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A Milestone in Environmental and Future Generations' Rights Protection: Recent Legal Developments before the Colombian Supreme Court
Abstract
In April 2018, the Colombian Supreme Court reached an historic decision concerning the deforestation problem in the Colombian Amazon Rainforest. The case STC 4360- 2018 raises many legal dilemmas concerning the relationship between deforestation and constitutional rights recognised by the Colombian constitution, including the right to life, the right to human health, and the right to a healthy environment. In this ana- lysis, we discuss how the Supreme Court’s ruling represents heterodox legal reasoning grounded in ‘de-colonial’ thinking; the impact of international environmental law on the Court’s findings; and the implications that the judgment may have on the Colombian legal order, focusing in particular on the way that the Court seems to pro- mote the protection of collective rights over private rights.
... ese young citizens-which in the local slang are referred to as "born frees"-constitute more than a third of the country's demography [1]. With a disproportionate percentage residing in townships and informal settlements, they are confronted with a series of societal ills, including gangsterism, poverty, inequality, substance (ab)use, domestic violence, HIV infection, and teenage pregnancy [2]. Related barriers in the educational sector include poor teaching practices, overcrowding, hunger, and unhygienic and poorly ventilated classrooms. ...
... Cast within three subsections, the UNFCCC focuses on (i) science of ecological fluctuation, (ii) people's vulnerability, and (iii) mitigating interventions. While the label "youth" is not specifically captured in the document, article 6 of the Convention calls on states to mitigate climate change by 2 International Journal of Ecology including their citizens in environmental decision-making. e involvement of young people could be in the area of selfperceived ability to contain or avert potential threats to the ecology, or advocacy in the realm of biospheric values such as showing concern for the wellbeing of flora and fauna in one's local setting. ...
... Despite calls by the state requesting the court to dismiss the application on procedural grounds, the latter held that the plaintiffs will be allowed to argue their case as they have a basic entitlement to an ecological system capable of safeguarding and sustaining human existence. [13] Also, in STC 4360-2018, the Colombian Supreme Court reached a historic verdict when it upheld the claims of 25 youth and obliged the government to refrain from deforestation and take proactive measures towards climate fluctuation [2]. In adopting similar reasoning, courts in Ashgar Leghari v Pakistan [14] and Urgenda Foundation v e Netherlands [72] held the states responsible for violating the rights to life and dignity of current and future generations owing to their inactions to ongoing ecological threats. ...
Climate change and youth participation are emerging as important clarion calls today. Indeed, very few individuals will possibly counter a call for the involvement of young people in decisions and actions which (in)directly affect their lives. Presently, some of the greatest social problems faced by young South Africans are COVID-19, employment, and climate change. These challenges require the active participation of young people—locally known as the “born frees”—in the construction and operationalization of interventions, especially in light of the insufficient (sub)national response. That being said, policymakers often adopt top-down over bottom-up approaches, with the young generation often excluded or at best given a tokenistic role in climate decision-making processes. Therefore, this paper suggests some new ways of conceptualizing youth agency and brings to light how the born frees could efficiently take part or have a say in negotiating the path to climate adaptation, resilience, and mitigation. By drawing from the existing literature, the paper concludes that effective engagement with youth is essential in empowering them to key stakeholders or partners in adapting and/or mitigating climate change.
... 47 The CJEU ruled accordingly in Case C-363/18, 48 establishing that the EU is obliged to contribute "to the strict observance and development of international law" based on Article 3(5) TEU. 49 However, Bogojević 50 illustrates that the high-profile environmental lawsuits seen in other parts of the world, 51 in which minors take action against governments' climate failures on the basis of their own human rights and the rights of future generations, were largely absent in the EU by 2020. "As such, these cases are often framed as actions about intergenerational equity and our responsibilities towards future generations." ...
This piece addresses Case C-458/19 P before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concerning a substance of long-term exposure, namely bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). The case concerned the interplay of two complex procedures of European chemical law, namely: the procedure for authorising the use of a substance listed in Annex XIV of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH Regulation); and the procedure for listing a substance in Annex XIV of the REACH Regulation on the basis of its intrinsic properties as a substance of very high concern for the risks it poses, or may pose, to human and environmental health. The significance of this judgment is that it provides a better understanding of how Article 60(4) of the REACH Regulation is interpreted in an analogous manner in relation to other provisions of the same Regulation. Whether DEHP is a question of reproductive toxicity (Article 57(c) of the REACH Regulation) or endocrine-disrupting properties (Article 57(f) of the REACH Regulation), this judgment offers insights into the limits of the CJEU’s willingness and/or ability to use a teleological approach to interpret legislation in this area. Furthermore, this work supports the possibility of applying the principle of intergenerational equity to issues related to long-term exposure such as this one.
