Climate change litigation before the European Court of Human Rights: a new dawn
By Annalisa Savaresi, Professor of International Environmental Law at University of Eastern Finland, Linnéa Nordlander, Assistant Professor of Sustainability, Climate Change, and Human Rights at University of Copenhagen, and Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh, Associate Professor of Sustainability Law at University of Amsterdam. First published in the GNHRE blog on 12 April. On 9 April 2024, the European […]
Challenging established legal doctrines in the face of the climate crisis: Four legal experts assess the outcome of the Finnish climate case
By Kristiina Ella Markkanen. First published in English on the 2035Legitimacy blog on 26 October 2023 and first published in Finnish on the 2035Legitimacy blog on 13 September 2023. In November 2022, Greenpeace Nordic and the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation launched legal proceedings against the Finnish Government arguing that its inadequate climate action violated the Finnish Climate […]
Finland’s first climate judgment: Putting the government on notice
By Kati Kulovesi, Maiju Mähönen, Milka Sormunen, Annalisa Savaresi, Vilja Johansson and Martin Björklund. First published in the 2035Legitimacy blog on 12 June. The Supreme Administrative Court of Finland gave its decision in the first Finnish climate case on 7 June 2023 (KHO:2023:62). After a 3-2 vote, it found the appeal launched by Greenpeace Nordic […]
New avenues for corporate climate accountability
By Mikko Rajavuori, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Turku, Annalisa Savaresi, Associate Professor of International Environmental Law at the University of Eastern Finland, and Harro van Asselt, Professor of Climate Law and Policy at the University of Eastern Finland. First published in the Oxford Business Law Blog (OBLB) on 2 May 2023. […]
Five takeaways on international climate cooperation from the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report on mitigation
By Harro van Asselt, Professor of Climate Law and Policy. First published in the NDC Aspects blog on 7 April 2022. The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underscores once again why this is a critical decade for climate action: to keep global warming below 1.5°C with a chance of more than […]
The role of human rights in climate litigation: A global review
By Annalisa Savaresi, Associate Professor of International Environmental Law. In recent years, litigation concerning climate change has increasingly invoked human rights. The databases curated by the Sabin Centre for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment show a rising tide of cases ‘pushing the boundaries’ of […]
Friends of the Earth (Netherlands) v Royal Dutch Shell: Human rights and the obligations of corporations in the Hague District Court decision
By Annalisa Savaresi and Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh. First published in The Global Network for Human Rights and the Environment (GNHRE) blog on 31 May 2021. Photo by Lawrence Makoona on Unsplash. After its landmark ruling in the Urgenda case in 2015, on 25 May 2021 the Hague District Court marked another milestone in the history of climate litigation worldwide by ordering Royal […]
Keeping fossil fuels in the ground: From slogan to legal obligation?
By Harro Van Asselt. First published in the University of Oslo, Blogging for Sustainability on 31 May 2021. Photo by Liam Briese on Unsplash. Last week’s ruling by the Hague District Court in the Netherlands ordering the oil and gas company Royal Dutch Shell – the parent company of the broader Shell group – to reduce its […]
Shell-shocked: a watershed moment for climate litigation against fossil fuel companies
Harro van Asselt, Kati Kulovesi, Mikko Rajavuori and Annalisa Savaresi. Photo by Marc Rentschler on Unsplash. The Netherlands is no longer known just for its tulips, windmills and bicycles. Its latest export product is climate change litigation. Following 1.5 years after the Dutch Supreme Court in Urgenda decided that the Dutch government should step up its emission reduction […]
Hollantilainen tuomioistuin käytti Pariisin ilmastosopimusta tärkeänä mittarina arvioidessaan Shellin vastuuta ilmastonmuutoksen torjumisesta
Kati Kulovesi ja Mikko Rajavuori. *Photo from Pexels. ‘Ennen Hollanti tunnettiin tulppaaneista ja tuulimyllyistä, nyt se tunnetaan ilmasto-oikeudenkäynneistä,’ totesi kollegamme, Itä-Suomen yliopiston ilmasto-oikeuden ja politiikan professori Harro van Asselt pari vuotta sitten Urgenda-tapauksen yhteydessä. Tässä kuuluisassa, korkeimpaan oikeuteen asti edenneessä oikeudenkäynnissä tuomioistuin määräsi Hollannin hallituksen kiristämään päästövähennystoimiaan. Uraauurtavien hollantilaisten ilmasto-oikeudenkäyntien trendi sai jatkoa toukokuussa 2021, […]