Litigating the Climate Emergency
How Human Rights, Courts, and Legal Mobilization Can Bolster Climate Action

Addresses the global turn toward human rights-based litigation to push governments and corporations to ambitiously address the climate emergency.

César Rodríguez-Garavito (Edited by)

9781009098779, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 November 2022

304 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.8 cm, 0.76 kg

As the climate emergency intensifies, rights-based climate cases – litigation that is based on human rights law – are becoming an increasingly important tool for securing more ambitious climate action. This book is the first to offer a systematic analysis of the universe of these cases known as human rights and climate change (HRCC) cases. By combining theory, empirical documentation, and strategic debate among preeminent scholars and practitioners from around the world, the book captures the roots, legal innovations, empirical richness, impact, and challenges of this dynamic field of sociolegal practice. It looks specifically at the sociolegal origins and trajectory of HRCC cases, the legal innovations of this type of litigation, and the strategies and impacts of these cases. In doing so, this book equips litigators, researchers, practitioners, students, and concerned citizens with an understanding of an important method of holding governments and corporations accountable for climate harms. This book is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Part I. Litigating the Climate Emergency: 1. The Global Rise of Right-Based Litigation for Climate Action, César Rodríguez-Garavito
2. The Social and Political Life of Human Rights Climate Change Litigation: Mobilizing the Law to Address the Climate Crisis, Lisa Vanhal
Part II. Legal Strategy in Rights-Based Climate Litigation: 3. Thinking Strategically About Climate Litigation, Ben Batros and Tessa Khan
4. The Quest for Butterfly Climate Adjudication, Catalina Vallejo and Siri Gloppe
5. Climate Litigation Through an Equality Lens, James Goldston
6. Two Reputed Allis: Reconciling Climate Justice and Litigation in the Global South, Juan Auz
7. Staying within Atmospheric and Judicial Limits: Core Principles for Assessing Whether State Action on Climate Change Complies with Human Rights, Sophie Marjanac and Sam Hunter Jones
8. Litmus Tests as Tools for Tribunals to Assess State Human Rights Obligations to Reduce Carbon Emissions, Ashfaz Khalfan
9. The Farmer or the Hero? Modes of Climate Litigation in the Global South, Jolene Lin and Jacqueline Peel
10. The Impacts of High Profile Litigation Against Major Fossil Fuel Companies, Joana Setzer
Part III. Beyond The Law
Science and Narratives in Rights-Based Climate Litigation: 11. Climate Science and Human Rights: Using Attribution Science to Frame Government Mitigation and Adaptation Obligations, Michael Burger, Jessica Wentz, and Daniel Metzger
12. The Evolution of Corporate Accountability for Climate Change, Richard Heede
13. Providing Evidence Gap to Support Strategic Climate Enforcement and Litigation, Reinhold Gallmetzer
14. The Case for Climate Visuals in the Courtroom: The Case for Urgent and Creative Action, Kelly Matheson
15. The Story of our Lives: Narrative Change Strategies in Climate Litigation, Laura Gyte, Violeta Barrera, and Lucy Singer
Part IV. The Climate Emergency on Trial: Human Rights and Climate Litigation around the World
16. Courts, Climate Action, and Human Rights: Lessons from the Friends of the Irish Environmnet v. Ireland Case, Victoria Adelmant, Philip Alston, and Matthew Blainey
17. Closing the Supply-Side Accountability Gap Through Climate Litigation, Michelle Jonker-Argueta
18. Climate Litigation Before International Tribunals: The Six Portuguese Youth v. 33 Governments of Europe Case Before the European Court of Human Rights, Gerry Liston and Paul Clark
19. Is There a Brazilian Approach to Climate Litigation? The Climate Crisis, Political Instability and Litigation Possibilities in Brazil, Julia Neiva and Gabriel Mantelli
20. Climate Change Litigation in India: Its Potential and Challenges, Arpithat Kodiveri
21. The Tide of Climate Litigation is Upon us in Africa, Pooven Moodley
22. Pakistan: A Good Story That Can Go Awry If Shortcomings Remain Unacknowledged, Waqqas Mir.

Subject Areas: Company, commercial & competition law [LNC], International organisations & institutions [LBBU], International human rights law [LBBR], International environmental law [LBBP], Human rights [JPVH], International relations [JPS]