... 161 In Colombia, courts have granted legal rights to specific ecosystems, such as the Atrato River, 162 the Isla de Salamanca National Park, 163 and Colombia's Amazon basin. 164 Regionally, the IACtHR has shown an openness to the RoN and to the environment's intrinsic value, 165 and this ecocentric understanding of what the right to a healthy environment entails can pave the way for favourable outcomes on RoN climate litigation in LATAM. Questions regarding the obligations of grand-scale projects to factor in climate change were also noted, potentially leading to contentious cases. ...
Climate litigation is a hot topic. Worldwide, jurisdictions are being presented with novel legal cases aiming to address the devastating effects of climate change. Domestic, regional and international courts are facing the challenge, deciding climate-related cases by using a myriad of approaches. Latin America is host to many of these climate litigation cases. Yet, in mainstream climate litigation literature, the role of litigation in Latin America is often overlooked, especially the role of litigation in ‘peripheral’ claims. We argue that limiting the definition of climate litigation to cases that directly invoke climate-change-related claims, albeit useful, ignores a significant number of cases with potentially strong influence in climate governance. We contend that Latin America provides a wide and relevant range of climate cases that could inform how climate governance is shaped, but that the majority of these cases rely on ‘peripheral’ climate claims: that is, on claims that may not directly mention climate change laws or data but which nevertheless have an impact on climate governance. Some of these claims refer to biodiversity protection (ie in the Amazon basin), while others appeal to climate change causes (ie air pollution). Furthermore, cases with innovative approaches such as those invoking the Rights of Nature or Intergenerational Equity also touch upon climate governance and the human–nature relationship. This article draws on the expanding body of climate-related cases in Latin America in order to assess the role of the region in advancing climate litigation.
... The moral norms of Chinese traditional culture are "male owner outside female owner inside"; therefore, women were gradually ignored by people. It was not until the 1911 Revolution that society became more conscious of women's rights and a large number of newspapers began to promote gender equality [41][42][43][44][45]. ...
With the development of society, the chemical industry is expanding, and the hazy weather everywhere is becoming increasingly frequent, already affecting people’s lives and causing them to pay more attention to environmental issues. Therefore, this paper highlights the role of women in environmental protection by studying the coordination of environmental protection and female discrimination based on the concept of affirmative action. Through this study and a survey, we found that China has not yet realized that women’s participation in environmental protection plays a key role in improving the quality of our environment and the development of ecological civilization. However, we should clearly understand that environmental issues are not only personal, they are related to the survival and development of a country, and as a member of that country, both women and men should have the right and obligation to protect the environment. Therefore, this article discusses the concept and meaning of affirmative action and gender discrimination in the context of research on these concepts, discussing the problems and phenomena that women encounter in environmental protection. These include the system of women’s environmental protection, gender issues for women in society, and the unequal treatment from the Government based on some studies. Through the study and analysis of the system of women’s environmental protection, the role and position of women in this regard is summarized. Finally, it is suggested that, for the construction and development of ecological civilization in China, it is necessary to fully integrate ecological civilization into all aspects of society and pay attention to environmental protection issues. Therefore, we should pay attention to the role of women in environmental protection, provide corresponding policies, and actively encourage women to partake in environmental protection in order to build an environmentally friendly and resource-saving society together.
... Interestingly, the application was directed not only against the government and regional entities, but also several (public) corporations. See Pelizzon (2020); Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez (2018). 30 In these cases, the defendant is the competent national authority and not the private entity itself. ...
The chapter looks at climate change litigation against the backdrop of existing law. It uses a comparative approach to discuss tort and nuisance type cases that have principally occurred in the U.S., Germany, and the Netherlands. The chapter establishes different categories of horizontal civil litigation and discusses key legal and forensic issues where climate cases serve particularly well as a reference area for transboundary corporate liability. This includes justiciability, causation, standing and compensable damage as well as the existence and extent of a duty of care.
... Interestingly, the application was directed not only against the government and regional entities, but also several (public) corporations. See Pelizzon (2020); Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez (2018). 30 In these cases, the defendant is the competent national authority and not the private entity itself. ...
