Category: Right to health

Categories
Biodiversity Domestic court Just transition litigation Right to a healthy environment Right to assembly and association Right to freedom of expression Right to health Right to property South Korea

Korean Biomass Plaintiffs v. South Korea

Summary:

On September 28, 2020, a group of solar developers in Seoul, South Korea filed a complaint against the South Korean government, claiming that the government’s subsidies for biomass generation were unconstitutional. The plaintiffs include various stakeholders, such as solar cooperatives, cooperative members, residents near planned biomass facilities, ordinary citizens of South Korea, and even a Canadian citizen.

The central argument in their complaint revolves around the idea that the government’s support for biomass generation, classified as ‘renewable energy’ under South Korean legislation, qualifies for renewable energy certificates (RECs) and associated subsidies, which they argue infringes upon the environmental rights of the citizens. They assert that these subsidies lead to increased air pollution and climate-related damage.

The plaintiffs also argue that these policies negatively affect the property rights of renewable project owners. The subsidies allocated to biomass generation reduce the available support for solar and wind energy, which, in turn, impacts the expected profits for those involved in renewable energy projects.

The key issue at the heart of this case is whether South Korea’s subsidies for biomass generation violate the constitutional environmental rights of solar owners and residents living near these facilities.

Claim:

The claim made by the solar developers and other stakeholders in Seoul, South Korea, is that the government’s subsidies for biomass generation are unconstitutional and that these subsidies infringe upon the environmental rights of citizens. They argue that these subsidies contribute to increased air pollution and climate-related harm, affecting the well-being of the populace. Furthermore, they claim that these policies encroach upon the property rights of renewable project owners by reducing support for solar and wind energy, impacting the expected profits of those engaged in renewable energy projects. The core contention is that these subsidies for biomass generation violate the constitutional environmental rights of solar owners and nearby residents.

Decision:

The case is currently pending before the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Korea.

Links:

The case documents are accessible via Climate Case Chart: Click here.

Suggested citation:

Korean Biomass Plaintiffs v. South Korea (28 September 2020, Constitutional Court).

Last updated:

20 October 2023.

Categories
2023 Children and young people Domestic court Emissions reductions/mitigation Evidence Fossil fuel extraction Human dignity Indigenous peoples' rights Public trust doctrine Right to a healthy environment Right to health Standing/admissibility United States of America

Held and Others v. Montana

Summary:
In Held and Others, sixteen young plaintiffs aged between two and eighteen brought a case against the U.S. state of Montana alleging violations of the state constitution due to climate change. The youth plaintiffs in this case, which is to some extent comparable to the Juliana litigation, alleged that they are already experiencing ‘a host of adverse consequences’ from anthropogenic climate change in Montana, including increased temperatures, changing weather patterns, more acute droughts and extreme weather events, increasing wildfires and glacial melt. Fossil fuels extracted in Montana cause emissions higher than those of many countries, including Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Spain, or the United Kingdom. The plaintiffs argued that this was causing health risks, especially for children, and that the defendants, among them the state of Montana, its Governor, and various state agencies, had “act[ed] affirmatively to exacerbate the climate crisis” despite their awareness of the risks to the applicants. On 14 August 2023, Judge Kathy Seeley ruled wholly in favor of the youth plaintiffs, declaring that Montana had violated their constitutional rights and invalidating the statutory rule forbidding state authorities from considering the impacts of GHG emissions or climate change in decision-making related to fossil fuel extraction. In 2025, 13 of the 16 original plaintiffs filed non-compliance proceedings based on new state legislation.

Claims made:
The plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of fossil fuel-based provisions of Montana’s State Energy Policy Act along with a provision of the Montana Environmental Policy Act which forbids state authorities from considering the impacts of GHG emissions or climate change in their environmental reviews (the “MEPA Limitation”). They also challenged the aggregate acts that the state has taken to implement and perpetuate a fossil fuel-based energy system under these statutes.

The plaintiffs sought a declaration that their right to a clean and healthy environment includes a right a stable climate, and that existing approaches to greenhouse gas emissions in Montana violate constitutional provisions, including the right to a clean and healthy environment; the right to seek safety, health, and happiness; and the right to individual dignity and to equal protection. They also sought injunctive relief, namely an order to account for Montana’s greenhouse gas emissions and to develop and implement an emissions reductions plan.

Decision on the admissibility:
On 4 August 2021, a the Montana First Judicial District Court for Lewis and Clark County declared the case admissible in part. The prayer for injunctive relief in terms of emissions accounting, a remedial plan or policy, the appointment of expert to assist the court, and retain jurisdiction until such orders are complied with were rejected. However, the court declared the constitutional rights claims admissible, including the claim about the plaintiffs’ ‘fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment’, which — as the plaintiffs submitted — ‘includes a stable climate system that sustains human lives and liberties’.

Judge Seeley’s Ruling of 14 August 2023:
After a trial held from 12-23 June 2023, Judge Kathy Seeley of the First Judicial District Court of Montana issued a ruling in this case on 14 August 2023. Noting that “[t]he science is clear that there are catastrophic harms to the natural environment of Montana and Plaintiffs and future generations of the State due to anthropogenic climate change”, she ruled wholly in favor of the plaintiffs, declaring that the state of Montana had violated their constitutional rights to equal protection, dignity, liberty, health and safety, and public trust, all of which are predicated on their right to a clean and healthful environment (p. 92-93).

