Where should we take the struggle for climate change when governments all over the world continue to fail to take sufficient action? During this NIAS Talk we will discuss the role of (environmental) law and legal mobilisation in increasing efforts to battle the climate crisis.
Its been about a year since Greta Thunberg sailed to New York to address the climate crisis. Even though the world is still captivated by covid, the climate crisis has not evaporated into thin air. On the contrary, 2020 has been a year of unprecedented climate disruption, of which the wildfires in Australia, Siberia and California are just an example.
Where should we take the struggle for climate justice when governments continue to fail to take sufficient action, even though they know structural changes are needed now? During this NIAS Talk we will discuss the role of (environmental) law in increasing efforts to fight climate change.
From the Urgenda case to the more recent example of Portuguese youngsters filing a climate lawsuit at the European Court of Human Rights, recent years have witnessed an upsurge people using the justice systems to address the urgent need to do something. Anything. What is the potential of legal mobilization in environmental issues?
About the speakers:
Jaap Tielbeke is journalist at De Groene Amsterdammer and former journalist-in-residence at NIAS, where he worked on his recently published his book Een beter milieu begint niet bij jezelf. He argues that lawsuits like the Urgenda-case ‘break’ with the idea that consumers and governments have equal responsibilities in fighting the climate crisis.
Jeff Handmaker is Associate Professor of Law, Human Rights and Development at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS). From February 2021 Handmaker will coordinate the NIAS Theme group on Legal Mobilization Revisited: Analysing Law-Based Advocacy.
Daphina Misiedjan is Assistant Professor in Human Rights and the Environment at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam. As one of the fellows in the NIAS Theme group she will carry out research into legal mobilization, rights of nature, and changing the status quo through Earth Jurisprudence.