Blog Series: Climate Reparations

14 posts

Shared blame, shared bill? Joint and several State liability as a proposed legal framework for climate reparations

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 […]

Toward Structural Climate Reparations? A Legal Agenda to Address the Financial Subordination of the Global South

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 […]

Law-making initiatives of Small Island Developing States on Loss and Damage 

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 […]

Defining Success in Climate Litigation: Lessons from the KlimaSeniorinnen Judgment

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 […]

Victims’ Rights, Redress and Accountability for the Climate Crisis: Lessons from Transitional Justice

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 […]

Climate Change and Reparations: Introduction to the Blog Symposium

As the realities of climate change become increasingly dire, communities worldwide face devastating impacts, from rising sea levels to extreme weather events, disproportionately affecting those who have contributed the least to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this context, impacted individuals and communities are increasingly seeking recourse in international and regional […]