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How the youth climate movement is leading the way in climate litigation.
Climate change litigation, or climate litigation, is an emerging area of environmental law that uses legal practice to establish case law precedent for climate change mitigation. Faced with delays in climate change politics, activists and lawyers are also actively using domestic and international legal systems to promote climate action. As the voice of the future, young people play a vital role in this wave, especially in the issue of climate justice that is gaining global attention.
Many successful litigation cases have centered around climate justice and the demands of the youth climate movement.
The legal framework for climate litigation can be broadly divided into five categories, including constitutional law, administrative law, private law, fraud or consumer protection and human rights. As the legal literature grows, more and more cases focusing on climate action are emerging. The use of human rights claims in climate litigation has been on the rise, particularly since 2015, reflecting in part the growing recognition around the world of the fundamental right to a healthy environment.
Environmental activists stress that investor-owned coal, oil and gas companies should be held legally and morally accountable for climate-related human rights abuses.
The contribution of young climate activists to climate litigation cannot be underestimated. In 2020, a group of young people in Canada filed a lawsuit against the government, accusing it of violating their right to life by ignoring climate change. Although the case was ultimately dismissed, it succeeded in sparking widespread discussion about the role of young people in climate action.
In addition, the Urgenda case, known as "winning the climate lawsuit", has become an important example of global climate litigation. A Dutch court ruled in 2015 that the government must take more aggressive action to reduce carbon emissions, which also served as a powerful reference for litigation in other countries and regions.
In 2017, the United Nations litigation report showed that there were 884 climate lawsuits worldwide, demonstrating that law is an important tool to promote climate action.
In the United States, cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles continue to file lawsuits against multiple oil companies, hoping to hold these companies accountable for climate change through legal means. In addition, many non-governmental organizations (such as Greenpeace) are also actively involved in these legal actions, seeking more resources and support in a collective way.
These lawsuits not only make sense legally, but also provide a platform for young people and their supporters to speak out, especially as the impact of global warming on future generations looms. The core of this movement is to fight for rights and living space for future generations.
The number of climate lawsuits is expected to continue to rise in the 2020s as the legal platform expands.
However, these lawsuits sometimes face setbacks, and successful litigation does not mean that all cases will be so smooth. Take the Juliana case in the United States as an example. Although this lawsuit attracted widespread attention and discussion, it ultimately failed to gain support from the court. This reflects that climate litigation remains an uphill battle that requires changes in strategy and continued advocacy.
With the rise of youth movements and a growing understanding of the impacts of climate change, future climate litigation may focus more on protecting younger generations. In such a scenario, can we expect young people to continue to play a leading role in climate litigation, or even change our legal framework and policies?
