A Fundamental Right to Climate Sustainability? EU Developments on Mitigation and Adaptation in the Light of International Law

Based on key normative references, the article argues that a fundamental “right to climate sustainability” is developing as an independent claim in the European Union (EU). However, is such a right systemically viable? In the light of the correlativeness between rights and duties, the article contextualises EU developments against the background of international law, whereby the right to climate sustainability emerges as a particular claim, rather than a universal one, and is only sporadically mentioned as a fundamental duty, more specifically as soft law rather than a strictly binding commitment. Arguably, however, the recent declaration of the fundamental nature of the right to a sustainable environment by the UN General Assembly also implies the international recognition of the human rights nature of the right to climate sustainability, with respect to both mitigation and adaptation. Indeed, the right to climate sustainability–including correlated substantive and procedural duties–is a component of the right to environmental sustainability, at both the international and EU level. Received: 30 September 2024 Accepted: 23 January 2025