Is a Rights-Based Approach to Climate Action Viable? Clarifying Longitudinal Relations between Individuals’ Support for Human Rights and Climate Change Beliefs

Human rights v. Insufficient climate action: The Urgenda case

Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights ◽

10.1177/0924051919844375 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 112-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ingrid Leijten

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Human Rights ◽

Case Law ◽

European Convention ◽

Court Of Appeals ◽

Ex Post ◽

European Court ◽

Climate Action ◽

Ex Post Facto ◽

Rights Issue

Climate change is a human rights issue, but what exactly can courts require States to do in this regard? This contribution discusses the Dutch Urgenda case, in which the Court of Appeals recently found a violation of Articles 2 (right to life) and 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights and ordered the State to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020. Looking at the case law of the European Court of Human Rights on environmental issues, as well as the nature of positive obligations, it appears that Urgenda involves a more abstract situation and a more precise positive obligation than is usually the case in human rights adjudication. Because ex post facto complaints are no solution, and in light of the growing number of Urgenda-like cases pending before (international) courts, efforts need to be made to ensure that human rights `fit' climate change cases and courts can provide effective protection in this regard.

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Four Europes: Climate change beliefs and attitudes predict behavior and policy preferences using a latent class analysis on 23 countries

10.31234/osf.io/rfz98 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ondřej Kácha ◽

Jáchym Vintr ◽

Cameron Brick

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Latent Class Analysis ◽

Latent Class ◽

Social Trust ◽

European Social Survey ◽

Attitudes And Beliefs ◽

Class Analysis ◽

Climate Action ◽

Change Beliefs ◽

Climate Change Attitudes

Building public will for climate action requires designing messages for different audiences. Previous studies that identified groups based on similar beliefs, behavior, and political preferences related to climate change were in single countries and were not pre-registered. The current study ran latent class analysis on the European Social Survey (ESS 2016, N= 44,387) to identify groups of people according to their climate change attitudes and beliefs in 22 European countries and Israel. We found strong evidence for four groups: Engaged (18%), Conflicted (18%), Indifferent (42%), and Skeptical (21%) and we compare the segment structure and proportions within Europe and to other countries. We identify differences between the groups in values, life satisfaction, and social trust, and then revealed that the groups uniquely predict self-reported behaviors not included in the segmentation. The findings characterize climate change beliefs for all of Europe and guide governments and pan-European bodies in designingeffective communications to promote climate beliefs and actions.

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The future of climate policymaking in light of Urgenda Foundation v the Netherlands

Environmental Law Review ◽

10.1177/1461452920927896 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 119-124

Author(s):

Irene Antonopoulos

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Human Rights ◽

The Netherlands ◽

Supreme Court ◽

European Convention ◽

Climate Action ◽

State Obligations ◽

Tackle Climate Change ◽

Definition Of ◽

Dutch Supreme

The decision of the Dutch Supreme Court in The State of the Netherlands v Urgenda Foundation represents a breakthrough and a step forward in addressing the human rights aspects of climate change. The significance of the case has been recognised by commentators and the UN Human Rights Commissioner, who asked for a repeat of Urgenda’s journey in other jurisdictions. Despite the implication that other states have similar obligations to those construed by the Dutch Supreme Court, the influence of the case in other jurisdictions is yet to be seen. This article recognises the significance of the Urgenda case to the definition of state obligations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as part of their commitments under the European Convention on Human Rights. In particular, the article discusses the progress made in interpreting Articles 2 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights in clarifying state obligations to take decisive measures to tackle climate change in line with their climate action commitments.

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Normative Shifts in the Global Conception of Climate Change: The Growth of Climate Justice

Social Sciences ◽

10.3390/socsci8010024 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 24 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Evan Gach

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Human Rights ◽

Global Justice ◽

Social Inequalities ◽

Civil Society Organizations ◽

Climate Justice ◽

Issue Framing ◽

Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽

Climate Action ◽

The Status

While climate change has been framed as an environmental issue from the very beginning of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations, over the years the concept has expanded to further emphasize it as a fundamental issue of human rights and global justice. This paper examines the evolution of the conception of climate change since 2009, arguing that the issue framing utilized by UNFCCC member states has increasingly trended toward some aspects of the climate justice frame, including disparities in vulnerability to climate change (loss and damage), human rights impacts, and social inequalities. This shift also extends to the framing adopted by civil society organizations in the form of the Climate Action Network (CAN International), in which a larger focus on issues of climate justice can be seen in recent years. These trends are then reviewed alongside the objectives, mechanisms, and language of the ratified text of the Paris Agreement in order to evaluate the status of the growing international norm of climate justice.

