Time to Secure Climate Justice

Photo: business-humanrights.org

“Lawyers around the world are galvanizing to seek climate justice.” writes Jennifer Gleason in today’s Climate Dialogue series at the London-based Business and Human Rights Resource Centre.

“As global climate negotiations plod on with no firm commitments, courts offer communities facing the greatest harm from climate change the opportunity to stand and achieve meaningful relief,” she adds.

Jen has worked at ELAW for more than 20 years.  Her focus is helping lawyers protect communities and the environment by promoting laws that encourage the production of electricity from renewable sources, and challenging projects that produce harmful greenhouse gases.

Jen writes:

“For 25 years, the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW) has been collaborating with lawyers around the world who are defending communities.  Climate change may be the biggest threat facing our planet today – and these advocates are leading efforts to seek climate justice.  Requiring corporations that ignored the risks of greenhouse gas emissions to compensate affected communities and provide them the resources to relocate or otherwise adapt, will start to remedy the injustice.  These important legal efforts will force those responsible to internalise the cost of greenhouse gas emissions and change their practices.  They will also push governments to strengthen and enforce regulations limiting pollution.”

Jen took the lead on a report evaluating the best prospects for successful climate cases: Holding Corporations Accountable for Damaging the Climate (available in English and Spanish).

Climate change may be the biggest threat facing our planet today.  Thank you for helping ELAW do its part, before it’s too late.

If you would like to learn more about our work and how you can support ELAW, visit our website, Facebook, and Twitter

Maggie Keenan
Communications Director
Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide