificial intelligence and human rights. Oxford University Press.