‘‘The European Parliament must reject the Council’s weakened 2040 climate target. It violates EU legal duties, relies on unreliable offsets, and undermines fairness. The EP must defend science, the rule of law, and its democratic mandate—not yield to short-term national…
The Potential and Limitations of Climate Litigation froma Democracy Perspective International IDEA’s new report explores how climate litigation is influencing accountability, rights, and public debate and Professor Christina Eckes is one of the authors. The International Institute for Democracy and…
On 29 September, Dr. Alberto Nicotina, postdoctoral researcher within our ERC-funded project on Strategic Climate Litigation, was invited by the Department of Legal Theory at Masaryk University in Brno (Czech Republic) to deliver a guest lecture on “The Legal Standing…
On the Possible Request for an Opinion on the EU-Mercosur Deal The European Court of Justice could soon have the chance to rule on the EU’s climate mitigation obligations. In September, Professor Christina Eckes wrote for the Verfassungsblog on the…
After KlimaSeniorinnen and the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion European courts are increasingly treating climate mitigation duties as rights-based obligations as opposed to policy choices. Drawing on human rights, international law, and climate science, they are giving climate action a ‘constitutional dimension’. This trend…
This blog for Human Rights Here written by PhD researcher, Clara Valeria Kammeringer, discusses the 28 May 2025 decision of the Higher Regional Court of Hamm, Germany which established that civil liability for climate change-induced harms anywhere in the world…
De kabinetsplannen voor ontvankelijkheid van NGO’s in het licht van KlimaSeniorinnen Professor Christina Eckes, Clara Kammeringer en August Coenders schreven een artikel voor de juli-editie van het Nederlands Juristenblad. Met dit artikel proberen zij in te haken op de politieke discussie…
On 16 June, we held a roundtable discussion at Spui25 about climate change, law and matters of democracy. Three speakers covered topics including: •Can domestic courts deliver global climate justice?•What tensions arise between democratic decision-making and international climate demands?•How can…
Professors Nathalie Brack and Ramona Coman (ULB) have co-edited a special issue of European Political Science: “Dissensus over Liberal Democracy in Europe“. The issue explores how liberal democracy is increasingly contested and eroded—not just by populist or fringe actors, but across…
On 19 June 2025, the new theme group of the Amsterdam Center for European Studies (ACES) on ‘Climate Dissensus in Europe: Litigation, Representation, and Expertise’ came together for the first time. Christina Eckes, together with Matteo Fermeglia (Humanities) and Luc…
