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To accompany the U.S. climate litigation chart with which some of you are familiar, we have created a non-U.S. climate litigation chart. Both charts can be accessed through the URL below.  The non-U.S. chart has 38 cases from six countries plus various European Union tribunals. (The country with the most entries is Australia, with 16, followed by E.U. tribunals, with eight, and the U.K., with six.)  The chart includes short summaries of each case, and in most instances a link to the decision itself. We have worked hard to assemble the chart but we are not confident that it captures every relevant case, especially from the non-English-speaking countries; we would be most appreciative if people could send us any cases we are missing.

http://www.law.columbia.edu/centers/climatechange/LitChart

We have also prepared a draft working paper, “International Executive Agreements on Climate Change,” concerning the legal abilities of the President of the U.S. to enter into binding international agreements without the 67 votes needed for Senate ratification of a treaty. Comments on this draft are most welcome.  It can be accessed from the front page of the Center for Climate Change Law’s website via our new, more user-friendly URL:

www.ColumbiaClimateLaw.com

A report released today by the International Human Rights Law Clinic and the Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and the Center for Law & Global Justice at the University of San Francisco School of Law finds that climate change policies may unintentionally increase global inequality and human suffering and would be strengthened by incorporating a “do no harm” principle guided by human rights.

The report, “Protecting People and the Planet: A Proposal to Address the Human Rights Impacts of Climate Change Policy,” reviews current approaches to addressing the social impacts of climate change and argues that a human rights framework is an essential tool in designing and implementing climate change policies.

The report is available at: www.humanrightsclinic.org

There is growing awareness that policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions may have the unintended effect of creating or exacerbating human rights concerns and neglect the benefits of applied human rights. However, currently there is no coordinated effort to address the human rights impacts of climate change policies and to use human rights standards to improve the resiliency of populations.

The report recommends that states establish a program for action within the international climate change regime to work with all relevant stakeholders to clarify existing human rights standards and their application, facilitate information sharing, and provide technical assistance so that all states develop and implement sustainable climate change policies.

We welcome your feedback and comments to our report.

Laurel Fletcher: lfletcher@law.berkeley.edu

Michelle Leighton: mleighton@usfca.edu

Alice Miller: amiller@law.berkeley.edu

Cymie Payne: cpayne@law.berkeley.edu