In doing so, Judge Seeley ruled that the youth plaintiffs had standing to bring the case because they had proven that they had experienced significant injuries. The court set out the different impacts on the plaintiffs at length (p. 46-64). It ultimately found that the plaintiffs “have experienced past and ongoing injuries resulting from the State’s failure to consider GHGs and climate change, including injuries to their physical and mental health, homes and property, recreational, spiritual, and aesthetic interests, tribal and cultural traditions, economic security, and happiness” (p. 86 of the ruling). The judge also ruled that while mental health injuries based on state inaction on climate change do not on their own constitute a cognizable injury, “mental health injuries stemming from the effects of climate change on Montana’s environment, feelings like loss, despair, and anxiety, are cognizable injuries” (p. 86-87). The ruling recognizes that “[e]very additional ton of GHG emissions exacerbates Plaintiffs’ injuries and risks locking in irreversible climate injuries”, and that these injuries “will grow increasingly severe and irreversible without science-based actions to address climate change” (p. 87). As children and youth, the plaintiffs are disproportionately impacted by fossil fuel pollution and climate impacts, and their injuries are “concrete, particularized, and distinguishable from the public generally” (p. 87).

On causation, and having heard and evaluated testimony from several expert witnesses, the Court extensively reviewed the scientific evidence concerning the causation and progression of anthropogenic climate change and identified the Earth’s energy imbalance as the critical metric for determining levels of global warming (p. 22). Having established that “Montana is a major emitter of GHG emissions in the world in absolute terms, in per person terms, and historically”, and noting the state government’s continuing approval of fossil fuel projects despite its already extensive production of oil, gas and coal, the Court found that there was a “fairly traceable connection” between Montana’s statutes, its GHG emissions, climate change, and the injuries suffered by the plaintiffs (p. 87). Noting that the state government had the authority to limit fossil fuel-related activities, and having regard to the fact that the MEPA Limitation causes the state to ignore climate impacts and renewable energy alternatives to fossil fuels, as well as noting the economic and environmental advantages of a green energy transition for Montana, the Court noted that “current barriers to implementing renewable energy systems are not technical or economic, but social and political” (p. 83). The state of Montana, it held, “authorizes fossil fuel activities without analyzing GHGs or climate impacts, which result in GHG emissions in Montana and abroad that have caused and continue to exacerbate anthropogenic climate change” (p. 88). It noted also that these emissions were “nationally and globally significant”, and could accordingly not be considered de minimis; they “can be measured incrementally and cumulatively both in terms of immediate local effects and by mixing in the atmosphere and contributing to global climate change and an already destabilized climate system” (p. 88).

On the redressability of these impacts, the Court noted that the psychological satisfaction of the ruling itself did not constitute sufficient redress, and that declaring the relevant state statutory rules unconstitutional would provide partial redress because ongoing emissions will continue to cause harms to the plaintiffs. Noting that “[i]t is possible to affect future degradation to Montana’s environment and natural resources and injuries to these Plaintiffs”, and applying strict structiny to the state’s statutes, the Court found that the MEPA Limitation violates the right to a clean and healthful environment under the Montana Constitution, which protects children and future generations (among others) and includes the protection of the climate system. As a result, the Court tested whether the MEPA Limitation was narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest, finding that neither had the state authorities shown that it served a compelling governmental interest, nor was it narrowly tailored to serve any interest.

As a result, the judge invalidated the Montana legislation that promoted fossil fuels and prohibited analysis of GHG emissions and corresponding climate impacts.

Proceedings on non-compliance:
On 10 December 2025, 13 of the original 16 plaintiffs in the Held case filed a petition for original jurisdiction with the Montana Supreme Court. They challenged statutes passed by the Montana legislature in 2025, arguing that they weaken the state’s environmental protection laws and undermine the state’s constitutional obligation to protect the environment. The petition seeks a declaration that these statutes are unconstitutional, and to overturn them.

The petition in these follow-up proceedings is available below:

Petition+for+Original+JurisdictionDownload

Date filed:
13 March 2020

Date of admissibility decision:
4 August 2021

Date of Ruling:
14 August 2023

More information:
The original complaint is available from the Western Environmental Law Center.

The admissibility decision is available on climatecasechart.com.

Judge Seeley’s findings of fact, conclusions of law and order of 14 August 2023 are available below.

Held-v-MontanaDownload

Suggested citations:
Montana First District Court for Lewis and Clark county, Held and others v. State of Montana and others, Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order, 14 August 2023, Cause no. CDV-2020-307.

Categories
2022 Chile Domestic court Emissions reductions/mitigation Gender / women-led Non-discrimination Right to a healthy environment Right to health Right to life Separation of powers

Women from Huasco & Others v. Government of Chile & Ministries of Energy, Environment and Health

Summary:

On 25 November 2021, a group of women from the city of Huasco, alongside Doris Zamorano, a member of a civil society organization in Huasco, brought a constitutional action against Chile’s omission in coordinating the early closure of two coal-fired power plants. The Chilean government had signed closure agreements with owners of various thermoelectric power plants, but the two plants in question were absent from these agreements. They would be subject to the general clause requiring closure of all coal-fired power plants by the year 2040. The petitioners argued the emissions from the powerplants and the uncertainty as to their closure in advance of the year 2040 contributes to interferences with their exercise and enjoyment of fundamental rights. In particular, they point to the governmental authorities’ awareness about the persistent local air pollution and treatment of Huasco as a ‘sacrifice zone,’ as well as Chile’s climate mitigation commitments.  

On 2 May 2022, the Court of Appeals of Copiapo dismissed the petition on the ground that adjudication of the issues raised by the petitioners was beyond its competence. The petitioners have filed an appeal against this decision before the Supreme Court of Chile.

