Gouritin, Armelle --- "Potential Liability of European States Under the ECHR for Failure to Take Appropriate Measures with a View on Adaptation to Climate Change" [2011] ELECD 264; in Faure, Michael; Peeters, Marjan (eds), "Climate Change Liability" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Climate Change Liability

Editor(s): Faure, Michael; Peeters, Marjan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849802864

Section: Chapter 6

Section Title: Potential Liability of European States Under the ECHR for Failure to Take Appropriate Measures with a View on Adaptation to Climate Change

Author(s): Gouritin, Armelle

Number of pages: 29

Extract:

6. Potential liability of European
States under the ECHR for failure
to take appropriate measures with
a view to adaptation to climate
change1
Armelle Gouritin

1. INTRODUCTION

This chapter addresses, from a human rights perspective, the opportunities
and possibilities for private persons to question the responsibility of States
as far as climate change is concerned. More precisely, it will focus on the
European Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter `the Convention')2
as interpreted by the European Court on Human Rights (hereinafter `the
Court'). In this respect we will focus on positive obligations binding the
States. We will also limit this study to adaptation measures to climate
change. In other words we will not cover the mitigation aspect.
Linking environmental matters, and more particularly climate change
with human rights has already been explored before domestic and inter-
national courts.3 This path is also currently explored at the UN level. On
28 March 2008, the Human Rights Council adopted its first resolution on
`human rights and climate change' (res. 7/23).4 Following this resolution
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights prepared and
submitted an analytical study on the relationship between climate change
and human rights (A/HRC/10/61) to the tenth session of the Council.
On 25 March 2009, the Council adopted resolution 10/4 `Human rights
and climate change'.5 In this Resolution the Council noted that `climate
change-related impacts have a range of implications, both direct and indi-
rect, for the effective enjoyment ...