Niko Soininen

Niko Soininen is Professor of Environmental Law at the University of Eastern Finland's Law School and a leading researcher at the Center for Climate Change, Energy and Environmental Law (CCEEL). His work focuses on the intersection of law, sustainability transitions, and complex systems, with specializations in water law, marine environmental law, and adaptive governance frameworks.

• Primary Affiliation: University of Eastern Finland, Law School
• Research Groups: CCEEL, Sustainability Law, Water and Marine Environmental Law
• Key Projects: RELIEF (2023-2026), SusHydro (2020-2024)

His research synthesizes legal theory with practical governance challenges, particularly in:

• Sustainability law and transformation
• Hydropower and offshore wind regulation
• Marine spatial planning
• Legal interpretation in environmental contexts
• Resilience of legal systems

His recent publications analyze the tension between renewable energy expansion and ecological protection in EU law, with a focus on hydropower's legal trade-offs (2024), adaptive governance models (2023), and water-security frameworks (2023). He has contributed extensively to journals like Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, Transnational Environmental Law, and Science of the Total Environment.