Claims:

The applicants argue that the State’s omissions consist in its failure to close two coal-fired power plants, failure to justify the exclusion of the two power plants from the list of plants due to be closed earlier than 2040 pursuant to its climate policy, and toleration of emissions from the two power plants despite no compensation being granted for the negative environmental impacts from their operation. The petition alleges that these omissions violate their constitutional rights to equality, to life, physical and psychological liberty, to an environment free from contamination, and to the protection of their health, as well as a breach of the State’s administrative duty not to act arbitrarily. In support of the latter contention, the petitioners relied on the administrative law principles of service of the human person, coordination between State organs and the environmental principles of prevention and precaution. Further, they argued that the normative content of the State’s duty were to be informed by Sustainable Development Goals, International Labour Organisation Guidelines on Just Transition, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Paris Agreement and Chile’s 2020 NDC Communication under the Paris Agreement. By way of evidence, the petitioners relied on reports of high levels of air pollution in the city of Huasco, and a comparative analysis of morbidity rates and incidences of respiratory illnesses in Huasco and Caldera, a similar city that was not in the vicinity of coal-fired power plants.

The petitioners requested the Court of Appeals of Copiapo to order the concerned state organs to (i) establish and implement a plan to effect the early closure of the two power plants, and (ii) establish a compensation plan for historical and current emissions of the power plants to redress the environmental and health-related impacts.

In his reply, the Minister of Energy challenged the appropriateness of a judicial review of complex public policies which were the result of a democratic and representative participative process. The Minister also elaborated on the procedural history and content of the government’s policy on decarbonisation, and the limits of the legal competences of the various Ministries vis-à-vis regulation of private actors in the energy sector, to rebut the petitioners’ arguments about the State’s breach of administrative duties. The reply submitted by the Minister of Environment argued that there is no omission attributable to the Ministry of the Environment since regulation of power plants falls within the authority of the Ministry of Energy, and that environmental management instruments were enacted to improve the air quality in Huasco. The Minister of Health submitted a similar reply. The Undersecretary General of the Presidency argued that State authorities lack the power to order the early closure of the said power plants, and that all of the authorities named in the petition had taken relevant measures in relation to the factual situation described by the petitioners.

Decision:

On 2 May 2022, the Court of Appeals of Copiapo rendered its decision wherein it rejected the petition. The Court noted that petitioners’ action for constitutional review of the State’s omission suggests that they disagree with its actions which form part of the public policy on decarbonisation of the country. However, this policy was developed and implemented with the participation of various state organs (with the Ministry of Energy being at the head of them) and it is not for the Court to substitute itself for them and order a replacement or modification of such policy. The Court also noted the involvement of non-State stakeholders, including both actors from the industry and civil society, in the establishment of the decarbonisation policy.

Additionally, with respect to closure of power plants, the Court noted that State organs do not have the authority to demand closures and that such an outcome can only be achieved through agreements between the State and the concerned owners of the power plants. The Court concluded that the fact that the agreement concluded between the State and the owner of the two power plants in question does not envisage a concrete plan for their closure, as it does for some other power plants, does not evince arbitrariness.

Links:

The case documents are accessible via Climate Case Chart (click here).

Status of the case:

The case is pending in appeal before the Supreme Court of Chile.

Last updated:

08 August 2023.

Categories
Children and young people Climate activists and human rights defenders Domestic court Emissions reductions/mitigation European Convention on Human Rights Indigenous peoples rights Indigenous peoples' rights Non-discrimination Paris Agreement Private and family life Prohibition of torture Right to a healthy environment Right to culture Right to health Right to housing Right to life Right to property Russian Federation

Ecodefense and Others v. Russia

Summary:
In 2022, the NGOs Ecodefense and Moscow Helsinki Group, together with a group of individual plaintiffs representing Fridays for Future and the Sami and Itelmen indigenous people, brought an administrative action before the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation seeking to declare the Russian Federation’s climate legislation invalid. They argue that the current measures are not in line with the temperature targets under the Paris Agreement, noting that Russia is currently the fourth biggest global carbon emitter. They submit that Russia is accordingly in violation of its own constitution, as well as of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Russia ceased to be a party to the ECHR on 16 September 2022.

Key arguments:
The plaintiffs invoke a number of human and constitutional rights, arguing that their right to life, to health care, to a healthy environment (which is recognized by the Russian Constitution), to the protection of land and other natural resources as the basis of the life and activities of indigenous peoples, and to the protection of young people and future generations (based on the principle of equality). They also invoke the prohibition of torture and the right to home, private life and property as well as the prohibition of discrimination and the right to an adequate standard of living.

On this basis, the plaintiffs argue that the existing Russian climate policy measures are not only incompatible with domestic law, but that they also violate Russia’s international legal obligations under the UNFCCC, the Paris Agreement, the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the ECHR. The plaintiffs also contest the emphasis on carbon absorption (and not GHG emissions reductions) in the current Russian strategy, which they argue does not suffice to do Russia’s “fair share” to keep global warming below the Paris Agreement’s targets of 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius.

Status:
Pending

Further information:
A summary of the plaintiff’s submissions in this case is available via ClimateCaseChart.com.

Suggested citation:
Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, Ecodefense and Others v. Russia, pending case, submitted on 11 September 2022.

Last updated:
4 August 2023

Categories
Adaptation Domestic court Imminent risk Loss & damage Right to a healthy environment Right to health Right to life Right to property Uganda

Tsama William & 47 Ors v. Uganda

Summary:

The case was initiated following multiple landslides that occurred in December 2019 in the Bududa district in Eastern Uganda, in an area that is prone to landslides, which the applicants allege were exacerbated by climate change. The applicants claim that the landslides resulted in their displacement from their homes, killed their relatives and destroyed their property and the environment.