One strategy to address environmental degradation caused by transnational human activities is to focus on States as the principal actors and law-makers on the international plane. In order to address environmental challenges, States have by and large three avenues for regulatory management at their disposal: the first one is domestic legislation on pollution control and conservation within the boundaries of jurisdictional limits set by international law; the second avenue is action through regional organisations of economic integration which have the power of supranational law-making, although these also have to observe the same jurisdictional limits in relation to the international community; and the third avenue is traditional international law-making, the method on which this Chapter focuses.
... Interestingly, the application was directed not only against the government and regional entities, but also several (public) corporations. See Pelizzon (2020); Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez (2018). 30 In these cases, the defendant is the competent national authority and not the private entity itself. ...
Article 8 of the Paris Agreement, in its para. 1, recognises the importance of averting, minimising and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change. With this, Article 8 connects with the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM)-work programme of 2013 which specifies that adverse effects resulting from climate change can be both sudden and slow onset events.
... Interestingly, the application was directed not only against the government and regional entities, but also several (public) corporations. See Pelizzon (2020); Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez (2018). 30 In these cases, the defendant is the competent national authority and not the private entity itself. ...
Building on a comprehensive study commissioned by the German Federal Environmental Agency in 2018, this book seeks to identify the legal preconditions of the liability of private enterprises for transboundary environmental damage. This goal required an accurate description of the situation de lege lata , i.e. an examination of whether and if so, to what extent existing norms and institutions in international and national law can adequately and effectively address transboundary environmental damage caused by economic actors. However, such an examination would be both incomplete and soon outdated if current and emerging legal developments along with their implications were not also considered in appropriate depth. In addition to the stated goal of identifying existing legal norms and principles, this book has simultaneously endeavoured to focus on current scholarly debates, legal controversies and policy discussions about how liability for environmental damage could and should evolve de lege ferenda .
... Interestingly, the application was directed not only against the government and regional entities, but also several (public) corporations. See Pelizzon (2020); Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez (2018). 30 In these cases, the defendant is the competent national authority and not the private entity itself. ...
The goal of this chapter is to understand the functions and objectives of environmental liability law. This task requires going beyond the traditional perspective of the judge or the lawyer to a certain extent, as these roles are usually concerned with the restitution of or compensation for environmental damage that has already occurred, a repressive perspective which is typically contrasted with the preventive function of environmental liability. In line with the latter function, liability law can be considered as a regulatory approach to cope with environmental problems and thus as a complement or alternative to other instruments of international law which are designed to minimise or eliminate environmental risks.
... Interestingly, the application was directed not only against the government and regional entities, but also several (public) corporations. See Pelizzon (2020); Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez (2018). 30 In these cases, the defendant is the competent national authority and not the private entity itself. ...
The part of the seabed and subsoil that is beyond national jurisdiction (hereafter, the Area) is regulated by Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as well as by the 1994 Implementation Agreement. The regime of deep seabed mining (DSM) in the Area foresees three phases: prospecting, exploration and exploitation. The exploration and exploitation phases involve several actors, including States, the International Seabed Authority (ISA or Authority) and private entities. Established under UNCLOS, the ISA is tasked with controlling and organising “activities in the Area, particularly with a view to administering the resources of the Area”. To date, the ISA has developed regulations related to exploration for minerals in the Area which set out the standard terms of exploration contracts as well as the requirements to apply for exploration rights. DSM in the Area is currently transitioning from the exploration phase into the exploitation phase, and the ISA is developing rules for the assessment and environmental management of future operations.
... Interestingly, the application was directed not only against the government and regional entities, but also several (public) corporations. See Pelizzon (2020); Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez (2018). 30 In these cases, the defendant is the competent national authority and not the private entity itself. ...
Climate change arguably constitutes one of the greatest risks to the long-term health of the world’s environment. In 2015, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlighted that the Earth’s climate system has consistently been warming since the 1950s and that a “large fraction of anthropogenic climate change resulting from CO 2 emissions is irreversible on a multi-century to millennial time scale, except in the case of a large net removal of CO 2 from the atmosphere over a sustained period”. Initial responses to climate change revolved around States attempting to reduce, rather than remove, greenhouse gas emissions. However, as the global economy expands, greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise and cooperative arrangements aimed at reducing emissions have had limited, if any, impact. If recent predictions are to be believed, the remaining “carbon budget” needed to prevent average global temperatures from increasing by more than 1.5 °C may be exhausted by 2030. Climate Analytics estimates that the current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) made by States under the Paris Agreement indicate that average global temperatures will rise by 2.8 °C by 2100—almost double the stipulated efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels mentioned in Article 2(1)(a) of the Paris Agreement. The recent IPCC Special Report on 1.5 °C Global Warming concludes that without “increased and urgent mitigation ambition in the coming years, leading to a sharp decline in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, global warming will [cause] irreversible loss of the most fragile ecosystems and crisis after crisis for the most vulnerable people and societies”.