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The Rights of Future Generations within the Post-Paris Climate Regime

Transnational Environmental Law ◽

10.1017/s2047102517000243 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 69-87 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Bridget Lewis

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Human Rights ◽

Paris Agreement ◽

Future Generations ◽

Climate Regime ◽

Leading Role ◽

Adequate Response ◽

Climate Action ◽

State Obligations ◽

State Responses

AbstractIn recognition of the intrinsic links between climate change and human rights, many have argued that human rights should play a leading role in guiding state responses to climate change. A group whose human rights will inevitably be affected by climate action (or inaction) today are the members of future generations. Yet, despite their particular vulnerability, future generations so far have gone largely unnoticed in human rights analyses. An adequate response to climate change requires that we recognize and address the human rights consequences for future generations, and consider the legal, practical and theoretical questions involved. This article attempts to answer these questions with a particular focus on the Paris Agreement. It argues that the recognition of state obligations towards future generations is compatible with human rights theory, and that these obligations must be balanced against the duties owed to current generations. The article concludes with a number of suggestions for how this balance could be pursued.

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Human Rights and the New Sustainable Mechanism of the Paris Agreement: A New Opportunity to Promote Climate Justice

Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad ◽

10.17159/1727-3781/2018/v21i0a3189 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 ◽

pp. 1-39

Author(s):

Paola Villavicencio Calzadilla

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Sustainable Development ◽

Human Rights ◽

Paris Agreement ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

New Era ◽

Policies And Measures ◽

Climate Action ◽

Looking Back ◽

Development Mechanism

In the light of the new era of climate action under the Paris Agreement (PA) and the rights and justice issues raised by climate change-related policies and measures, this paper discusses the integration of a human rights component within the Sustainable Development Mechanism (SDM) of the PA. Established in article 6.4, the SDM is essentially a new mitigation mechanism available to all Parties aimed at helping them to achieve and increase their mitigation actions, while fostering sustainable development. Looking back at the experience of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol, which bears great resemblance to the SDM, as well as to the human rights concerns raised during its implementation, the integration of human rights considerations into the SDM and its governing rules seems to be necessary to prevent negative outcomes and human rights harms when implemented. The adoption of such rules, consistent with international human rights, could provide an opportunity for State Parties to operationalise the language included in the PA and tackle the climate change challenge, while ensuring respect for human rights.

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KlimaSeniorinnen: lessons from the Swiss senior women's case for future climate litigation

Journal of Human Rights and the Environment ◽

10.4337/jhre.2018.02.04 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 194-221 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Cordelia Christiane Bähr ◽

Ursula Brunner ◽

Kristin Casper ◽

Sandra H Lustig

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Human Rights ◽

International Law ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Climate Science ◽

Mitigation Measures ◽

European Convention ◽

Climate Policies ◽

Senior Women ◽

Climate Action

As older women are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts, a group of senior women in Switzerland founded the association KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz (Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland) in order to fight for ambitious climate action by legally challenging the Swiss government's inadequate climate policies and mitigation measures. The KlimaSeniorinnen filed a legal request with the authorities, claiming that the Swiss authorities are failing to fulfil their duty to protect them as required by the Swiss Constitution and by the European Convention on Human Rights. This article provides a detailed analysis of the KlimaSeniorinnen case within the context of climate litigation worldwide. It argues that the case's human rights arguments, which are grounded in climate science, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Paris Agreement, environmental principles and international law, are generally transferable to almost any country. Therefore, vulnerable individuals and groups can learn from the KlimaSeniorinnen litigation that there are strong legal grounds to bring human-rights-based climate lawsuits against governments and thus governments should expect more litigation if their climate actions or omissions contravene international law and violate constitutional principles.

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