The applicants brought the case against the Ugandan government, the environmental authority and the local government of Bududa before the High Court of Uganda seeking orders for protective measures and compensation.  

Claims:

The applicants claim that the respondents have violated their positive obligations under statutory law to protect the applicants from recurrent landslides. They argue that the respondents’ failures to put in place an effective machinery for dealing with landslides and promptly warn the applicants about known risks, violated their fundamental rights to life, a clean and healthy environment, property, and physical and mental health. Aside from declaratory relief, the applicants claim a sum of 6.8 billion Ugandan Shillings as compensation for loss of life, destruction of property, physical and mental harm, as well as the cost of resettlement to safer areas.  The applicants further allege that the risk of future landslides owing to extreme weather events caused by climate change requires the respondents to take measures to relocate and resettle the applicants.  

This case is about adaptation to environmental risks (i.e. it is broader than climate adaptation), since the applicants principally rely on evidence that the problem of recurring landslides in the Bududa district has been going on since the beginning of the 20th century. However, the applicants rely on climate change as one among the factors contributing to the landslide risks they had previously faced and are likely to face in the future, as well as their vulnerability.  

Links:

The case documents are accessible via Climate Case Chart. For petition submitted by the applicants to the High Court of Uganda see here.

For replies by the respondents, see here and here.

Status of the case: The case is pending before the High Court of Uganda.

Last updated: 03 August 2023.

Categories
2023 Business responsibility / corporate cases Domestic court Emissions reductions/mitigation Imminent risk Paris Agreement Private and family life Right to a healthy environment Right to health Right to life Standing/admissibility Victim status

Citizens’ Committee on the Kobe Coal-Fired Power Plant v. Kobe Steel Ltd., et al.

Summary:
On 20 March 2023, a first-instance court in Japan heard a civil case concerning the construction and operation of new coal-fired power plants brought by the citizens of Kobe. Two weeks previously, on 9 March 2023, the Japanese Supreme Court refused to hear its first-ever administrative climate case concerning the same set of facts, giving no substantive reasons for doing so. In the civil case, which was filed in 2018, 40 citizens of Kobe brought suit against three corporations involved in the construction and operation of the plants. They argued that these plants would impact themtheir personal rights and right to a peaceful life both through air pollution and through their contribution to the climate change.

As Grace Nishikawa and Masako Ichihara have explained on the Sabin Center’s Climate Law Blog, ‘personal rights’ are established through case-law and frequently enter into play in environmental cases. They protect personal well-being, including the rights to life, bodily integrity, health, and a peaceful life (the last of which the authors compare to the right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights). The plaintiffs in this case invoked these personal rights, arguing that the coal plants would aggravate climate change, leading to extreme heat and rainfall events that would directly affect them. In their submissions, they made arguments based on international and comparative law, mentioning carbon budgets, the Paris Agreement, the Dutch Urgenda case, and the Glasgow Climate Pact.

In its first-instance judgment, the Kobe District Court accepted that greenhouse emissions, including those from the plant, contribute to climate change and can violate personal rights. However, it found the risk of harm to the individual plaintiffs to be too uncertain, and rejected their claim, noting the difficulty of causally attributing responsibility for damage related to climate change.

Concerning the alleged violation of the right to a peaceful life, which the plaintiffs argued contains a right to a healthy and peaceful life, the Court likewise rejected this claim, for the same reasons, finding that fears about climate change were not concrete enough to constitute human rights violation. The Court also noted that there was no legally recognized right stable climate in Japan.

Concerning the additional air pollution complaint, the Court found that this was not serious enough to constitute a concrete danger to the plaintiffs’ rights. It also did not engage with the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction halting the operation of the coal plants.

Appeal:
Climate Case Chart reports that an appeal in this case was filed on 4 January 2023.

Further reading:
The above draws on the following two key sources:

The original case documents (in Japanese) are available via Climate Case Chart.

Suggested citation:
Kobe District Court, Citizens’ Committee on the Kobe Coal-Fired Power Plant v. Kobe Steel Ltd., et al., Judgment of 20 March 2023.

Last updated:
20 July 2023

Categories
2023 Business responsibility / corporate cases Domestic court Emissions reductions/mitigation Fossil fuel extraction Italy Paris Agreement Private and family life Right to health Right to life Right to property

Greenpeace Italy, ReCommon, et al. v. ENI, Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, et al.

Summary:
Greenpeace Italy, together with ReCommon (an Italian association involved in questioning corporate and State power) and twelve Italian citizens from different regions of the country manifestly affected by climate change impacts, filed a lawsuit against ENI, a major oil & gas multinational company, and the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, which, also through Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A. (an important public financial institution), has a relevant influence on the corporation.

The applicants asked the Court to ascertain and declare that the defendants share liability for the moral and material damages they suffered to their health, life and properties due to climate change impacts, and for further endangering these same assets.
The claimants allege ENI contributed to climate change as its activities, either industrial, commercial or for transportation of energy products, caused greenhouse gas emissions far beyond the limits suggested by the scientific community, notwithstanding the temperature goals internationally recognized in the Paris Agreement, which implies emissions reductions both in the public and in the private sphere. The claimants argue that the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A. (whose majority shareholder is the same Ministry), as shareholders of the oil&gas corporation, could have influenced its strategy concerning the ecological transition away from fossil fuels, but did not leverage their relevant influence in that direction.

