The Climate Crisis and Human Rights Law: A Plea to Universalise Human Rights in Space and Time

The climate crisis, which is part of a broader planetary crisis, has been studied and documented extensively by climate scientists and others. Governance responses are often ‘too little, too late’. In an attempt to speed up these efforts, recourse is more and more sought in human rights law and human rights litigation. Some landmark judgments and advisory opinions have been handed down, but, overall, progress is slow and uneven. We argue that the reach of human rights law must be expanded in space (global obligations) and time (future generations) to address the climate crisis. In relation to space, the paradigm of the territorial State still prevails, barring human rights law from regulating the acts and omissions of foreign States, businesses and historically rich States, amongst others. In relation to time, human rights protection does not reach people who have not yet been born, and barely covers the risk of future rights violations. We explore recent developments that may help to universalise human rights in space and time, and suggest further or alternative steps where needed.