The Green Elephant - Using the Courts

USING THE COURTS FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE

"I think it's better to talk about the rights of the Earth more than the rights of nature ... If we are serious, we must not allow any more projects that destroy the Earth" ~Indigenous leader Davi Kopenawa Yanomami

The young people taking their countries to court over climate inactionChildren and young adults around the world are demanding action from governments on global heating and the ecological crisis

Climate lawsuits are breaking new legal ground to protect the planetDespite recent defeats, activists are optimistic that courts will provide relief from climate change.

Global trends in climate litigation: 2021 snapshot - Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment

Dutch court rules that government must help stop climate changeAppeals court upholds earlier ruling that the government is accountable for efforts to combat global warming.

Climate science is supporting lawsuits that could help save the worldGovernments have failed to slow climate change quickly enough, so activists are using courts to compel countries and companies to act — increasingly with help from forefront science.

Model Statute for Proceedings Challenging Government Failure to Act on Climate ChangeAddressing global climate change requires many solutions. Recent citizen climate litigation has led to judges in some countries requiring governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or take other steps to protect communities from climate impacts. Unfortunately, in many jurisdictions there are legal obstacles preventing citizens from even getting through the courthouse door. Judges are also experiencing difficulties adapting existing judicial procedures to remedy government climate inaction.

Climate Change Laws of the WorldClimate Change Laws of the World is a global database of climate change laws, policies, climate targets and litigation cases

Climate Change Litigation Databases - Sabin Center for Climate Change LawSabin Center for Climate Change Law provides two comprehensive databases of climate change caselaw - US Climate Change Litigation and Global Climate Change Litigation.

How scientists can help lawyers on climate actionResearch into how to fairly translate global emissions targets to individual countries can make a difference in court.

The UCS Science Hub for Climate LitigationWe're connecting scientific experts, legal scholars, and practitioners working at the intersection of science and climate litigation.

Science, Climate Litigation, and the LawThis webinar explores the broad and continually evolving landscape of science and climate litigation in the United States and around the world.

WE ACT for Environmental Justice: Empowering Communities to Power ChangeWe build healthy communities and environmental justice by ensuring that people of color participate in the creation of environmental policies and practices.

GRANTING LEGAL RIGHTS TO NATURE

Could 2024 be the year nature rights enter the political mainstream?Movement is growing to give legal rights and political representation to nonhuman animals, species and places

7 Countries That Have Legally Recognized the Rights of NatureThat’s Mrs. River to you.

Nature Rights: What Countries Grant Legal Personhood Status to Nature And Why? | Earth.OrgIndia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Panama are just some of the countries that believe that nature is a living entity and have thus implemented nature rights.

Why countries like Bolivia and New Zealand have awarded legal rights to non-humansAs the world fights climate change and the exploitation of nature, countries like Ecuador and New Zealand have taken some significant steps in bringing laws into the natural world.

Law List - Harmony With Nature

Rights of Nature is grounded in the recognition that humankind and Nature share a fundamental, non-anthropocentric relationship given our shared existence on ...

What Are Rights of Nature?A history of Rights of Nature worldwide, legislative examples, documents and references. Rights of Nature is new legal paradigm.

Sentience InstituteSentience Institute is a interdisciplinary think tank researching long-term social and technological change, particularly moral circle expansion.

Home - Moth - More than human rights

Animals in the Room – A New Approach to Compassion Begun during the pandemic, ‘Animals in the Room’ is an international collaboration of philosophers, scientists, and animal welfare specialists working together to devise and test models for representing non-human animals in decision-making. Crucially, this representation is founded on working with the animals. When we recognize the dignity of other species and the ability of animals to act for and communicate their interests

Book Excerpt From How to Be AnimalIn Chapter 1, "The Indelible Stamp," author Melanie Challenger addresses the idea of human exceptionalism.

The Rights of Nature — Can an Ecosystem Bear Legal Rights?And if rivers and lakes had rights, could that help in the fight against climate change?

Wouldn't You Say? - Saving the Economy Means Not Saving Nature - CELDFAt the risk of expediting the die-off of most life on the planet, including most humans, judges continue to turn a blind eye toward the rights of natural communities - where humans live in harmony with their environment - while giving full-throated support for legal rights vested in corporate property.

We need a new law to protect our wildlife from critical decline | George MonbiotGeorge Monbiot: The Nature and Wellbeing Act could do for the natural world what the Climate Change Act did for curbing emissions – provide a crucial safeguard against attacks by industries and corporate politicians on environmental regulations

HomeThe Nonhuman Rights Project is the only civil rights organization in the US working to achieve legal rights for members of species other than our own.

Client: TommyClient, Tommy (Chimpanzee) The NhRP’s first client.

Stop Ecocide International Advocating globally for a law of ECOCIDE, making large-scale & systematic destruction of nature an INTERNATIONAL CRIME alongside War Crimes, Genocide & Crimes Against Humanity

Earth Rights Advocacy Clinic The Earth Rights Advocacy Clinic (ERA) combines the tools and tactics of international environmental law and human rights to preserve the conditions for life on Earth for current and future generations of humans and non-humans. Working closely with NGOs, scientists, lawyers, social movements, UN agencies, and grassroots communities from around the world, ERA students work on cases and projects involving creative litigation in multiple jurisdictions, transnational advocacy campaigns, and strategic research and communications.

Centre for Environmental Rights – Advancing Environmental Rights in South AfricaWe are activist lawyers who defend the right of communities and civil society organisations to an environment not harmful to health or wellbeing for

Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights

Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN)GARN is a network of organizations and individuals committed to the implementation of legal systems that respect and enforce Rights of Nature.

Center for Animal Law Studies

Lewis & Clark Law School

We are the only law school located in Portland. Our supportive and rigorous intellectual environment pushes you to develop the legal knowledge, critical to our future.

We educate and support law students and legal professionals interested in animal law through classes, conferences, scholarship, and clinical opportunities.

Animal Welfare | Project World ImpactLearn more about Animal Welfare and how you can get involved in making a difference through Project World Impact.

ANIMAL LEGAL ADVOCACY GROUPS

Animal Law and Policy InstituteVermont Law & Graduate School’s Animal Law and Policy Institute trains future leaders in animal advocacy while centering animals in the fight for environmental protection.

Guides: Animal Law Research Guide: Organizations, Statistics & Other ResourcesThis guide will assist in researching issues in Animal Law, Animal Rights and Animal Welfare.

Animal Advocacy Online CourseOur online animal course with certificate will deepen your knowledge and create a career plan for an impact career in animal welfare and animal advocacy.

New York is suing the world’s biggest meat company. It might be a tipping point for greenwashingLetitia James’s lawsuit accuses JBS of deceiving customers about being climate-friendly – and the implications could be far-reaching

The Brooks Institute: Home

Pursuing a Paradigm Shift in Animal Law & Policy. ... The Brooks Institute is an animal law think-and-do tank dedicated to advancing animal law academics.

Animal Law - European animal lawEuropean animal law think tank to provide animal welfare professionals with expertise in legal and public affairs.

Center for Animal Law | Academics | DePaul University, Chicago Combining theory with practice, the center serves as a resource for the legal protection of animals by promoting both the enforcement of existing laws.

Legal Impact for Chickens

Climate Solutions Legal Digest | Husch Blackwell LLP