The legal strategy is primarily based on Article 2043 of the Italian Civil Code, dedicated to liability for non-contractual damages and interpreted, according to previous case-law, as a tool for human rights protection. The applicants claimed a violation of their rights to life, health, and respect for private and family life, as enshrined in the Italian Constitution, in the European Convention on Human Rights, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that ENI shall respect according to the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for multinational enterprises.
The claimants drew on attribution science to argue for the existence of a causal link, and recalled the reasoning of the Dutch courts in the Urgenda case, according to which even a quantitatively relatively low level of greenhouse emissions on the global scale contributes to climate change, meaning that there is a sufficient causal link between those emissions and their present and future adverse effects. In addition, the applicants rely subsidiarily on Article 2050 of the Italian Civil Code, dedicated to liability for dangerous activities, that implies a reversed burden of proof: the defendant shall prove that every measure was taken to prevent the damaging event.

Concerning remedies, the claimants did not ask the Court to quantify the damages. Recalling the case against Royal Dutch Shell (Milieudefensie), they asked the Court to order ENI to reduce its greenhouse emissions by 45% in 2030 compared to 2020 and to align to the 1.5°C temperature goal. They also asked the Court to impose a monetary sanction in case the order is not fulfilled. The applicants also asked the Court to order the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A. to adopt a policy defining climate goals to foster as relevant shareholder of the corporation.

This is not the first instance of rights-based climate litigation in Italy: you can read about the previously filed lawsuit against the Italian State here in the Database (A Sud and Others v. Italy).

Further developments:
At the end of July 2023, ENI filed a parallel lawsuit against Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon for defamation through their press and social media campaign (“La Giusta Causa”, The Just Cause) related to the climate case. Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon declared that they consider this lawsuit to constitute a SLAPP, Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.

In September 2023 the defendants filed their written briefs. All three defendants (ENI S.p.A., the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A.) requested the Court to dismiss the complaint on several grounds, including: an absolute lack of jurisdiction in application of the principle of the separation of powers; a lack of jurisdiction concerning ENI’s operations in States other than Italy; a lack of standing for environmental associations and individuals when a public interest is concerned; indeterminate and ill-founded claims.

An oral hearing was held on 16 February 2024 and another hearing was planned for 13 September 2024. However, the plaintiffs, after the first instance judgment in the A Sud and Others v. Italy case, filed a request with the Italian Highest Court (Suprema Corte di Cassazione, Sezioni Unite Civili) for a separate and anticipated judgment on the sole jurisdiction issue. They also requested the highest court to file a demand with the Constitutional Court to challenge the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s interpretation of the Italian law ratifying the Paris Agreement. On 17 July 2024 the Civil Court of Rome confirmed the suspension of the first proceeding, pending the decision of the Highest Court, expected early in 2025 (or later, depending on whether the Constitutional Court will also be involved).

Notably, in their request to the Highest Court, the plaintiffs mentioned the judgment in the Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz et al. v. Switzerland case (pp. 16-18, 27 of the original text of the request), and, in particular, the statements of the ECtHR related to the role of courts in democratic processes and in climate litigation (§412, §413, §639).

Date of filing:
9 May 2023

Jurisdiction:
Civil Court of Rome

Status of the case:
Pending

Suggested case citation:
Complete case citation: Greenpeace Italia, ReCommon, et al. v. Eni S.p.A., Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze, et al., Tribunale di Roma, Seconda Sezione Civile, n. 26468/2023 [Greenpeace Italy, ReCommon, et al. v. Eni S.p.A., Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, et al., Civil Court of Rome, Second Civil Section, n. 26468/2023]

Suggested case citation: Greenpeace Italia, ReCommon, et al. v. Eni S.p.A., Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze, et al.

Documents:

More information:
More information can be found on the dedicated web pages of Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon.

Italian language: all the documents of the proceedings and a review of relevant literature can be found on this website hosting the Observatory on Italian climate change litigation, edited by the students in Comparative Climate Change Law at the University of Salento.

Last updated:
1 August 2024

Categories
Adaptation Biodiversity Children and young people Climate activists and human rights defenders Climate-induced displacement Deforestation Emissions reductions/mitigation Evidence Gender / women-led Indigenous peoples rights Indigenous peoples' rights Inter-American Human Rights System Loss & damage Paris Agreement Right to a healthy environment Right to health Right to life Right to property Rights of nature Vulnerability

Climate Advisory Opinion of the IACtHR (OC 32/2025)

Summary:
On 3 July 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) issued its long-awaited advisory opinion on climate change, at the request of the governments of Chile and Colombia.

Advisory opinion request:
On 9 January 2023, Colombia and Chile jointly filed a request for an advisory opinion on the climate emergency and human rights to the IACtHR. The two governments requested clarification of the scope of States’ obligations, both in their individual and collective dimensions, in responding to the climate emergency within the framework of international human rights law, taking into account the different effects that climate change has on people in different regions and on different population groups, nature and human survival. The governments asked the Court to answer a series of questions grouped into six thematic areas, namely on:

A. The scope of States’ obligations to protect and prevent, including regarding their obligations to mitigate, adapt, regulate and monitor, and their response to loss and damage;

B. States’ obligations to protect the right to life given the existing climate science, and taking into account the right of access to information and transparency of information, including under the Escazú Agreement;

C. States’ obligations with respect to the rights of children and new generations, given especially the vulnerability of children;

D. On the State’s obligations concerning consultative and judicial procedures, taking into account the limited remaining carbon budget;

E. The protective and preventative obligations concerning environmental and land rights defenders, as well as women, indigenous peoples and Afro-descendant communities; and

F. Shared and differentiated obligations and responsibilities in terms of the rights of States, the obligation of cooperation and given the impacts on human mobility (migration and forced displacement of people).

