Mobilizing human rights to combat climate change through litigation

Grounded in the growing recognition that climate change can infringe on human rights, this chapter shows how human rights–based litigation can be a useful tool in combating climate change. First, the chapter describes climate-related harms in the context of human rights, and then discusses elements (e.g., actors, applicable law, severity of the harm, forum) to consider when bringing climate change cases that implicate those harms. Next, the chapter discusses current climate cases that use the human rights framework, and then reflects on challenges in bringing these cases.