Climate change litigation in Europe: comparative & sectoral perspectives and the way forward

Overview

Climate change litigation has upsurged over the last decade as a global phenomenon encompassing the societal strive for radical changes, the need to establish responsibilities of both private and public organisations in light of the compelling evidence of climate change, and the collective awareness of the major efforts needed to achieve effective and ambitious GHG emission reductions, in line with the best climate science.

In this regard, the initial wave of strategic climate change litigation is now leaving room for a more structural phenomenon, which arguably enshrines climate litigation as a transnational climate governance mechanism. In this regard, several underlying trends are being appraised, which nevertheless underpin the always larger bulk of cases being brought before jurisdictions all over Europe, at the domestic and regional level.

This conference will aim to take stock of the current developments in climate change litigation in Europe while addressing in a systematic and comprehensive way the most relevant trends therein. More specifically, the conference will focus both on its comparative perspectives, through some of the most significant domestic experiences, and on its sectoral perspectives: human rights, State responsibility, international trade and investment protection, corporate responsibility and procedural hurdles. Finally, these perspectives will provide the necessary framework to highlight the way forward, taking into consideration the suggestions and proposals provided by practitioners, academic, judges and other experts participating in this discussion.

Structure of the Conference 
The conference will take place as a hybrid event (in-person and online), organised by Hasselt University and The British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL).

The conference will consist of 2 half-days to be held.

Programme (pdf, 484 KB)

The conference will take place as a hybrid event (in person and online), organised by Hasselt University and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL). The conference will consist of 2 half-days to be held on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 February 2022, from 14:00 to 18:00 (Day 1) and from 09:00 to 13:00 (Day 2), Brussels time (CET).

The event will consist of a plenary session with three panel discussions on the first day, and five parallel workshops and a closing panel discussion on the second day. The workshops will collect presentations on the submitted papers for the conference. The workshops' chairs will present their remarks and the final results of the parallel sessions at the closing panel discussion.

Organising Committee

• Carole Billiet, Professor of Environmental Law, Head of the Environmental Law Unit, Hasselt University
• Matteo Fermeglia, Assistant Professor of International and European Environmental Law, Post- Doctoral Assistant, Hasselt University
• Ivano Alogna, Arthur Watts Research Fellow in Environmental and Climate Change Law, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, and University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
• Alina Holzhausen, Research Assistant in Environmental and Climate Change Law, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, and University of Aberdeen

Pricing and Registration

Online participation is free of charge but pre-registration is required. Please click on the button below to register for online participation.
 
Alternatively, in person participation at Hasselt University is possible.
(Please note that a registration fee is required)

Registration