- Jun 4, 2020
- 1 min read

CLIMATE CHANGE AS AN ISSUE OF INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE

Intergenerational justice is the idea that present generations have certain duties towards future generations, climate change raises particularly pressing issues, such as which risks those living today are allowed to impose on future generations, and how available natural resources can be used without threatening the sustainable functioning of the planet's ecosystems. Moreover, when one talks about the rights of future generations this inevitably seems to raise the issue of how to balance the rights’ claims of those alive today against the rights’ claims of future generations.

See https://www.unicef-irc.org/article/920-climate-change-and-intergenerational-justice.html

One institution that looks at the issue of Climate Change as in issue of intergenerational justice is the courts.

As we start looking at a few of these cases, let's make a note of:

1. who are the parties (who are the plaintiffs, who are the defendants)

2. what do the cases allege

3. what is the evidence

4. what is it that the plaintiffs are asking the courts to do

5. on the basis of what law

6. what is the stage of each case (has the case gone to court, has the court reached a verdict, etc.)

Here are a few cases:

State of Florida:

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article239092653.html