... Interestingly, the application was directed not only against the government and regional entities, but also several (public) corporations. See Pelizzon (2020); Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez (2018). 30 In these cases, the defendant is the competent national authority and not the private entity itself. ...
Having discussed the regulatory objectives and functions of international environmental liability (Chap. 2 ) and the international obligations of private and public actors alike to prevent and redress environmental harm (Chaps. 3 and 4 ), this and the next chapter’s point of departure is the complementary perspective of domestic law and international law on corporations’ civil liability for transnational environmental damage.
... Interestingly, the application was directed not only against the government and regional entities, but also several (public) corporations. See Pelizzon (2020); Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez (2018). 30 In these cases, the defendant is the competent national authority and not the private entity itself. ...
Twenty-nine States (the ‘Consultative Parties’), each with a substantial interest in Antarctica, collectively manage Antarctica through a system of consensus-based decisions. Traditionally, the Antarctic Treaty together with recommendations and measures adopted by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM), the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CAMLR Convention) and the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (CCAS) form the basis of the Antarctic Treaty System. However, the Consultative Parties began to expand their environmental responsibilities in Antarctica in 1970 and agreed that they “should assume responsibility for the protection of the environment and the wise use of the Treaty area”. A major step in this regard was the addition to the Antarctic Treaty System of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (PEPAT or the Protocol). Together with safeguarding free and peaceful scientific research, the Protocol incorporates the protection of the Antarctic environment into the Antarctic Treaty System. The Protocol has six annexes, with Annex VI (Liabilities Arising from Environmental Emergencies) being a product of the obligations contained in Articles 15 and 16 of the PEPAT. Specifically, Article 16 of the PEPAT states that:
... Interestingly, the application was directed not only against the government and regional entities, but also several (public) corporations. See Pelizzon (2020); Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez (2018). 30 In these cases, the defendant is the competent national authority and not the private entity itself. ...
For obvious reasons, space activities are generally classed as ultra-hazardous endeavours, i.e. they are inherently dangerous, not only for the various vehicles leaving the Earth atmosphere, but also the cargo such vehicles carry, be it human or otherwise. Additionally, space activities generate environmental risks in outer space that can, at times, impact the Earth as what goes up, must inevitably come down. The hazards of spaceflight come from multiple sources, including, but not limited to, the technology used (e.g. nuclear power sources) and the hostile nature of outer space which is difficult to reach, difficult to survive in and difficult to return from. This inherent danger has been tragically highlighted not only by the shuttle disasters involving Challenger (1986) and Columbia (2003) but also by the vast field of radioactive debris left in Canada after the uncontrolled re-entry of the Soviet satellite Cosmos 954 in 1977. The latter accident exemplifies that ultra-hazardous activities require liability rules because when something goes wrong, the consequences can be significant for any injured parties.
... Interestingly, the application was directed not only against the government and regional entities, but also several (public) corporations. See Pelizzon (2020); Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez (2018). 30 In these cases, the defendant is the competent national authority and not the private entity itself. ...
This Chapter examines the legal status of private actors as potential duty-holders in international law and considers ideas and arguments brought forward to substantiate and further develop international environmental obligations for private actors. This task also requires to clarify whether and to what extent international human rights, from which such corporate duties could arise, demand the protection of the environment.
... Interestingly, the application was directed not only against the government and regional entities, but also several (public) corporations. See Pelizzon (2020); Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez (2018). 30 In these cases, the defendant is the competent national authority and not the private entity itself. ...
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (hereafter: Basel Convention) was adopted in 1989. It was a reaction to heightened international awareness of the exponential growth of hazardous waste being produced and the risks it presented to human health, property and the environment while being transported around the globe. The Basel Convention primarily aims to minimise the generation and transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and to keep risks at a tolerable level. It was also a response to the practice of exporting increasing amounts of hazardous waste from the Global North to the Global South. Hence, the Convention is supposed to address concerns regarding environmental justice which arise when industrialised countries profit by exploiting the precarious economic positions of nations in the Global South. Economically challenged countries may accordingly be under pressure to prioritise economic development over environmental concerns when they are offered foreign payments in exchange for accepting toxic waste shipments. By dealing with the disproportionately large share of the burden regarding hazardous waste developing nations face, the Basel Convention has been touted as one of the international agreements at the forefront of integrating environmental justice principles into global trade.
