Evelyn Li Wang, Ph.D Candidate at the Newcastle University Law School, discusses the application of procedural environmental rights into climate change against the background of the information age.
Climate change is recognized as “the common concern of humanity.” On June 28, 2021, the European Council enacted a climate change law to reduce greenhouse gases emissions by 55% by 2030 – from 1990 levels – and to accomplish a net zero-emissions economy by 2050. Despite the legal enshrinement of net-zero and emission targets, the European Union only accounts for a limited share in global greenhouse gases emissions. Yet, at the annual summit of the Group Seven nations in earlier June, leaders from the wealthy democracies failed to agree on a coal phaseout timeline, leaving a key commitment to addressing the climate into uncertainty. While negotiations on multinational climate agreements are proceeding in various international fora, a human rights approach is arguably an alternativ