human rights

Informed by research conducted using the Climate Change Laws of the World database, this report consists of a submission to a call for inputs on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change. Read more

This article reports on a lawsuit being made by a group Swiss women who are taking their government to European Court of Human Rights, over claim that its failure to act on climate change is violating human rights. Read more

This report provides guidance to financial Institutions on how they can incorporate the social dimension of climate action – the just transition – into their net zero transition plans. Read more

is article reports on an inquiry by the human rights commission in the Philippines which sought to investigate companies’ responsibility for climate damages stemming from their operations. Read more

This article revisits and expands on extant scholarly inquiries into the so-called ‘rights turn’ in climate litigation, with the objective of providing a more comprehensive appreciation of the role of human rights litigation in the context of the climate emergency. Read more

Annalisa Savaresi and Joana Setzer outline trends in climate cases that rely on human rights arguments to promote action on climate change – and also a growing body of ‘just transition’ cases that are questioning the distribution of the benefits and burdens being created by the drive to net-zero. Read more

This commentary by Joana Setzer and Délton Carvalho considers a lawsuit: Institute of Amazonian Studies (IEA) v. Brazil filed in... Read more

Climate change litigation has been growing in importance over the past three decades as a way of either advancing or delaying effective action on climate change. This report reviews key developments around the world in climate litigation over the period May 2019 to May 2020. Read more

In advance of the final judgement in the landmark Urgenda v. State of the Netherlands climate litigation case, this commentary shines the spotlight on whether human rights can serve as a basis for obliging states to reduce their emissions, and on the justifications behind the minimum 25 per cent emissions cut stipulated by the Hague District Court. Read more

As investors and workers around the world face the challenge of making a quick, equitable transition to a zero-carbon economy, Fiona Reynolds and Sharan Burrow call on investors to join the growing community practising responsible investment to achieve a ‘just transition’. Read more