08 July 2023
Intertemporal Freedom in the Historic Climate Protection Ruling of the German Federal Constitutional Court
The climate protection ruling of the German Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe of 2021 is a historic decision. It is on a par with the Court's major landmark decisions such as Lüth, Elfes, or Brokdorf. It updates the fundamental value of equal freedom: Freedom includes future freedom and, as a right to intertemporal freedom, can demand a proportional distribution of freedom opportunities over time. Continue reading >>
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13 May 2023
The Local Case Against Climate Deception
Over the last five years, cities, counties, and states across the country have sued fossil fuel companies alleging that the companies violated state law in marketing their products as safe. Collectively, these cases are known as climate liability cases or climate deception cases. On April 24, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a petition on whether the climate liability cases should be heard in state or federal court. As a result, 11 cases will be remanded to state court to move towards motions to dismiss, discovery, and trial. The Supreme Court’s decision also helps plaintiffs in more than a dozen other cases argue that their cases against fossil fuel companies should be heard in state court, rather than federal court, and it may help spur more state court filings. This is a big win for the city, county, and state plaintiffs, after they engaged in a five-year fight to keep the cases in state court. Continue reading >>
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13 April 2023
A Glimpse into More Equitable International Governance
On March 29, the United Nations General Assembly passed a landmark resolution asking the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on state obligations relating to climate change and the consequences of breaching them under several sources of international law, including the UN Charter, human rights treaties, and international customary law. The import of both the request and the opinion, however, is not just about Earth’s climate system and the extent of state obligations for protecting it; it is also about the potential for more equitable, just, and effective international governance. Continue reading >>
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06 April 2023
Corporate Duty of Vigilance and Environment
On February 23, 2023, French bank BNP Paribas was sued before the civil tribunal in Paris for having allegedly breached its environmental duty of vigilance. In particular, deficiencies in the vigilance plan related to the allocation fundraising activities are criticized. This climate litigation, involving a French bank for the first time, could increase the liability of financial protagonists in the fight against climate change if it succeeded. Nevertheless, one may doubt that the case against BNP Paribas will prove to be successful, as previous ones – which had been introduced under the 2017 law of vigilance (LdV) – are all either pending or unsuccessful. Continue reading >>
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12 September 2022
A Seismic Shift
On 1 September 2022, the Eastern Cape High Court handed down its eagerly anticipated judgment in the case of Sustaining the Wild Coast NPC and Others v Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy and Others (the Shell case). The judgment had the effect of setting aside an exploration right that would have enabled Shell to conduct seismic surveys off South Africa’s coastline, in its search for oil and gas reserves. The judgment has been hailed by social and environmental justice activists alike. Although the case was decided more narrowly on administrative law principles, I argue that the judgment holds greater significance in that it highlights the importance of civil society activism and the crucial role of the judiciary in upholding constitutionally protected social and environmental rights. 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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06 July 2022
Guardian of the Amazon
On 1 July 2022, the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (STF) issued a momentous judgment in what has been one of the most important climate litigation cases before the court. In its decision, the STF elevated international environmental law treaties, such as the Paris Agreement, to the status of international human rights treaties in the Brazilian constitutional system – with wide ranging implications at the domestic level. Continue reading >>
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01 June 2022