... Interestingly, the application was directed not only against the government and regional entities, but also several (public) corporations. See Pelizzon (2020); Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez (2018). 30 In these cases, the defendant is the competent national authority and not the private entity itself. ...
The following chapter takes a closer look at transboundary environmental harm caused by business operations in the context of transnational value chains. Here, the transboundary character does not necessarily result from the environmental harm’s course but rather from transboundary economic causal links via transnational value chains. Consequently, the situations considered in this chapter are generally those categorised as one of the ‘type-two cases’ detailed in the previous chapter.
... Interestingly, the application was directed not only against the government and regional entities, but also several (public) corporations. See Pelizzon (2020); Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez (2018). 30 In these cases, the defendant is the competent national authority and not the private entity itself. ...
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (hereafter: Cartagena Protocol) was adopted on 29 January 2000 as a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity and entered into force on 11 September 2003. The Cartagena Protocol pursues the goal of reconciling the economic interests of the biotechnology industry with environmental concerns and, by doing so, is supposed to provide a framework to meet the respective needs of trade and environmental protection with respect to the rapidly growing global biotechnology industry. On the one hand, the Protocol is designed to enable the access to and transfer of technologies regarding the development and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) which are seen to potentially provide considerable socio-economic benefits. Such a typically commercial use may be contained in controlled settings, or involve the release of the organisms into the environment for application in agricultural or industrial production-processes or products. This entails serious risks of environmental damage. The Cartagena Protocol, therefore, seeks to ensure the development of appropriate procedures to enhance the safety of biotechnology, to reduce potential threats to biological diversity, taking also into account the risks to human health. It does so with a particular focus on transboundary movements. The reasons cited for the need for a specific liability regime regarding LMOs and the potential damage they may cause relate to many of the specific problems associated with such organisms: For example, once LMOs are released, the transgenes cannot be easily recalled or removed from the environment. There may be possible long-term effects, whereby damage may only appear over time or even increase incrementally over time. Furthermore, some of the difficulties common to liability in an environmental damage context become acute when dealing with LMOs, such as in proving damage and causation, valuing areas damaged by LMOs, which may be not as well developed under existing liability regimes, as well as defining the affected persons who can bring a claim, e.g., on behalf of the environment or affected communities.
... Interestingly, the application was directed not only against the government and regional entities, but also several (public) corporations. See Pelizzon (2020); Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez (2018). 30 In these cases, the defendant is the competent national authority and not the private entity itself. ...
This open access book aims to elaborate on the legal prerequisites to establish the liability of corporations for transboundary environmental harm, not only by identifying existing liability rules, principles and standards but also by analysing their potential for further legal development. The authors consider international and transboundary liability law to currently be an underutilised tool for international environmental protection. The book seeks to address this by exploring what is needed in terms of legislative action and identifying options for judicial pliability, thereby providing an important legal contribution in furthering the development of an effective international and transnational environmental liability law regime.
... This includes places where the RoN and Indigenous rights have been at the forefront of several significant legal decisions in the last few years, such as Colombia and Ecuador. 85 Despite the progressive nature of the recognition the RoN, the rights of Indigenous peoples' to participate in decision-making and resource management are often marginalized. As analysed by Macpherson, Torres and Clavijo Ospina: ...
Although there are some synergies between the movements to support the Rights of Nature (RoN) and Indigenous peoples, there are also some potential pitfalls and dichotomies when it comes to the integration of Indigenous peoples' human rights. In exploring some of these challenges, this article contends that the RoN paradigm should be premised on an Indigenous peoples' rights-based approach to RoN. It explores how the integration and respect of Indigenous peoples' human rights could offer a solid platform to support the development of the RoN in a much more respectful and participatory manner. By focusing specifically on self-determination, land rights, cultural rights and participatory rights, it analyses how international human rights law could serve as a benchmark to guide the development of the RoN to ensure the integration, respect and promotion of Indigenous peoples' rights. In doing so, this article argues that if such human rights based framework is adopted the RoN and the rights of Indigenous peoples could become much more self-supportive and complementary.
... The specific issue of plastics has gained further global importance via negotiations to create a UN Treaty on Plastics Pollution. Moreover, rivers and other important parts of national heritage have recently received legal protection vis-à-vis existing constitutional provisions protecting the environment, in countries such as Ecuador (Manzano 2014) and Colombia (Alvarado and Rivas-Ramirez 2018), which demonstrates the social significance of the environment being translated into a set of legal obligations. New Zealand and India (see O'Donnell 2018), and states in the USA such as Ohio, via the Lake Erie Bill of Rights, have established that rivers have legal rights (Spitz and Eduardo 2020). ...
