Climate Litigation
Constitutionalising Climate Mitigation Norms in Europe
Professor Christina Eckes’ chapter in the book, ‘Constitutionalism and Transnational Governance Failures‘
This book explores strategies for limiting transnational market failures, governance failures and constitutional failures impeding protection of the universally agreed sustainable development goals like climate change mitigation and access to justice and transnational rule-of-law. Can multilevel democratic and judicial protection of fundamental rights and public goods across frontiers be extended through plurilateral agreements?
Edited by Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann and Armin Steinback.
Introduction to Christina’s chapter
Climate Litigation is emerging in many jurisdictions in Europe, in the national context but also before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). A category of these cases, that is particularly salient for constitutionalisation of mitigation norms, targets states for failing to reduce emissions in line with their international commitments within the context of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (unfccc).
This chapter examines the emerging phenomenon of ‘climate constitutionalisation’ in the multi-layered legal landscape of Europe. It focusses on cases against states attempting to address governance failure to mitigate climate change by relying on international or regional norms.
