Ecosphere aims to promote the human right to a quality environment through the promotion and implementation of best practices in environmental law and policy analysis . Ecosphere is committed to a rights-based approach, as it believes that sustainable development can only be achieved through improving the democratic nature, quality and effectiveness of environmental governance. This includes promotion of respect for fundamental civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and the rule of law in environmental decision-making worldwide.

Though global in outlook, Ecosphere addresses its objectives from a European perspective. Indeed, in recent years and in the absence of policy leadership from other powers, initiatives for dealing with the most serious global environmental problems have mostly come from Europe.   Europe's commitment to pursue a high level of environmental protection has been essential for keeping environmental issues on the global agenda. At the same time, recent reports on the state of the European environment show that, though significant progress has been achieved in some areas, pressures have continued to increase in other fields and more effective policies will be required to reverse trends of environmental degradation in Europe.