There is a conspicuous lacuna in the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990 because it imposes no legal duty on statutory bodies to clear litter from aquatic environments (rivers, canals and lakes) in England and Wales. This paper identifies a significant gap in the law on aquatic environmental protection by undertaking doctrinal research, including contextual analysis of references to rivers in ‘soft’ law (e.g., policy documents such as the Conservative Government’s Litter Strategy) and ‘hard law’ (e.g., legislation including the EPA 1990); an examination of the problems with existing legal frameworks in this sphere and an exploration of legislative and practical measures which could protect our rivers and other inland waterways from litter. A legislative amendment to the EPA is proposed with discussion of whether imposing a duty on an existing body or a new, specialised body to clear litter from rivers will ameliorate these problems. The intention behind this paper is to initiate an informed debate on how to protect aquatic environments from the harmful effects of litter.
... The influence of other nature's rights cases (e.g. the Whanganui case in New Zealand in particular) along with the pre-existing Colombia legislative frameworks to protect cultural diversity and biological diversity led the Court to think that a bio-cultural approach would positively afford already categorized "ethnic" communities greater political agency, by offering both nature and culture greater protection (Barcan, 2019;Macpherson, 2019;Richardson, 2020). As a tool, nature's rights when backed in practice by a model for river guardianship, were also thought to provide an additional means to confront harmful extractivist interests in addition to already available legislative tools (Alvarado and Rivas-Ramírez, 2018;Macpherson, 2019). ...
... The influence of other nature's rights cases (e.g. the Whanganui case in New Zealand in particular) along with the pre-existing Colombia legislative frameworks to protect cultural diversity and biological diversity led the Court to think that a bio-cultural approach would positively afford already categorized "ethnic" communities greater political agency, by offering both nature and culture greater protection (Barcan, 2019;Macpherson, 2019;Richardson, 2020). As a tool, nature's rights when backed in practice by a model for river guardianship, were also thought to provide an additional means to confront harmful extractivist interests in addition to already available legislative tools (Alvarado and Rivas-Ramírez, 2018;Macpherson, 2019). ...
... The duration of the case spanned only a few months. The plaintiffs filed a 'tutela'a unique Colombian constitutional tool to protect rightsagainst the government and several municipalities and corporations, claiming that the climate crisis and deforestation of the Amazon threaten their rights to a healthy environment (Acosta Alvarado & Rivas-Ramírez, 2018;'Demanda Generaciones v. Minambiente', 2018). The court recognized the connection between climate change, deforestation and human rights, and stated that the 'fundamental rights of life, health, the minimum subsistence, freedom, and human dignity are substantially linked and determined by the environment and the ecosystem' ('Demanda Generaciones v. Minambiente', 2018, p. 13). ...
In spite of the 2015 Paris Agreement requiring all Parties, irrespective of their development status, to take climate action, the operationalization of climate justice in global climate governance and policy has been fraught. Other avenues, such as litigation, have emerged as a policy tool for seeking redress for past and prospective harm resulting from climate change. The academic and policy literatures have, however, had limited engagement with the role of rights-based litigation in climate governance since Paris. We help fill this gap by developing the four-component OATH (Objective, Associated climate impact, Type of justice, Harm) framework and applying it to three high-profile climate litigation cases – Urgenda v. The Netherlands, Juliana v. United States, and Demanda v. Minambiente. Our analysis confirms that the progress and achievements of these cases demonstrate the potential of climate litigation to force greater national and sub-national government action on climate change. However, litigation better serves some types of justice (e.g. intergenerational) than others (e.g. distributive). Therefore, as its ambition and progress continue to grow, litigation must be combined with other forms of climate action to better advance justice in a post-Paris world.
Key policy insights
• International climate agreements and obligations are important to the success of climate litigation.
• Climate litigation can be used to hold countries accountable to the commitments they communicate in their NDCs and other policy instruments, but it should be used as one of several policy tools.
• Litigation pertaining to climate adaptation should and can be expanded to support and advance justice.
• Distributive justice cannot be sufficiently advanced through domestic climate litigation so it must be further incorporated into international climate agreements and obligations.
