Contemporary debates on reparations and climate justice often remain siloed, addressing either historical injustices such as slavery and genocide or emerging crises like climate-induced displacement, food and water insecurity, and disproportionate exposure of marginalised communities to extreme weather events. Against this siloing, we advocate for a framework that enables a […]
Blog Series: Climate Reparations
9 posts
As climate change effects are revealing themselves at a rampant pace, there is no denying that mitigation commitments and adaptation policies are insufficient. Consequently, loss and damage is gaining traction in the climate governance agenda, but this complex notion is still in the process of being outlined. One particularly challenging […]
As climate-related disasters intensify across the globe, the question of how to obtain redress for environmental damage has become increasingly urgent. Yet, public international law has so far struggled to provide effective remedies. The traditional framework of holding states responsible for environmental damage seems to fall short, especially in the […]
As climate litigation continues to rise, a pivotal and unresolved legal question emerges in the law of State responsibility: how to allocate responsibility for injuries that result from the cumulative conduct of multiple actors. Climate-related injury derives from the aggregate and diffuse effect of anthropogenic activities, as well as natural […]
Legal scholarship on climate reparations has so far focused almost exclusively on financial compensation whereby wealthier nations provide funding to cover the costs of climate-induced disasters in developing countries. This body of work has examined the scale of financial needs, liability under international law, and potential institutional arrangements. Yet, cash […]
While the impacts of climate change become increasingly challenging, states’ climate action is lagging behind. Activities and movements aiming to prompt more progressive climate actions are increasingly emerging outside of, and bypassing, climate negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement. They include […]
The legal landscape for climate action is undergoing a paradigmatic shift. Whereas the primary focus was once on treaty negotiations and diplomacy, climate advocates are now increasingly turning to the courts. Yet as more rulings are handed down in favor of plaintiffs, important questions arise. Are these decisions driving meaningful […]
The climate reparations debate seeks justice for states, communities, and individuals suffering from the unjust distribution of climate-related harms. This debate can be usefully informed by lessons from the field of ‘transitional justice’, i.e., the body of scholarship and practice concerned with how societies respond to the legacies of massive […]