LAWSUITS AGAINST GOVERNMENTS AND PRIVATE COMPANIES OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES OVER CLIMATE PROTECTION UNDER THE PARIS AGREEMENT 2015 (UK, NETHERLANDS, GERMANY AND FRANCE)

Abstract

Introduction: the article analyzes claims for climate protection under the Paris Agreement 2015 considered by state courts of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and France. It is proved that the number of legal cases, both against governments and private companies, related to protection of climate from changes is steadily increasing. Applicants rely on constitutional and human rights laws in their efforts to hold governments accountable for tackling climate change issues. Climate litigation is also influenced by new scientific discoveries and developments in the field of climate change, which allow plaintiffs to more accurately determine the environmental impact of projects, policies and laws. In this regard, a comparative analysis of the above issues appears to be of key importance. Purpose: based on the analysis of judicial precedents, scientific sources and normative acts, to form an idea of the new category of court cases in European countries – lawsuits against governments and private companies aimed at protecting the climate from changes under the Paris Agreement 2015. Methods: empirical methods of comparison, description, interpretation; theoretical methods of formal and dialectical logic; special scientific methods (legal-dogmatic and the method of interpretation of legal norms). Results: the conducted study showed that in Europe, over the past few years, the concept ‘protecting the climate from changes’ has shifted from the political to the legal sphere – active citizens and environmental organizations began to sue their governments and private companies based on the provisions of the Paris Agreement 2015, international documents and national legislation. In general, state courts of European countries (Germany, the Netherlands) have arrived at a conclusion that the governmental climate policy is subject to judicial review and must comply with the government’s responsibilities to protect fundamental rights in accordance with the Constitution. Conclusions: all lawsuits filed to protect the climate from changes under the Paris Agreement 2015 can be divided into two categories: a) lawsuits filed against governments; b) claims filed against private companies. Among the lawsuits filed against individual governments, the most successful has been the ‘Urgenda’, case, with the decision in this case confirmed by the Supreme Court of the Netherlands in December 2019. Claims aimed at ensuring that private companies also comply with the terms of the Paris Agreement (although not being parties to it) can be called a new type of lawsuit: most of these cases are not completed and are pending before state courts. Such lawsuits are directed against private companies that pollute atmosphere the most – Shell, Total, etc.