Articles for author: Maria Antonia Tigre

The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion on Climate Change

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“An existential threat” – this is how the International Court of Justice (ICJ) characterized climate change in its long-awaited advisory opinion on the obligations of States with respect to climate change. In the most significant development in international climate law since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the ICJ outlined numerous obligations that could significantly shape the contours of international environmental law and global climate governance.

24. Juli 2025

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A Blueprint for Rights-Based Climate Action

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On July 3, 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) issued Advisory Opinion No. 32—the most important and progressive document yet released by an international court on the climate crisis. The IACtHR’s findings are as comprehensive as they are groundbreaking, spanning areas from procedural requirements for mitigation measures to the protection of environmental defenders. This post launches a blog symposium on the advisory opinion and discusses ten key takeaways, chosen to illustrate the opinion’s legal and practical significance.

9. Juli 2025

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Patents and the right to a healthy environment

: An outline of a response to the critics Léon Dijkman As recent political developments make the prospect of a global consensus on – let alone an adequate response to – climate change an ever more distant fantasy, innovation and technology are increasingly looking like the most promising option (not to say last straw) of avoiding an ecological catastrophe. For instance, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that improvements in direct air capture, advanced battery, and hydrogen electrolysis technologies may achieve as much as 15% of the cumulative emissions reductions required between 2030 and 2050. To be sure, technology alone ... continue reading

23. April 2025

The Transformation of European Climate Change Litigation

In a transformative moment for European and global climate litigation, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled today that the state has a positive duty to adopt, and effectively implement in practice, regulations and measures capable of mitigating the existing and potentially irreversible future effects of climate change. In Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland (“KlimaSeniorinnen”), the Court held that by failing to put in place a domestic regulatory framework for climate change mitigation, the Swiss government violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the right to respect for private and family life. The judgment is a milestone for human rights protection.

9. April 2024

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