Submission to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change

This report consists of a submission to a call for inputs on ‘Enhancing climate change legislation, support for climate change litigation and advancement of the principle for intergenerational justice’ by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change. The submission was made on behalf of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment on 25 May 2023. It provides responses to questions including:

• Can you provide examples of climate change legislation that incorporates human rights elements, or a reference to obligations relating to loss and damage?
• How do you think climate change legislation should frame a connection to human rights obligations?
• Should climate change legislation that incorporates loss and damage be different for major greenhouse gas emitting countries to those that are mostly affected by climate change? What would this difference look like?
• How are human rights considerations being incorporated into climate change litigation?
• What do you think are the major barriers to initiating climate change litigation?

This submission is informed by research conducted using the Climate Change Laws of the World database, which is maintained by the Grantham Research Institute and is the world’s most comprehensive database on climate legislation, litigation, and policy.

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