Just Transition Litigation in Latin America: An Initial Categorization of Climate Litigation Cases Amid the Energy Transition

Authors

Maria Antonia Tigre, Columbia Law School, Sabin Center for Climate Change LawFollow
Lorena Zenteno, University of Edinburgh
Marlies Hesselman, University of Groningen
Natalia Urzola, Global Network for Human Rights and the Environment (GNHRE)
Pedro Cisterna-Gaete, University of Edinburgh
Riccardo Luporini, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

1-2023

Abstract

Just transition litigation is a novel field representing a sub-set of climate change litigation cases that is under-researched and studied. The report provides a novel comparative analysis of legal developments found in 20 just transition litigation cases in four Latin American countries and questions whether initiatives for achieving energy transformation in the region may have erred in failing to consider key just transition principles or dimensions, leading applicants to bring legal cases to claim their rights or demand more just solutions. The cases found – limited to the energy sector – not only question decarbonization policies or projects (in typical anti-climate cases) but also challenge subsidies to fossil fuels or other incentives contrary to a just transition. Based on this subset of cases, the report proposes an initial categorization of just transition litigation.

Disciplines

Climate | Comparative and Foreign Law | Environmental Law | Law

Recommended Citation

Maria Antonia Tigre, Lorena Zenteno, Marlies Hesselman, Natalia Urzola, Pedro Cisterna-Gaete, and Riccardo Luporini, Just Transition Litigation in Latin America: An Initial Categorization of Climate Litigation Cases Amid the Energy Transition (Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, January 2023)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/sabin_climate_change/197/

For information and resources from the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, please visit us here.