Extended summary of the request:
In their request to the IACtHR, the two governments submitted that they are already dealing with the consequences of the climate emergency, including the proliferation of droughts, floods, landslides and fires. These, they submitted, underscore the need for a response based on the principles of equity, justice, cooperation and sustainability, as well as human rights. The two governments noted that climate change is already putting humans and future generations at risk, but that its effects are not being experienced uniformly across the international community. Instead, given their geography, climatic conditions, socioeconomic conditions and infrastructure, they are particularly being felt in the most vulnerable communities, including several countries in the Americas. They emphasized that these effects are not proportionate to these countries’ and communities’ contribution to climate change.

The governments, in their request, emphasized the relevance of the right to a healthy environment, as well as other interrelated substantive and procedural rights (affecting life, human survival and future generations). They reviewed the existing scientific evidence concerning the impacts and progression of climate change from the IPCC, and noted the vulnerability of the Andean region. The two governments referred to the 2017 Advisory Opinion of the IACtHR, which recognized the right to a healthy environment as an autonomous and individual right, and referred to the negative effects of climate change. However, they argued, there is a need to further clarify the human rights impacts of climate change, and corresponding obligations. In this regard, they raised the existence also of collective rights for the protection of nature under international human rights and environmental law, and cited the need to protect fundamental biomes like the Amazon and to understand States’ shared but differentiated responsibilities in a way that copes with loss and damage. The two governments invited the Court to set out clear standards against the background of litigation and related developments.

Consultation procedure:
In accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the IACtHR (Art. 73(3)), all interested parties (individuals and organizations) are invited to present a written opinion on the issues covered in the advisory opinion request. The President of the Court has established 18 August 2023 as the deadline for doing so. More information is available here.

Advisory opinion of 3 July 2025:
On 3 July 2025, following an oral hearing, the IACtHR issued its advisory opinion in these proceedings (in Spanish, with the text in English to follow). In a 234-page opinion, the Court addressed the questions raised by the governments of Chile and Colombia in their request.

The advisory opinion covers a wide range of relevant issues and obligations, and provides in-depth clarifications of the legal issues raised. It covers, in short:

  • The procedure, competence of the Court and admissibility of the request, as well as a number of other preliminary considerations, including about the (scientific and other) sources used by the Court and the scope of the opinion.
  • The facts of the climate emergency, including its causes, differential contributions of different actors, and its impacts on natural systems, humans, vulnerable territories and ecosystems, as well as the need for urgent action, the possibilities and need for mitigation, the need for adaptation, and the seriousness of climate impacts.
  • The complexity of required responses, including discussions of resilience and sustainable development as a vehicle for protection of both human rights and the environment.
  • The international legal framework around climate change, applicable norms and frameworks, including international investment law, human rights, international environmental law and climate change treaties. The Court also reviewed the case-law of other adjudicators in the context of climate change.
  • The obligations of States in the context of the climate emergency, including the scope of human rights obligations to respect rights, protect rights (including a reinforced due diligence obligation), and the obligation to take measures to ensure progressive realization of economic, social and cultural rights. This includes discussion of various substantive rights, including particularly the right to a healthy environment but also the rights to life, physical integrity, health, private and family life, property and home, freedom of movement and residence, water and food, work and social security, culture and education. The advisory opinion also includes consideration of procedural rights and the link between these rights and democracy, the right to science and recognition of local knowledge, the right of access to information (and combatting disinformation), the right to political participation and access to justice as well as protection of environmental defenders and equality and non-discrimination norms. In this latter regard, the opinion considers the differential protection owed to children and youth, to Indigenous and tribal peoples, Afrodescendant communities, peasants and those involved in fisheries. It also considers the differential effect of climate change and the implications for fight against poverty.

Opinion of the Court:
Appended to the Court’s extensive consideration of the relevant issues and obligations is its concrete opinion, which reads as follows (translation from the original Spanish, to be replaced with the English-language translation by the Court once available):

THE COURT DECIDES
Unanimously, that:

It is competent to issue the present Advisory Opinion, in the terms of paragraphs 14 to 23.

AND IS OF THE OPINION
Unanimously, that:

  1. According to the best available science, the current situation constitutes a climate emergency due to the accelerated increase in global temperature, produced by diverse activities of anthropogenic origin, undertaken unequally by the States of the international community, which incrementally affect and seriously threaten humanity and, especially, the most vulnerable people. This climate emergency can only be adequately addressed through urgent and effective actions for mitigation, adaptation and progress towards sustainable development, articulated with a human rights perspective, and under the prism of resilience, in the terms of paragraphs 183 and 205 to 216.

    Unanimously, that:
  2. By virtue of the general obligation to respect rights, States have the obligations indicated in paragraphs 219 to 223.

    Unanimously, that:
  3. Under the general obligation to ensure rights, States have an obligation to act in accordance with a standard of enhanced due diligence to counteract the human causes of climate change and protect people under their jurisdiction from climate impacts, in particular those who are most vulnerable, in the terms of paragraphs 225 to 237.

    By six votes in favor and one against, that:
  4. By virtue of the general obligation to ensure the progressive development of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights, States must allocate the maximum available resources to protect persons and groups who, because they are in situations of vulnerability, are exposed to the most severe impacts of climate change, in the terms of paragraphs 238 to 243.
    Judge Patricia Pérez Goldberg dissents.

