Thema: Klima & Umwelt

Umweltverfassungsrecht, verfassungsrechtliche Aspekte der Klimagovernance, Umweltrechte als Verfassungsrechte und verfassungsrechtliche Regulierung der Umweltpolitik. Umfasst verfassungsrechtlichen Umweltschutz, Klimarechte und verfassungsrechtliche Aspekte der Nachhaltigkeit.

Von der Freiheit der Zukunft auf den Boden der Tatsachen

Hitze und Dürre kennzeichnen den Sommer 2022. Waldbrände in Spanien, Portugal, Frankreich, Italien, Tschechien und auch Deutschland sind Symbol für die Folgen der Klimakrise. Hitzewellen sind bereits heute wahrscheinlicher und intensiver. Die Auswirkungen auf den Menschen sind unübersehbar. Tausende Hitzetote wurden aus Europas Süden gemeldet. Dazu kommen Ernteausfälle, die Rationierung von Trinkwasser und Einschränkungen der Industrie wegen mangelndem Kühlwasser (z.B. AKWs) und reduzierter Transportkapazitäten der Frachtschifffahrt.

12. August 2022

, , , ,

The Future of European Climate Change Litigation

On 7 June 2022 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) relinquished jurisdiction to the Grand Chamber to hear the application lodged on 28 January 2021 on behalf of Damien Carême, former mayor of the Commune of Grande Synthe in France. While the case shares some characteristics with other climate change cases pending before the Court, it differs in some key respects, making it a unique case of its kind at the moment. The Court will have to be open to a shift towards a more ecological interpretation of the Convention and demonstrate its ability and talent to rise to the historic task required.

10. August 2022

, , , ,

Net Zero, Full Transparency

&

Earlier this month, during a record-breaking heatwave and a Conservative party leadership contest that will determine the next UK Prime Minister, the High Court quietly issued a judgment that may have nearly as much impact on the course of UK climate policy over the coming decades than either of the other events. The High Court judgement in the Net Zero Strategy legal challenge can be considered a landmark victory. On the one hand, the case can be understood as a narrow administrative law challenge to the process by which a government decision was made. On the other hand, however, the judgment can be understood in the context of a growing number of cases around the world which demonstrate the critical role of the law and the courts in creating accountability for climate action – something that is increasingly vital in the face of a warming world and a lack of public trust in key institutions.

28. Juli 2022

, , , ,

A Reckless Decision

On Thursday, 30 June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its long-awaited ruling in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency on the final day of the Court’s term. In a 6-3 decision, the conservative-majority Court held that the EPA lacks authority to require power plants to achieve the “best system of emissions reduction,” thereby hampering the United States’ ability to tackle climate change—decades after the government first learned of the crisis.

7. Juli 2022

, , ,

Guardian of the Amazon

On 1 July 2022, the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (STF) issued a momentous judgment in what has been one of the most important climate litigation cases before the court. In its decision, the STF elevated international environmental law treaties, such as the Paris Agreement, to the status of international human rights treaties in the Brazilian constitutional system – with wide ranging implications at the domestic level.

6. Juli 2022

, , ,

Trumping International Investment Law

An Award rendered on 16 June 2022 by a Stockholm-seated Arbitral Tribunal unleashed a foreshadowed earthquake regarding intra-EU investment protection disputes. The Tribunal declined jurisdiction based on the intra-EU nature of the dispute, which arose after two Danish companies had invested in Spanish photovoltaic power plants. The Award rendered under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and the arbitration rules of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) marks the first time an arbitral tribunal has denied its jurisdiction (ratione voluntatis) because of the intra-EU objection raised by the Respondent.

29. Juni 2022

, , , ,

Travelling Courts and Strategic Visitation

It is not very often that an on-site meeting of a German higher regional court makes its way to the front pages of international news media. Yet, the reported visit of judges and court-appointed experts from the OLG Hamm, one of 24 higher regional courts in Germany, has achieved just that when the nine-person group traveled to the Andean city of Huaraz in Peru in late May 2022. This was after all no ordinary visit. They had come to see with their own eyes whether Saúl Luciano Lliuya’s house is threatened by outburst floods from Lake Palcacocha. We argue that this form of “strategic visitation”, similar to strategic litigation, might not result in a judicial breakthrough but holds important symbolic and political significance.

1. Juni 2022

, , ,

Direct Democracy or Climate Litigation?

The Klimaseniorinnen case has gained worldwide attention since the announcement of the relinquishment in favour of the Grand Chamber. The case is one of many strategic proceedings initiated around the world to sanction inaction or insufficient action by states on climate issues. While the Swiss government claims that the Swiss political system, with its democratic instruments, offers sufficient possibilities for the consideration of such claims, this blog post argues that the Swiss right to initiative alone is not sufficiently effective and therefore not an alternative to legal proceedings.

17. Mai 2022

, , ,

Climate Change Litigation Before the ECtHR

Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland is the first case of climate change litigation before the ECtHR where all domestic remedies have been exhausted. The Chamber to which the case had been allocated relinquished jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber. This reinforces the potential of the case to become a landmark ruling determining the Court’s approach to climate change.

16. Mai 2022

, , , ,

RePowerEU and End War by Ending Fossil Fuels

Putin’s criminal war on Ukraine has forced the Commission to say it will ‘RePowerEU’, to end Russian fossil fuels. We must clearly end all fossil fuels, and drive as fast as technology allows to 100% clean energy. To do this we should capitalise upon the vast range of legal options in our European economic constitution: that is the ‘law of enterprise’. The geopolitical situation requires us to see our law as an organic, social whole, and for all private and public actors to be on board.

11. Mai 2022

, , , ,