• The universal right to a clean environment, its definition and criteria should be (a) established in international environmental agreements and obligations, and (b) aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Abstract
Purpose
Today’s world is struggling with the hardship of climate change that has drastically disturbed human life, wildlife and the earth’s biological system. This study aims to show how implementing climate change mitigation strategies and environmental protection measures can ensure sustainable development through collaborative efforts between governmental authorities and the nation’s populace.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive literature review of studies is conducted from across the world concentrating on holistic, sustainable development, enabling a showcase of various conferences, action plans initiated and resolutions passed. VOSviewer software is used to quantify the results of bibliometric analysis and cluster analysis. A total of 260 research studies released between 1993 and 2022 on the Scopus platform are quantified in terms of topmost publications, collaborations among authors, citations index and year-wise publication. The search string has keywords including “climate change,” “sustainable development” and “environment protection.”
Findings
The study results revealed a steep increase in research publications in the last three years, from 2017 to 2021, which serves as the basis of the emergence of high-impact articles. The most cited document in this context throws light on assessing vulnerability to climatic risk and building adaptive capacity. It also draws attention to voluntary carbon markets’ rationale while condemning emission trading systems for climate change due to structural flaws, negative consequences and questionable emission-cutting effectiveness. Low energy demand, zero energy buildings and shared socioeconomic pathways should be implemented as strategies for sustainable development.
Practical implications
This study provides a significant opportunity to construct a valuable addition to mitigate climate change. Also, it shows a positive and significant correlation between mitigation and adaptation policies by analyzing publication efforts worldwide considering local climate risks and national adaptation mandates.
Originality/value
The originality of this study lies in its comprehensive approach, combining literature review, bibliometric analysis and cluster analysis to provide insights into current research trends, challenges and potential strategies for addressing climate change and promoting sustainable development. The study’s emphasis on the correlation between mitigation and adaptation policies adds practical significance to its findings.
The climate crisis will continue to affect human and natural systems across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Undoubtedly, this jeopardizes entire communities’ enjoyment of human rights. In that context, the Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS) is expected to respond, particularly since its organs have jurisdiction to order remedies over most LAC countries, provided they determine a rights violation. Despite the growing number of domestic human rights-based climate cases in the region, the organs of the IAHRS have yet to adjudicate and order remedies in a case concerning the climate crisis. Against this backdrop, this article inquires how to understand climate remedies from a political ecology perspective to capture the LAC climate litigation experience. Additionally, the article asks what the challenges of implementing such remedies may be. To answer these questions, first, it compares the remedial approaches of domestic courts in six finally decided climate-related cases with those of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) in ‘anti-extractivist’ cases. Second, it applies a political ecology lens to understand the elements that might hinder the implementation of the identified remedies. The article argues that the socioeconomic cost for States largely determines remedial compliance in domestic climate litigation and the IACtHR’s anti-extractivist litigation. Ultimately, the aim is to anticipate the future of climate remedies and their effectiveness at the IACtHR based on present climate litigation in LAC.
Ten years since the adoption of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, we have witnessed an increasing trend in Europe toward the adoption of mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence. Focusing on due diligence legislation from France, Germany, Norway, and the EU, this article examines the extent to which these laws are laying the foundations for the articulation of an integrated, comprehensive, and robust framework that effectively fosters corporate accountability through preventing, addressing, and remedying corporate‐related human rights and environmental harms. In this examination, we draw on international human rights and environmental standards and Third World Approaches to International Law, to identify the lessons learned from current approaches and that ought to be considered in future frameworks.
The principle of sustainability is generally taken as a good, but what does sustainability really mean? The notion of sustainability has been at the center of global governance debates for more than a decade and many countries across the world include sustainability in their constitutions. This paper argues that in order to understand the concept of sustainability in a constitutional context, we need to turn to the notion of dignity. The paper explores the concepts of sustainability and dignity and their meanings in the framework of climate justice and related questions and by discussing them in the context of Kantian and republican theory. In addition, the paper looks at intriguing court cases on the importance of nation states meeting their climate law duties. The paper concludes by exploring new uses of the sustainability concept. EU constitutional law will serve as a laboratory in testing these questions.
Comparative environmental politics (CEP) is a vibrant field of scholarship and practice that addresses a range of environmental issues facing communities, non-state actors, and nation-states. It draws not only on the disciplinary study of politics and policy, but also, as this volume shows, is enriched by interdisciplinary insights from anthropology, geography, sociology, law, and development studies. Moreover, the governance of environmental issues is increasingly recognized as central to political economy, political theory, political behavior, and political institutions. The contributions explore the main theoretical debates and critical thematic issues that have emerged in the field and are authored by a broad cross-section of scholars. All the contributors synthesize what they see as the state of the art in their respective thematic areas and indicate where additional research could yield fruitful inquiry.
Although the harmful effects of climate change on human rights are well-recognized, the legal response to the climate crisis has been inadequate. This is particularly problematic as the crisis disproportionately affects vulnerable groups, which is exacerbated by a lack of effective remedies in contesting the adverse effects of climate change. The article argues that vulnerability theory offers a persuasive framing for rethinking what kind of remedies can be considered effective in the context of the climate crisis. A vulnerability theory approach shows how vulnerability increased by the climate crisis is universal but differentially distributed. Effective remedies are an essential part of responding to this vulnerability. The article suggests that characteristics of an effective remedy include the ability to contest breaches of positive obligations, speediness, the ability to contest future harms, the ability to contest breaches of extraterritorial obligations, bindingness, and equality of standing.
Los enfoques de los derechos de la naturaleza se están desarrollando como un medio legal alternativo para permitir la justicia para la naturaleza y, a menudo, también para los humanos. Este estudio examina los dos enfoques fundamentales de los derechos de la naturaleza ordenados por los tribunales de Colombia que reconocen los ecosistemas, la cuenca del río Atrato (2016) y la Amazonía colombiana (2018), como un sujeto legal con derechos de protección, mantenimiento, conservación y restauración. Desarrollados como remedios para las violaciones de los derechos humanos, ambos casos ofrecen oportunidades para explorar variaciones en los enfoques de los derechos de la naturaleza y la relación entre los esfuerzos para hacer posible la justicia para los humanos y la naturaleza. Nos basamos en el compromiso académico existente con los casos al contribuir con un estudio de archivo detallado sobre su implementación, complementado con algunas entrevistas con actores clave, así como al evaluar la implementación de los fallos utilizando marcos de justicia ambiental y ecológica para determinar hasta qué punto. han permitido la justicia para los humanos y la naturaleza hasta la fecha. Argumentamos que los enfoques de los derechos de la naturaleza de la cuenca del río Atrato y la Amazonía colombiana actualmente no alcanzan sus objetivos de permitir la justicia tanto para los humanos como para la naturaleza. Hasta el momento, la interpretación y la implementación de las sentencias aún no han hecho posible la justicia y, en algunos casos, han perpetuado las injusticias. de las sentencias aún no han hecho posible la justicia y, en algunos casos, han perpetuado las injusticias.
El presente trabajo, lejos de proponer una nueva visión del territorio y del ordenamiento territorial, tiene como objetivo visibilizar las propuestas teóricas que pretenden modernizar el concepto de territorio, incluyendo en él los diferentes fenómenos históricos, sociales, políticos, económicos y ambientales que giran a su alrededor.
Este texto se divide en tres partes. En primer lugar, se presenta de manera esquemática cuál ha sido el concepto tradicional de territorio y de ordenamiento territorial. A continuación se analizan, uno a uno, los factores y fenómenos que no son contemplados dentro del concepto clásico del territorio, para lo cual se explica teóricamente cómo es que dichas cuestiones no se enmarcan en el concepto tradicional. Posteriormente, se ejemplifica por medio de la realidad colombiana; en esa perspectiva, el artículo evidencia cómo fenómenos históricos, sociales, políticos, económicos, ambientales y culturales son obviados dentro del ámbito municipal del ordenamiento territorial. Finalmente, se concluye haciendo hincapié en la importancia de modernizar nuestras instituciones jurídicas a partir de definiciones dinámicas y evolutivas que permitan un verdadero desarrollo nacional.
Cases involving climate change have been litigated in the courts for some time, but new directions and trends have started to emerge. While the majority of climate litigation has occurred in the United States and other developed countries, cases in the Global South are growing both in terms of quantity and the quality of their regulatory outcomes. However, so far climate litigation in the Global South has received scant attention from the literature. We argue that climate litigation in the Global South opens up avenues for progress on climate change in these highly vulnerable countries. We first highlight capacity constraints within Global South countries to provide context to the approach to climate litigation in the Global South – how these cases push the climate litigation agenda forward by linking climate change and human rights, and often addressing climate change indirectly, integrating it into other environmental matters in spite of the significant constraints experienced in these countries. We then identify two factors that are contributing to this increased activity and initial positive outcomes: judges willing to engage with policy making; as well as procedural mechanisms in these countries which, combined with regulatory advantages such as environmental constitutional provisions, pave the way to innovative climate litigation outcomes.
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