    Unanimously, that:
  5. By virtue of the general obligation to adopt domestic law provisions, States must integrate into their domestic legal framework the necessary regulations to ensure the respect, guarantee and progressive development of human rights in the context of the climate emergency, in the terms of paragraphs 244 to 246.

    Unanimously, that:
  6. By virtue of the obligation to cooperate, the States are obliged to cooperate in good faith to advance in the respect, guarantee and progressive development of human rights threatened or affected by the climate emergency, in the terms of paragraphs 247 to 265.

    By four votes in favor and three against, that:
  7. The recognition of Nature and its components as subjects of rights constitutes a normative development that makes it possible to reinforce the protection of the integrity and functionality of ecosystems in the long term, providing effective legal tools in the face of the triple planetary crisis and facilitating the prevention of existential damage before it becomes irreversible. This conception represents a contemporary manifestation of the principle of interdependence between human rights and the environment, and reflects a growing trend at the international level aimed at strengthening the protection of ecological systems against present and future threats, in accordance with paragraphs 279 to 286.
    Judge Nancy Hernández López, Judge Humberto Sierra Porto and Judge Patricia Pérez Goldberg dissenting.

    By four votes in favor and three against, that:
  8. By virtue of the principle of effectiveness, the imperative prohibition of anthropogenic conducts that may irreversibly affect the interdependence and vital balance of the common ecosystem that makes the life of the species possible constitutes a norm of jus cogens, in accordance with paragraphs 287 to 294.
    Judge Nancy Hernández López, Judge Humberto Sierra Porto and Judge Patricia Pérez Goldberg dissenting.

    By a vote of five in favor and two partially against, that:
  9. The right to a healthy climate, understood as a component of the right to a healthy environment, protects in its collective dimension the present and future humanity, as well as Nature, in the terms of paragraphs 298 to 316.
    Judge Nancy Hernández López and Judge Patricia Pérez Goldberg dissenting in part.

    By six votes in favor and one partially against, that:
  10. By virtue of the right to a healthy climate, States must protect the global climate system and prevent human rights violations derived from its alteration. Therefore, they must mitigate GHG emissions, which implies (i) adopting regulations on the matter that define a mitigation goal and a mitigation strategy based on human rights, as well as regulating the behavior of companies, in the terms of paragraphs 323 to 351; (ii) adopting mitigation supervision and control measures, in the terms of paragraphs 352 to 357, and (iii) determining the climate impact of projects and activities when appropriate, in the terms of paragraphs 358 to 363.
    Judge Patricia Pérez Goldberg dissenting in part.

    Unanimously, that:
  11. By virtue of the right to a healthy environment, States must (i) protect nature and its components from the impacts of climate change, and (ii) establish a strategy to move towards sustainable development, in the terms of paragraphs 364 to 376.

    By six votes in favor and one partially against, that:
  12. By virtue of the rights to life, personal integrity, health, private and family life, property and housing, freedom of residence and movement, water and food, work and social security, culture and education, as well as all other substantive rights threatened by climate impacts, States have an enforceability obligation, States have an immediately enforceable obligation to define and update, as ambitiously as possible, their national adaptation goal and plan, in the terms of paragraphs 384 to 391, as well as the duty to act with enhanced due diligence in compliance with the specific duties set forth in paragraphs 400 to 457.
    Judge Patricia Pérez Goldberg dissenting in part.

    Unanimously, that:
  13. By virtue of the democratic principle, the States must strengthen the democratic rule of law as an essential framework for the protection of human rights, the effectiveness of public action, and open and inclusive citizen participation, also ensuring the full exercise of procedural rights, in the terms of paragraphs 460 to 469.

    By six votes in favor and one partially against, that:
  14. By virtue of the human right to science and the recognition of local, traditional and indigenous knowledge, protected by Articles 26 of the Convention and 14.2 of the Protocol of San Salvador, all persons have the right to access the benefits of measures based on the best available science and on the recognition of local, traditional or indigenous knowledge, in the terms of paragraphs 471 to 487.
    Judge Patricia Pérez Goldberg dissenting in part.

    Unanimously, that:
  15. Under the right of access to information, States have obligations regarding (i) production of climate information, in the terms of paragraphs 501 to 518; (ii) disclosure of information relevant to the protection of human rights in the face of climate change, in the terms of paragraphs 519 to 523, and (iii) to adopt measures against disinformation, in the terms of paragraphs 524 to 527.

    Unanimously, that:
  16. Under the right to political participation, States must guarantee processes that ensure the meaningful participation of people under their jurisdiction in decision-making and policies related to climate change, as well as ensure prior consultation of indigenous and tribal peoples, where appropriate, in the terms of paragraphs 530 to 539.

    By four votes in favor and three partially against, that:
  17. By virtue of the right of access to justice, the States must ensure central aspects regarding (i) provision of sufficient means for the administration of justice in this context, (ii) application of the pro actione principle; (iii) celerity and reasonable time in judicial proceedings; (iv) adequate provisions regarding standing, (v) evidence and (vi) reparation, as well as (vii) application of inter-American standards; in the terms of paragraphs 542 to 560.
    Judge Nancy Hernández López, Judge Humberto Sierra Porto and Judge Patricia Pérez Goldberg dissenting in part.

    Unanimously, that:
  18. By virtue of the right to defend human rights, States have a special duty to protect environmental defenders that translates into specific obligations, among others, to protect them, investigate and, if necessary, punish attacks, threats or intimidations they suffer, and to counteract the “criminalization” of the defense of the environment, in the terms of paragraphs 566 to 567, and 575 to 587.

