21 September 2022
Right-Wing Populists and the Global Climate Agenda
The rise of right-wing populist leaders, governments and political parties around the world has impacted environmental policy in general and the climate agenda particularly. In this brief commentary, we aim to contribute to an emerging literature that studies the relation between far-right populist rhetoric and actions on climate change policy. The idea is to analyse whether Jair Bolsonaro brings new tactics to the playbook of autocratic leaders, and if so which types. While political dynamics in Hungary, Poland and the USA have all been studied to establish the links between populist politics and climate inaction, there is still room to broaden the view to countries of the Global South. Continue reading >>
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08 September 2022
Pakistan’s Call for Climate Reparations
Torrential monsoon rains have triggered Pakistan’s worst floods this century. So far, at least 1,300 people have been killed and a third of the country is under flood waters. Entire villages have been washed away and an estimated three million children are in need of humanitarian assistance. Against this backdrop, Pakistan’s minister for climate change has called for rich nations to pay reparations to developing States suffering climate loss and damage. In this blog post, I will put the claims for climate reparations in an international law context. Continue reading >>03 September 2022
Czechia’s First Climate Judgment
Czechia’s first climate change lawsuit ended with a small sensation. On the hot summer day of 15th June, the Municipal Court in Prague ruled that four Czech Ministries violated the plaintiffs‘ right to a favourable environment. The violation consists in the omission to set any concrete mitigation measures that would lead to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by the year 2030 compared to the year 1990. As the Urgenda Climate Case and other landmark judgments have paved the way for climate action around the world, this first noteworthy ruling of the region blazed the trail specifically for other courts in Central and Eastern Europe. Continue reading >>
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10 August 2022
The Future of European Climate Change Litigation
On 7 June 2022 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) relinquished jurisdiction to the Grand Chamber to hear the application lodged on 28 January 2021 on behalf of Damien Carême, former mayor of the Commune of Grande Synthe in France. While the case shares some characteristics with other climate change cases pending before the Court, it differs in some key respects, making it a unique case of its kind at the moment. The Court will have to be open to a shift towards a more ecological interpretation of the Convention and demonstrate its ability and talent to rise to the historic task required. Continue reading >>
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28 July 2022
Net Zero, Full Transparency
Earlier this month, during a record-breaking heatwave and a Conservative party leadership contest that will determine the next UK Prime Minister, the High Court quietly issued a judgment that may have nearly as much impact on the course of UK climate policy over the coming decades than either of the other events. The High Court judgement in the Net Zero Strategy legal challenge can be considered a landmark victory. On the one hand, the case can be understood as a narrow administrative law challenge to the process by which a government decision was made. On the other hand, however, the judgment can be understood in the context of a growing number of cases around the world which demonstrate the critical role of the law and the courts in creating accountability for climate action – something that is increasingly vital in the face of a warming world and a lack of public trust in key institutions. Continue reading >>
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07 July 2022
A Reckless Decision
On Thursday, 30 June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its long-awaited ruling in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency on the final day of the Court’s term. In a 6-3 decision, the conservative-majority Court held that the EPA lacks authority to require power plants to achieve the “best system of emissions reduction,” thereby hampering the United States’ ability to tackle climate change—decades after the government first learned of the crisis.
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01 June 2022
Travelling Courts and Strategic Visitation
It is not very often that an on-site meeting of a German higher regional court makes its way to the front pages of international news media. Yet, the reported visit of judges and court-appointed experts from the OLG Hamm, one of 24 higher regional courts in Germany, has achieved just that when the nine-person group traveled to the Andean city of Huaraz in Peru in late May 2022. This was after all no ordinary visit. They had come to see with their own eyes whether Saúl Luciano Lliuya’s house is threatened by outburst floods from Lake Palcacocha. We argue that this form of “strategic visitation”, similar to strategic litigation, might not result in a judicial breakthrough but holds important symbolic and political significance. Continue reading >>17 May 2022
Direct Democracy or Climate Litigation?
The Klimaseniorinnen case has gained worldwide attention since the announcement of the relinquishment in favour of the Grand Chamber. The case is one of many strategic proceedings initiated around the world to sanction inaction or insufficient action by states on climate issues. While the Swiss government claims that the Swiss political system, with its democratic instruments, offers sufficient possibilities for the consideration of such claims, this blog post argues that the Swiss right to initiative alone is not sufficiently effective and therefore not an alternative to legal proceedings. Continue reading >>
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16 May 2022
Climate Change Litigation Before the ECtHR
Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland is the first case of climate change litigation before the ECtHR where all domestic remedies have been exhausted. The Chamber to which the case had been allocated relinquished jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber. This reinforces the potential of the case to become a landmark ruling determining the Court’s approach to climate change.
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11 May 2022