Climate change from the perspective of the European Court of Human Rights

Abstract

Is it possible to address one of the most serious dangers of the modern world, climate emergency, before the European Court of Human Rights? Although climate change can potentially impair many of the rights recognized by the European Convention on Human Rights, there has not yet been any judgment on this issue from the ECtHR. This article explores the opportunities to use ECHR human rights law to reduce climate change's effects. It discusses the relevance of the human rights framework in the subject matter illustrated with case law from the European Court of Human Rights. The paper's main goal is to establish and explain the explicit link between climate change and human rights in relation to the corresponding obligations of governments according to the standards of the ECtHR jurisprudence.