    Unanimously, that:
  19. States should adopt measures aimed at addressing the way in which the climate emergency exacerbates inequality and has a differentiated impact on people living in multidimensional poverty, in the terms of paragraphs 626 and 627.

    By four votes in favor and three partially against, that:
  20. States have specific obligations in situations of special vulnerability such as those faced by (i) children, and (ii) indigenous peoples, tribes, Afro-descendants, and peasant and fishing communities, (iii) people who suffer differentiated impacts in the context of climate disasters, in the terms of paragraphs 599 to 602, and 604; 606 to 613, and 614 to 618. Likewise, States must adopt measures to protect persons who do not belong to the traditionally protected categories but who are in a situation of vulnerability for dynamic or contextual reasons, in the terms of paragraphs 628 and 629.
    Judge Nancy Hernández López, Judge Humberto Sierra Porto and Judge Patricia Pérez Goldberg partially dissent.

Full text of the advisory opinion:

The English translation of the full text of the advisory opinion is available below.

seriea_32_en (1)Download

Further information:

  • A summary of the advisory opinion (in Spanish) is available here.
  • A discussion of the advisory opinion by Patricia Tarre Moser and Juan Auz on Estudia Derechos Humanos (in Spanish) is available here.
  • The text of the advisory opinion request is available here (in the official Spanish version as filed with the Court) and it has also been translated to English, French and Portuguese by the Court’s Secretariat.
  • For a comment on the request by Juan Auz and Thalia Viveros-Uehara, see ‘Another Advisory Opinion on the Climate Emergency? The Added Value of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’, EJIL:Talk! Blog, 2 March 2023, available here.
  • For a comment on the request from Maria Antonia Tigre, see ‘A Request for an Advisory Opinion at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: Initial Reactions’, Climate Law Blog, 17 February 2023, available here.

Suggested citation:
Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Advisory Opinion on the Climate Emergency and Human Rights, OC 32/2025, 3 July 2025.

Last updated:
4 July 2025.

Categories
Biodiversity Brazil Deforestation Indigenous peoples rights Indigenous peoples' rights International Criminal Court Right to a healthy environment Right to culture Right to health

The Prosecutor v. Bolsonaro

Summary:
On 12 October 2021, the Austrian NGO AllRise, which advocates for interests linked with the environment, democracy, and the rule of law, submitted a communication to the International Criminal Court in the Hague concerning then-acting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Although NGOs cannot initiate proceedings before the ICC, the Prosecutor can do so proprio motu (Art. 15(1) Rome Statute), and the communication’s aim is to convince the Prosectuor to do so regarding President Bolsonaro’s policy on the Amazon rainforest.

AllRise contends that the Bolsonaro government’s socio-economic policy has put the lives of environmental advocates at risk, and has dismantled the protections of the environment that were previously available under domestic law, which as facilitated the activities of criminal networks. By failing to prosecute the perpetrators of environmental crimes and undermining the protection of the climate, human health, and justice, AllRise argues, the Bolsonaro government has committed crimes against humanity, as proscribed by the Rome Statute of the ICC.

The NGO’s communication is supported by the Climate Observatory (Observatório do Clima), a network of 70 Brazilian civil society organizations.

Human rights claims:
AllRise argues that ‘these Environmental Dependents and Defenders have been and continue to be the subject of Crimes Against Humanity through severe deprivations of their fundamental and universal right to a healthy environment (also known as R2E) and other human rights related thereto’ (para. 15). It likewise invoked the rights of indigenous peoples, arguing that ‘[t]he destruction of the rainforest and the rivers of the Amazon has a devastating impact on the traditional, cultural and spiritual way of life of Indigenous peoples and others who depend upon the forest’ (para. 164). The NGO also describes the background of attacks and violence against environmental activists and human rights defenders (paras. 201-208).

More information:
To read the full complaint, click here.

Categories
Adaptation Argentina Children and young people Deforestation Domestic court Emissions reductions/mitigation Right to a healthy environment Right to health Right to life Rights of nature Victim status

Asociación Civil por la Justicia Ambiental v. Province of Entre Ríos et al. (Paraná Delta case)

Summary:
This case, brought to the Supreme Court of Argentina after severe fires in a wetland ecosystem in the Paraná Delta (Delta del Paraná) in Argentina, was filed by two NGOs and a group of local children (represented by their parents) as a collective environmental ‘amparo’ claim against the local and provincial governments. The applicants invoke their rights to a healthy environment, to life, to health, and to physical integrity under the Argentinean Constitution, as well as invoking the Convention on the Rights of the Child and drawing on the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.

The action concerns alleged protection failures concerning the preservation of the wetlands of the Paraná Delta, and concerns more than three thousand fires ensuring from the indiscriminate burning of grasslands. The claimants urge the Supreme Court to declare the declare the Paraná Delta a subject of rights given that it consitutes an essential ecosystem in its region, including due to the ecosystem services it performs related to the mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The also request the court to order the respondents to prepare and implement measures to regulate and protect the ecosystem given its endangerment in the face of climate change and the need to protect it for future generations. They argue that a guardian should be designated for this ecosystem, and that local communites should be involved in decision-making relevant to its management, considering in this regard the terms of the Escazú Agreement.

Current status of the case:

The case was filed on 3 July 2020. Given the existence of other similar complaints, the Supreme Court decided on 21 December 2021 that it would issue one judgment concerning all relevant complaints.

Suggested citation:

Supreme Court of Argentina, Asociación Civil por la Justicia Ambiental v. Province of Entre Ríos et al., Doc. CSJ 542/2020, decision of 28 December 2021.

Last updated:

18 March 2023