Human Rights Archives - Climate Change Litigation

28 Cases found

Rights of Indigenous People in Addressing Climate-Forced Displacement

At issue: U.S. tribes filed human rights complaint with UN, alleging U.S. government has failed to address climate-caused displacement.

Jurisdictions:

United Nations Special Rapporteurs

UN Human Rights Committee Views Adopted on Teitiota Communication

At issue: Kiribati citizen argued New Zealand's denial of refugee status violated international human rights.

Jurisdictions:

United Nations Human Rights Committee

Sacchi et al. v. Argentina et al.

At issue: Whether respondents violated children’s rights under international law by making insufficient cuts to greenhouse gas emissions and failing to use available tools to protect children from carbon pollution by the world’s major emitters.

Jurisdictions:

United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child

Maria Khan et al. v. Federation of Pakistan et al.

At issue: Whether the government of Pakistan's inaction on climate change violated the constitutional rights of women and future generations including the right to a healthy environment and a climate capable of supporting human life

Jurisdictions:

Pakistan
- Punjab
  - Lahore High Court

Commune de Grande-Synthe v. France

At issue: Whether the French government’s failure to take further action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions violates domestic and international law

Jurisdictions:

France
- Council of State

EU Biomass Plaintiffs v. European Union

At issue: Whether the European Union’s 2018 revised Renewable Energy Directive illegally treats forest biomass as a renewable fuel by not counting CO2 emissions from burning wood fuels

Jurisdictions:

European Union
- General Court (known as Court of First Instance before 2010)

Friends of the Irish Environment v. Ireland

At issue: Whether Ireland’s National Mitigation Plan violated statutory law, the Irish Constitution, and human rights obligations because it is not set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently over the near-term.

Jurisdictions:

Ireland
- High Court of Ireland

Notre Affaire à Tous and Others v. France

At issue: Whether the French government’s failure to take further action on climate change violates a statutory duty to act under domestic and international law

Jurisdictions:

France
- Administrative Court of Paris

Friends of the Earth Germany, Association of Solar Supporters, and Others v. Germany

At issue: Whether the German government violated plaintiffs’ fundamental rights by failing to meet greenhouse gas emission reduction goals

Jurisdictions:

Germany
- Federal Constitutional Court

ENVironnement JEUnesse v. Canada

At issue: Whether the Canadian government violated fundamental rights of citizens aged 35 and under by failing to set a greenhouse gas emission reduction target and plan to avoid dangerous climate change impacts

Jurisdictions:

Canada
- Quebec
  - Quebec Superior Court

Family Farmers and Greenpeace Germany v. Germany

At issue: Whether the German Federal Government violated plaintiffs constitutional rights and EU law through insufficient action to meet its 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target

Jurisdictions:

Germany
- Berlin
  - Administrative Court

Plan B Earth and Others v. Secretary of State for Transport

At issue: Whether an approval to expand Heathrow International Airport is illegal due to inadequate consideration of climate change commitments under the Paris Agreement and advice to change national climate targets

Jurisdictions:

United Kingdom
- England and Wales
  - Court of Appeal

Armando Ferrão Carvalho and Others v. The European Parliament and the Council

At issue: Action seeking an injunction to order the EU to enact more stringent greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets through existing programs

Jurisdictions:

European Union
- General Court (known as Court of First Instance before 2010)

A Request for an Advisory Opinion from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Concerning the Interpretation of Article 1(1), 4(1) and 5(1) of the American Convention on Human Rights

At issue: In an advisory opinion, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights recognized the right to a healthy environment as a human right

Jurisdictions:

Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Future Generations v. Ministry of the Environment and Others

At issue: Youth plaintiffs seek to enforce fundamental rights to a healthy environment which they claim are threatened by climate change and deforestation.

Jurisdictions:

Colombia
- Supreme Court

Plan B Earth and Others v. The Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy

At issue: Government’s alleged violation of the Climate Change Act 2008 for failure to revise its 2050 carbon emissions reduction target in light of the Paris Agreement and the latest science

Jurisdictions:

United Kingdom
- England and Wales
  - Administrative Court, Queen's Bench Division

United Kingdom
- England and Wales
  - Court of Appeal

Petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Seeking Relief from Violations of the Rights of Arctic Athabaskan Peoples Resulting from Rapid Arctic Warming and Melting Caused by Emissions of Black Carbon by Canada

At issue: Address effects of black carbon on the Athabaskan people via arctic warming

Jurisdictions:

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Greenpeace Nordic Ass’n and Nature and Youth v. Ministry of Petroleum and Energy

At issue: Constitutionality of Norwegian government decision to license new blocks of Barents Sea for development of deep-sea oil and gas extraction

Jurisdictions:

Norway
- Borgarting Court of Appeal

Norway
- Oslo District Court

Union of Swiss Senior Women for Climate Protection v. Swiss Federal Council and Others

At issue: Adequacy of Swiss government's climate change mitigation targets and implementation measures and possible infringement on human rights

Jurisdictions:

Switzerland
- Swiss Supreme Court

Urgenda Foundation v. State of the Netherlands

At issue: Seeking declaratory judgment and injunction to compel the Dutch government to reduce GHG emissions

Jurisdictions:

Netherlands
- The Hague
  - Court of Appeals

Netherlands
- The Hague
  - District Court