Climate litigation in Latin America: is the region quietly leading a revolution?

Abstract

Climate litigation is a hot topic. Worldwide, jurisdictions are being presented with novel legal cases aiming to address the devastating effects of climate change. Domestic, regional and international courts are facing the challenge, deciding climate-related cases by using a myriad of approaches. Latin America is host to many of these climate litigation cases. Yet, in mainstream climate litigation literature, the role of litigation in Latin America is often overlooked, especially the role of litigation in ‘peripheral’ claims. We argue that limiting the definition of climate litigation to cases that directly invoke climate-change-related claims, albeit useful, ignores a significant number of cases with potentially strong influence in climate governance. We contend that Latin America provides a wide and relevant range of climate cases that could inform how climate governance is shaped, but that the majority of these cases rely on ‘peripheral’ climate claims: that is, on claims that may not directly mention climate change laws or data but which nevertheless have an impact on climate governance. Some of these claims refer to biodiversity protection (ie in the Amazon basin), while others appeal to climate change causes (ie air pollution). Furthermore, cases with innovative approaches such as those invoking the Rights of Nature or Intergenerational Equity also touch upon climate governance and the human–nature relationship. This article draws on the expanding body of climate-related cases in Latin America in order to assess the role of the region in advancing climate litigation.