This article highlights the many threats to soils in Europe and Germany in particular. It demonstrates their great climatological significance and links this to other regulatory dimensions in a cross-sectoral approach. Despite their central importance and the regulatory approaches outlined in this article, these challenges have so far been insufficiently reflected in legal policy strategies at EU and national level. The text analyses existing gaps and obstacles in European and German soil protection law and explains how a cross-sectoral, holistic approach can contribute to strengthening soil protection.
