Over the last decade and a half, there has been a sustained effort on the part of climate activists, lawyers, and experts to respond to climate change on the basis that it violates human rights. While the human rights dimensions of climate change have primarily been discussed in relation to mitigation and adaptation, much less has been written about the interlinkages between human rights and loss and damage. Yet a framework focussed on human rights could open the door for a broader, more transformational answer to loss and damage, capable of addressing underlying causes and vulnerabilities that increase risk. This chapter outlines a rights-based approach to loss and damage due to climate change, examining the use of a human rights framework for risk evaluation and transfer processes; the assessment of loss and damage, including non-economic loss and damage; the attribution of responsibility; and the identification of appropriate remedies for harms suffered on the basis of existing domestic and international law. It concludes with an examination of the potential and limitations of employing a rights-based approach, and offers recommendations as to how such an approach should evolve with the law in the future.
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your Elgar Online account