CLIMATE CHANGE LITIGATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: EMERGING LEGAL FRAMEWORKS AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Abstract

The accelerating climate crisis has become one of the most profound challenges facing modern societies, with far-reaching environmental, economic, social, and legal implications, all around the world (IPCC, 2023; United Nations, 2023). As the shortcomings of traditional climate governance mechanisms become more evident, climate change litigation has emerged as an innovative form of accountability, an instrument of environmental governance, and a means of enforcing climate-related duties, and has gained considerable prominence (Setzer & Higham, 2024). Simultaneously, climate change has become a critical context for environmental justice, highlighting the disproportionate impact of climate change on marginalized communities and emphasizing the need for equitable legal remedies (Schlosberg, 2007; UNDP, 2022). The rapid growth of climate litigation has not been accompanied by the integration of principles of environmental justice into emerging climate legal frameworks, leaving significant legal, institutional and governance gaps (Peel & Osofsky, 2015).

This qualitative study investigates the evolution of climate change litigation, explores the relationship between climate jurisprudence and environmental justice, analyzes nascent legal frameworks governing climate-related disputes and identifies major barriers to equitable climate governance. The study uses a qualitative research design based on doctrinal legal research, thematic analysis, comparative legal analysis, and an in-depth study of international treaties, environmental conventions, landmark cases of climate litigation, judicial decisions, policy documents, and scholarly literature.

The findings indicate that climate litigation has evolved into a strong mechanism of judicial activism and rights-based environmental governance, increasingly holding states and corporations accountable for climate harms (Setzer & Higham, 2024). But there are many challenges like jurisdictional limitations, fragmented legal frameworks, unequal access to justice, and inadequate protection for climate-vulnerable communities (Peel & Osofsky, 2015). The study further demonstrates that, even though human rights-based approaches are gaining ground, the integration of environmental justice concerns within climate jurisprudence is yet to be realized (Knox, 2020).

The research contributes to environmental law scholarship and climate governance literature by offering a comprehensive qualitative synthesis of emerging legal developments and suggesting pathways for more equitable and effective climate governance. The study concludes that meaningful integration of environmental justice principles into national and international legal frameworks is essential for the future of climate litigation and global environmental governance (Schlosberg, 2007; UNDP, 2022)