CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT 

Climate Change on Trial: Landmark book and educational toolkit on rights-based climate law by César Rodríguez-Garavito

Can human rights help combat climate change? A global wave of climate litigation says yes, with a new book and initiative from the Climate Law Accelerator at NYU Law spotlighting the evolution and power of rights-based legal action.

In the face of accelerating climate breakdown, a new global trend has taken shape: climate litigation rooted in human rights law. As one of the most closely watched and fast-growing legal strategies for climate action – culminating in the advisory opinions released this summer by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice – it’s reshaping how courts, governments, and communities respond to the climate crisis.

Against this historic backdrop, the Climate Law Accelerator (CLX) at NYU Law is stepping into the global spotlight with Founding Director César Rodríguez-Garavito’s landmark new book and accompanying educational initiative — one that traces the arc of a rights-based revolution and explores how human rights are shaping the future of climate justice.

Climate Change on Trial: Mobilizing Human Rights Litigation to Accelerate Climate Action is now available as an open-access publication from Cambridge University Press. This is the first comprehensive analysis of the rise of rights-based climate litigation worldwide, and it arrives at a pivotal moment when the highest courts on the planet are issuing groundbreaking opinions that could shape climate governance for decades to come.

Drawing on original interviews, fieldwork, and data from CLX’s original rights-based global case database, the book traces the twenty-year rise of rights-based climate litigation across jurisdictions, highlighting both the direct and symbolic impacts of legal mobilization in the Anthropocene.

More than a book, Climate Change on Trial is also the centerpiece of a forward-looking educational initiative aimed at supporting students, educators, lawyers, and advocates. The accompanying initiative, all hosted by the CLX Toolkit, includes:

• Video explainers and multimedia content
• A post-script to Climate Change on Trial
• A strategic litigation tracker and global case database

These resources are designed to empower the next generation of climate advocates and deepen engagement at the intersection of law, human rights, and climate governance.

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT

Bay Kou Bliye, Pote Mak Sonje: Climate Injustice in Haiti and the Case for Reparations

This report by the Global Justice Clinic at NYU Law and the Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA Law, in collaboration with Haitian social movement organizations, illuminates the crisis of climate injustice in Haiti. 

Bay Kou Bliye, Pote Mak Sonje: Enjistis Klimatik an Ayiti ak Demann pou Reparasyon se yon rapò ekri pa Klinik Jistis Mondyal nan Fakilte Dwa NYU ansanm ak Enstiti Promise pou Dwa Moun nan Fakilte Dwa UCLA. Se atrave kolaborasyon ak mouvman sosyal an Ayiti nou reyalize li. Rapò a prezante enpak dega klimatik sou popilasyon Ayisyen epi li montre jan istwa kolonizasyon ak enjistis rasyel kreye vilnerabilite klimatik Ayiti. Li bay egzanp pou montre kouman popilasyon Ayisyen ap degaje yo nan reyalite difisil la, epi li konkli reparasyon se nesese pou jistis klimatik ansanm ak jistis rasyel. Rapò a ansanm ak rezime egzekitif la disponib anba — klike sou ti kare a pou jwenn yo.

The report outlines the impacts of climate harms on Haitian people and their human rights, the colonial construction of Haiti’s climate vulnerability, and the legal and moral arguments for reparations to advance both climate and racial justice. It also touches on grassroots efforts in Haiti for climate resilience and to advance land rights, environmental justice, and community self-determination.

Haiti is one of the countries most harmed by the global climate crisis. The country’s climate vulnerability is not just a product of its geography—it is also the result of centuries of racial injustice, originating in colonialism, slavery, and Haiti’s “independence ransom” to France. Haiti powerfully illuminates that the climate crisis is a racial injustice crisis. Yet there is little available research presenting the impacts of climate change—or climate disorder as Haitian activists term it—on Haitian people, analyzing the connections between racial and climate injustice, and presenting demands for climate justice, including critically for reparations. This report advances the case for reparations to Haiti, and demonstrates that reparations are essential to advancing climate justice.

CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT

Carbon Markets, Forests and Rights

An Introductory Series for Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous peoples are experiencing a rush of interest in their lands and territories from actors involved in carbon markets. Many indigenous communities have expressed that to make informed decisions about how to engage with carbon markets, they need accessible information about what these markets are, and how participating in them may affect their rights.

In response to this demand for information, the Global Justice Clinic and the Forest Peoples Programme have developed a series of introductory materials about carbon markets. The materials were initially developed for GJC partner the South Rupununi District Council in Guyana and have been adapted for a global audience.

The explainer materials can be read in any order:

• Explainer 1 introduces key concepts that are essential background to understanding carbon markets. It introduces what climate change is, what the carbon cycle and carbon dioxide is, and the link between carbon dioxide, forests and climate change. 
• Explainer 2 outlines what carbon markets and carbon credits are, and provides a brief introduction to why these markets are developing and how they function
• Explainer 3 focuses on indigenous peoples’ rights and carbon markets. It highlights some of the particular risks that carbon markets pose to indigenous peoples and communities. It also highlights key questions communities should ask themselves as they consider how to engage with or respond to carbon markets
• Explainer 4 provides an overview of the key environmental critiques and concerns around carbon markets
• Explainer 5 provides a short introduction to ART-TREES. ART-TRESS is an institution and standard that is involved in ‘certifying’ carbon credits and that is gaining a lot of attention internationally.