Intergenerational Climate Justice: Legal and Ethical Frameworks for Protecting Future Generations' Environmental Rights
Keywords:
Intergenerational justice, climate change, future generations, environmental rights, climate litigation, sustainable development.Abstract
The problem of climate change presents greater intergenerational justice challenges than ever before, since current emissions are exerting extreme pressures on future generations, the group of people who have no agency in making present decisions. This is a critical analysis of legal and ethical frameworks intended to protect the rights of the future generation on climate change in the context of protecting the environmental rights of the future generation. The research explores how international legal systems can be transformed to acknowledge and implement duties towards posterity by examining international law, constitutional provisions, new litigation strategies and philosophical theories of justice. The paper posits that although significant progress has been achieved regarding youth climate litigation, constitutional environmental rights, and the advancement of guardianship doctrines, there are still enormous loopholes in terms of the application of the principles of intergenerational equity in legally binding statutes. The conclusions propose a multi-layered approach by integrating international treaties, domestic constitutional reforms, judicial innovation and institutional mechanisms as a way of guaranteeing climate justice across generations.
References
Barry, B. (1989). Theories of Justice. University of California Press.
Bodansky, D. (2016). The Legal Character of the Paris Agreement. Review of European,
Comparative & International Environmental Law, 25(2), 142-150.
Boston, J. (2017). Governing for the Future: Designing Democratic Institutions for a Better
Tomorrow. Emerald Publishing.
Brown Weiss, E. (1989). In Fairness to Future Generations: International Law, Common
Patrimony, and Intergenerational Equity. United Nations University.
Caney, S. (2009). Climate Change and the Future: Discounting for Time, Wealth, and Risk.
Journal of Social Philosophy, 40(2), 163-186.
Charpleix, L. (2018). The Whanganui River as Te Awa Tupua: Place-based Law in a
Legally Pluralistic Society. Geographical Journal, 184(1), 19-30.
Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). (2021). Sacchi et al. v. Argentina et al.,
Communication No. 104/2019.
Gardiner, S. M. (2011). A Perfect Moral Storm: The Ethical Tragedy of Climate Change.
Oxford University Press.
German Federal Constitutional Court. (2021). Neubauer et al. v. Germany, 1 BvR 2656/18.
Gosseries, A., & Meyer, L. H. (Eds.). (2009). Intergenerational Justice. Oxford University
Press.
IPCC. (2021). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Cambridge University
Press.
Kotzé, L. J., & French, D. (2018). The Anthropocentric Ontology of International
Environmental Law and the Sustainable Development Goals: Towards a Radical
Reconceptualisation. Law, Environment and Development Journal, 14(1), 1-21.
Gorani, S. (2026). Enhancing Environmental Protection through Ecocide Recognition:
Aligning International Criminal Law with SDG 15. National Journal of Environmental Law,
(1). https://lawjournals.celnet.in/index.php/jel/article/view/1974
May, J. R., & Daly, E. (2015). Global Environmental Constitutionalism. Cambridge
University Press.
Osofsky, H. M. (2020). The Role of Climate Change Litigation in Establishing Victims'
Rights. In Research Handbook on Climate Change, Migration and the Law (pp. 336-354).
Edward Elgar Publishing.
Parfit, D. (1984). Reasons and Persons. Oxford University Press.
Philippine Supreme Court. (1993). Oposa v. Factoran, G.R. No. 101083.
Rawls, J. (1971). A Theory of Justice. Harvard University Press.
Sax, J. L. (1970). The Public Trust Doctrine in Natural Resource Law: Effective Judicial
Intervention. Michigan Law Review, 68(3), 471-566.
Stern, N. (2007). The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review. Cambridge
University Press.
Tremmel, J. (2009). A Theory of Intergenerational Justice. Earthscan.
Tremmel, J., & Robinson, K. (2014). Handbook of Intergenerational Justice. Edward Elgar
Publishing.
UN. (1972). Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment. UN Doc.
A/CONF.48/14/Rev.1.
UN. (1992). Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. UN Doc. A/CONF.151/26.
UN. (2015). Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UN
Doc. A/RES/70/1.
UN Human Rights Council. (2021). Human Rights and Climate Change. UN Doc.
A/HRC/RES/48/13.
UNFCCC. (1992). United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. United
Nations.
Urgenda Foundation. (2019). Urgenda Foundation v. State of the Netherlands, ECLI:NL:
HR:2019:2007.
