Climate Change Litigation in the Arctic: Perspectives on recent cases, Juliana v. United States and People v. Arctic Oil
Friday, October 2, 2020 | 10:00-11:30 EST (16:00-17:30 Oslo time) |
Online: https://www.masseycollege.ca/event/climate-change-litigation-in-the-arctic/
The choices made now will determine the future health of this planet. In the Arctic region, a particularly sensitive region to global warming, temperatures have been rising at least two times faster than the global average. In the past 6 years alone, more than 1 trillion tons of ice have been lost, rapidly threatening the viability of human life in coastal regions and the ability of marine life to survive. What action can the public take to slow down these changes, and to demand governments to take action?
Across the globe, litigation is an increasingly popular tactic employed by activists, lawyers, and the public to hold governments and corporations accountable to their climate change obligations. To date, there are approximately 1,500 climate change related cases filed worldwide. These cases are often complex, and involve creative arguments in constitutional, human rights, international, environmental, and tort law. In one recently successful case, Urgenda Foundation v. Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands found that the Netherlands must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% compared with 1990 levels by the end of 2020. The court found that “climate change threatens human rights” and that “in order to ensure adequate protection from the threat of those rights resulting from climate change, it should be possible to invoke those rights against individual states.”
This event brings together expert legal practitioners and activists to discuss two cases that affect the Arctic region and have reached the international spotlight: Juliana v. United States and People v. Arctic Oil. In Juliana v. US, Our Children’s Trust represents 21 youth from across the US, including Alaska. The group filed a complaint that through the US’s government's affirmative actions that cause climate change, it has violated the youngest generation’s constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property, as well as failed to protect essential public trust resources. In People v. Arctic Oil, Greenpeace and the Norwegian group Nature and Youth (Natur og Ungdom) have challenged the Norwegian government over their decision to open up areas of the Arctic Ocean for oil exploration. They are basing their legal claims on Section 112 of the Norwegian constitution which gives the right to a healthy environment, as well as the country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement.
This distinguished panel is composed of: Thomas S. Axworthy (Canada), Chair of Public Policy at Massey College; Jutta Brunnée (Canada), University Professor of Law and Metcalf Chair in Environmental Law at the University of Toronto; Julia Olson (United States), Executive Director & Chief Legal Counsel at Our Children’s Trust; Dagny Ås Hovind (Norway), Associate at Glittertind Law; Gaute Eiterjord (Norway), Campaigner at Greenpeace Norway; Aslak Heika Hætta Bjørn (Norway), Advisor and Secretary at the Norwegian Sami Association; and Tora Fougner-Økland (Norway), Central Board Member of Young Friends of Earth Norway.
This event is organised by Massey College at the University of Toronto, the Polar Law Group at the University of Toronto, and the Arctic Youth Network.
For questions about event logistics, please contact Emily Tsui, Chair of the Polar Law Group, at emily.tsui@mail.utoronto.ca
