Has The CJEU Shut The Door On Climate Change Litigation?

LEGAL BACKGROUND

In recent years, numerous ecologists and environmental organisations have brought proceedings against national governments for their failure to reach the objectives contained in the 2015 Paris Agreement on combating climate change. That Agreement is unique for two reasons. First, it has been ratified by almost all countries in the world, representing over 95% of global greenhouse emissions. Secondly, it contains a specific climate target which our governments have promised to achieve. This consists in the maintenance of global temperatures to well below 2°C and preferably to not more than 1,5°C above pre-industrial levels from the date of the Agreement into the future. In concrete terms, scientists working with the Groupe d'experts intergouvernemental sur l'évolution du climat (GIEC) have demonstrated that to achieve this goal, greenhouse gas emissions must drop by half by 2030, and must reach net-zero by 2050.