People vs Big Polluters

Netherlands. Nearly 900 citizens with the Urgenda Foundation filed a climate case against the Dutch government. In 2015 they won, forcing the government to make more stringent greenhouse gas emissions reductions by 2020. While the government is appealing the verdict, it has committed to complying with it in the interim and will be closing coal-fired power stations.

Canada. The Inuit community of Clyde River had its case heard before the Supreme Court of Canada, demanding that the permits issued by the National Energy Board in 2014 to conduct seismic exploration for oil and gas in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait be cancelled. Clyde River argues that seismic blasting is a known and often fatal threat to marine mammals and further impacts Inuit hunting, their way of life, and food security. These permits were granted without adequate consultation or consent from Inuit, which is a violation of their rights as Indigenous Peoples.

United States. 21 youth from the United States, with the support of Our Children’s Trust, are charging ahead with their federal constitutional case seeking the adoption of a national science-based Climate Recovery Plan. The young people allege that the U.S. government has known for decades about catastrophic climate change, but has failed to act to protect the youth. They argue this is a violation of the youth’s constitutional rights. Three fossil fuel trade associations are also named defendants in the case. In November 2016, a federal judge denied the U.S. government and fossil fuel industry’s motions to dismiss the youth’s case. According to Our Children’s Trust, “[t]he decision means that the youth, age 9 to 20 and from all over the U.S., now have standing because their rights are at stake, and now their case is headed to trial.”

Philippines. Filipino disaster survivors and other brave individuals, along with 14 NGOs including Greenpeace Southeast Asia-Philippines, triggered a first-ever national investigation into the responsibility of fossil fuel companies for human rights impacts resulting from climate change. The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines launched an investigation into the responsibility of carbon producers for human rights impacts resulting from climate change in December 2015, during the historic Paris climate summit. The Commission requested the companies to respond to the Petition by the end of September 2016 and now it is moving forward with a national inquiry, which carries significant weight since such procedures are only rarely used for matters of great importance to the country and citizens. The Petitioners are calling for public hearings to be held in early 2017.

Germany. A Peruvian farmer, Saúl Luciano Lliuya, has sued a German fossil producer and utility - RWE - in Germany. He is asking for RWE to pay its share (based on the company’s contribution of greenhouse gases) of the costs to prevent further harm to his property from glacial flooding. On December 15, 2016, the Regional Court of Essen will announce whether the farmer’s legal challenge will proceed to evidentiary phase of the case.

Norway. Young people from the NGO Nature & Youth, and Greenpeace Nordic filed a lawsuit against the government for opening up 40 new blocks for oil and gas drilling in the Barents Sea. They are challenging a decision by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy to offer 13 different companies licenses for exploratory drilling and oil and gas extraction. The plaintiffs allege that the licenses infringe on the Norwegian constitutional right to a healthy environment for current and future generations, they contravene the goals of the Paris Agreement and constitute a breach of other international environmental and human rights law obligations.

Switzerland. In Switzerland, KlimaSeniorinnen (Senior Women for Climate Protection), representing more than 450 women aged 65 and over, sent a formal legal complaint to the Swiss Government and three administrative bodies responsible for national climate policies, marking the first step in litigation. The seniors are challenging the government’s climate policies, highlighting shortfalls that are putting their lives and future generations at risk. The case will proceed to court if the government fails to comply with their demands.