OxHRH Blog Series - Litigating for Climate Justice: Views from the Frontlines

Climate change is set to be one of the most pressing challenges for human rights in the coming decades. The two fields have become increasingly intertwined, and the exchange of ideas has generated innovative solutions to the challenges faced. Recently, litigation in this field has exploded, with lawyers increasingly following the Urgenda example. As ever, successes in this field have been greeted with a degree of backlash, and it is unclear whether climate and human rights will be a sustainable long-term partnership.

This series combines the views of leading academics, litigators, and activists who are on the frontlines of the fight for climate justice. Their work has been instrumental in setting increasingly ambitious and progressive precedents, and the series provides a unique glimpse behind the scenes. 

This series has been curated and edited by Daniil Ukhorskiy and the OxHRH is grateful for all his hard working in bringing together this invaluable resource on climate litigation.

Marc Willers, ‘Youth Led Litigation Highlights the Intergenerational Impact of Climate Change‘

Margaretha Wewerinke-Sing, ‘Grappling with Danger: Some Lessons from Uregnda v The Netherlands‘

Joana Setzer and Délton Carvalho, ‘IEA v Brazil: Rights-Based Climate Litigation to Protect the Brazilian Amazon‘

Juan Auz, ‘Human Rights-Based Climate Litigation in Latin America‘

Paul Mougeolle, ‘The Success and Remaining Challenges of French Climate Litigation‘

Nina de Pater, ‘Milieudefense v Shell: Holding Carbon Majors Accountable for Human Rights Violations‘

John Knox, ‘Climate Claims Before the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies‘

Pranav Ganesan, ‘Climate Change and Fundamental Freedoms: The German Constitutional Court Orders Legislature Rectify Climate Change Law‘

Daniil Ukhorskiy, ‘What’s Next in Climate Litigation: The World’ Youth for Climate Justice Campaign for an Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice‘