This event discusses the findings of a recent inter-disciplinary Climate Policy paper that uses the principles of international environmental law to select criteria to determine 'national fair shares' in GHG mitigation. Fair share ranges consistent with international environmental law principles offer a benchmark for existing and new nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement, for peer-to-peer comparisons, and to feed into the global stock takes. Such fair share ranges can also inform climate litigation in which the adequacy of national contributions, and thus a state’s fair share, is at issue.
The authors of this article present the paper and leading climate litigators will reflect on the implications of this research for ongoing climate litigation before national courts and the European Court of Human Rights.