International human rights law, intergenerational justice and climate change

2014 ◽  
pp. 132-149 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Intergenerational Justice ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Human

The Paris Agreement as a Human Rights Treaty

2020 ◽  
pp. 323-347
Author(s):  
John H Knox
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Environmental Harm ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Previous Decade ◽  
International Human ◽  
Human Rights Norms

This chapter examines the Paris Agreement on climate change in light of international human rights law, with particular attention to the human rights language included in the Paris Agreement. The chapter reviews the efforts over the previous decade to characterize climate change as a threat to human rights; describes the evolution of human rights obligations relating to environmental harm in general and to climate change in particular; and assesses the new climate regime in light of these norms. It concludes that the Paris Agreement is consistent with the human rights obligations relating to climate change in many respects, but that states must strengthen their commitments in order to fulfil those obligations completely. Finally, the chapter examines how human rights norms may influence climate policy in the future.

Human Rights Principles and Climate Change

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Knox
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
Legal Remedies ◽  
International Human ◽  
Anthropogenic Contributions

This chapter examines the application of international human rights law to climate change. Specifically, it looks at whether climate change interferes with the enjoyment of human rights recognized in international law, and how human rights law requires states to protect human rights from such interference. Human rights law imposes procedural and substantive obligations upon states with respect to environmental threats to human rights. States have obligations to ensure that decisions with possible environmental effects are made through a process that provides for examination and dissemination of information about those effects, full and informed participation by those potentially affected, and effective legal remedies. However, there are obstacles to the application of human rights principles to climate change. The chapter describes some of these challenges, such as the difficulty of tracing clear causal links between anthropogenic contributions to climate change and the effects of climate change on the enjoyment of human rights.

scholarly journals Enhancing the efficacy of climate change litigation: how to resolve the ‘fair share question’ in the context of international human rights law

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-263
Author(s):  
Gerry Liston
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
European Convention ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Fair Share ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Causal Uncertainty ◽  
International Human

The ambiguity surrounding what constitutes a State's fair share of the global burden of mitigating climate change has undermined the ability of domestic climate change litigation to bring about emissions reductions which are collectively capable of meeting the goal of the Paris Agreement. When confronted with challenges to the adequacy of States' mitigation efforts, domestic courts have also drawn on States' international human rights law obligations. This paper argues that when applying these obligations, the uncertainty surrounding the fair share question must be resolved so as to ensure individual mitigation obligations which are collectively consistent with the Paris Agreement. The analysis focuses on the obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and outlines how general principles of law applicable in situations involving causal uncertainty could be invoked to address the fair share question.

scholarly journals Addressing Climate Change through International Human Rights Law: From (Extra)Territoriality to Common Concern of Humankind

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Vincent Bellinkx ◽  
Deborah Casalin ◽  
Gamze Erdem Türkelli ◽  
Werner Scholtz ◽  
Wouter Vandenhole
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Burden Sharing ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Common Concern ◽  
International Human

Abstract International human rights law (IHRL) offers potential responses to the consequences of climate change. However, the focus of IHRL on territorial jurisdiction and the causation-based allocation of obligations does not match the global nature of climate change impacts and their indirect causation. The primary aim of this article is to respond to the jurisdictional challenge of IHRL in the context of climate change, including its indirect, slow-onset consequences such as climate change migration. It does so by suggesting a departure from (extra)territoriality and an embrace of global international cooperation obligations in IHRL. The notion of common concern of humankind (CCH) in international environmental law offers conceptual inspiration for the manner in which burden sharing between states may facilitate international cooperation in response to global problems. Such a reconfiguration of the jurisdictional tenets of IHRL is central to enabling a meaningful human rights response to the harmful consequences of climate change.

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