The CRRP blog features current developments, new publications, calls for papers and event announcements from around the world relevant to the climate and human rights context.
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Access to Court for Climate Litigation: Analysis of KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz v Switzerland (Part 3 of 3)
By Pranav Ganesan, PhD candidate at the University of Zurich This is the third and final part of the three-part series of blogposts summarizing and analysing the European Court of Human Right’s (‘ECtHR’) judgment in the case of Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v Switzerland (click here for part 1, and here for part 2).…
Read moreContent of Climate Obligations & Compliance: Analysis of KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz v Switzerland (Part 2 of 3)
By Pranav Ganesan, PhD candidate at the University of Zurich This blogpost is the second in a three-part series summarizing and analysing the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (‘ECtHR’) in the case of Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v Switzerland (click here for part 1, on admissibility). Here, I will analyse the…
Read moreNot Just Another ECtHR Judgment: Analysis of KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz v Switzerland (Part 1 of 3)
By Pranav Ganesan, PhD candidate at the University of Zurich The European Court of Human Right’s (‘ECtHR’) judgment in the case of Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v Switzerland (including the partially dissenting opinion of Judge Tim Eicke) is a whopping 250 pages long, making it the longest judicial opinion on climate change to date!…
Read moreClimate Justice Denied? European Court of Human Rights Rules Against Portuguese Youth Climate Case
By Ayyoub (Hazhar) Jamali, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Zurich In a landmark case that garnered global attention, six Portuguese youth took a bold step on 2 September 2020, filing a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against 33 countries of the Council of Europe. Their objective was to hold these…
Read moreCarême v. France: Inadmissibility decision by the ECtHR’s Grand Chamber
By Dr. Viktoriya Gurash, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Zurich Today, on 9 April 2024, the European Court of Human Rights issued a Grand Chamber decision in Carême v. France, unanimously declaring the applicant’s complaints under Articles 2 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights inadmissible ratione personae. The Court, first, noted…
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The Portuguese Children’s Case – Shared Responsibility for the Human Rights Impacts of Climate Change
By Dr. Viktoriya Gurash, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Zurich On 27 September 2023, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) heard the Duarte Agostinho case, brought by six young Portuguese people born between 1999 and 2012. This case involves 33 Contracting Parties of the Council of Europe as defendants.…
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IPCC Synthesis Report AR6 release: a clear message of urgency and hope, increasing pressure on Governments to take equitable climate action
At the end of its 58th session, taking place in Interlaken, Switzerland, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the Synthesis Report of the Sixth Assessment Cycle on Monday, March 20, 2023. On the dedicated official website, the Summary for Policy Makers (SPM) and the longer report are now available, together with the figures representing…
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Small Island States push for answers on Climate Change from the ICJ and ITLOS
On 12 December 2022, the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) received a request for an advisory opinion on the interpretation of the obligation to preserve and protect the marine environment under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in relation to climate change impacts such as ocean…
Read moreUNGA recognizes the right to a healthy environment
On 28 July 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted a Resolution (A/RES/76/300, not yet published) recognizing the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The Resolution recognizes the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and its relationship with other human rights and existing norms of international law. It passed without…
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IPCC Sixth Assessment Report – Working Group III: Mitigation of Climate Change
On 4 April 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the third part of its 2022 Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) titled “Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change”, following the first two contributions on the physical science basis (August 2021) and on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability (February 2022, see also our blog post here). The Working Group III…
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UN Human Rights Council appoints new UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change
On 1 April 2022 the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council appointed Ian Fry as the world’s first UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change. The mandate for a new special rapporteur on climate change was established by the Council in its 48th session (on…
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Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ ground-breaking resolution on the ‘Climate Emergency’
On 4 March 2022, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Office of the Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights published a resolution titled ‘Climate Emergency: Scope of Inter-American human rights obligations.’ In the Inter-American Human Rights system, this is the first document dedicated exclusively to the issue of climate…
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The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report – Working Group II Report Released
On 27 February 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the second part of its sixth assessment report entitled “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability”. The Working Group II report is the second installment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which will be completed this year. Approved by 195 member governments of the…
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Russia vetoes UN Security Council Resolution linking climate change to peace and security
On 13 December, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council Resolution that would have framed climate change as a a threat to international peace and security. The draft Resolution, which was spearheaded by Ireland and Niger and was co-sponsored by 113 UN member States, would have called the Security Council to incorporate “information on the security…
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The UN Recognizes the Human Right to Healthy Environment
On Friday, 8 October 2021, the UN Human Rights Council issued its Resolution 48/13, which recognizes the human right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. On the same day, in its Resolution 48/14, the Human Rights Council also established the office of a Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights…
Read moreDraft Protocol on the Right to Healthy Environment at the Council of Europe
On 29 September 2021, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) proposed a new additional protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights which would recognize the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment within the Council of Europe system. The proposal, which is based on a report by PACE member…
Read moreThe Right to a Healthy Environment goes to Geneva
The UN Human Rights Council’s 48th Session commenced today, on 13 September 2021, in Geneva. At this session, which will last until 8 October, a “Core Group” of States – Costa Rica, Maldives, Morocco, Slovenia and Switzerland – are advocating for the adoption of a UN Resolution recognising the right to a healthy environment. Over…
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Launch of the World Lawyer’s Pledge on Climate Action
Today marks the launch of the World Lawyer’s Pledge on Climate Action. The Pledge is addressed at all members of the legal profession, not just environmental lawyers, and it calls for the mainstreaming and integration of climate concerns into all areas of the law and legal activity. CRRP project lead Prof. Helen Keller is one…
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New Publication: Article by Birgit Peters on climate change and the ECHR in the ‘Archiv des Völkerrechts’
The most recent issue of the ‘Archiv des Völkerrechts’ contains a new article by Birgit Peters on ‘Zur Anwendbarkeit der Europäischen Menschenrechtskonvention in Umwelt- und Klimaschutzfragen’ (On the Applicability of the European Convention on Human Rights to Environmental and Climate Protection Issues). Here is the abstract: The protection of the environment has been a long…
Read moreIPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report Released
On 9 August 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its sixth assessment report. Entitled ‘Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis’, the report contains cutting-edge climate science findings from the IPCC’s 6th assessment report (AR6) reporting cycle, which will be completed in 2022. The report, which was approved by the 195 member…
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