The role the international tribunals in achieving increased climate action [preprint]

Abstract

[eng] The aim of this chapter is to highlight the fundamental role courts, and particularly international courts, have in addressing climate change in general and advancing the application of the Paris Agreement in particular. Global warming is a global problem, and therefore international action and cooperation are key in addressing the climate crisis. However, global efforts to cooperate and national pledges made under the international climate regime are generally not satisfactory and far less ambitious than they should be in order to prevent a climate breakdown. The rulings and opinions of international courts could thus potentially serve as a catalyst to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation policies and regulations, as well as to provide remedies for loss and damage. In fact, within the different international courts or treaty bodies there is already an increasing openness to consider environmental issues, especially when human rights are at stake. Considering that there are so far only a few climate-related decisions by international tribunals and similar bodies, we build on prior case law as well as on current domestic litigation trends to provide an analysis of the potential outcome of climate-related cases before these international bodies. We, therefore start by providing a brief general overview of climate litigation (I), which serves as an introduction to a more detailed analysis of the potential role of different international courts regarding climate change, first focusing on the International Court of Justice (II), then on regional human rights courts, in Europe and America (III), and, last, on some of the most relevant specialized international courts, like ITLOS or the WTO dispute settlement body (IV). The chapter ends with a set of concluding remarks that highlight the advantages of having climate litigation taking place before international courts and tribunals and their fundamental role in the multilevel dialogue needed for an adequate response to the climate emergency.