The Role of Science in Climate Change Litigation

The International Workshop "The Role of Science in Climate Change Litigation" is jointly organized by the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (SSSA), the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) and the Center for Climate Change Studies and Sustainable Actions (3CSA). The Workshop is integrated in the Seasonal School on Climate Change and International Law: Interdisciplinary Perspectives.

Six years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, and amidst new challenges posed by the Covid crisis, States' responses to climate change are still insufficient to keep the rise of global temperatures within acceptable and negotiated limits. Climate change litigation is rapidly spreading, with more than 1600 cases filed so far around the globe. Climate science often plays a crucial role in these cases, providing supporting evidence and helping to address issues such as 'attribution' and 'risk assessment'.

This Workshop aims to examine the current, and potential future role of science in climate litigation from both the legal and the scientific perspective. Such an interdisciplinary dialogue may contribute to improving participants' understanding of how science can help overcome current obstacles in climate change litigation, and how it can help courts to clarify existing legal obligations of States and private actors to prevent or respond to climate change.

The event is convened by Christine Bakker, Visiting Lecturer, DIRPOLIS Institute, SSSA, and Visiting Research Fellow, BIICL; Roberto Buizza, Professor of Physics, SSSA, and Director, 3CSA; Ivano Alogna, Arthur Watts Research Fellow in Environmental and Climate Change Law, BIICL; Jean-Pierre Gauci, Arthur Watts Senior Research Fellow in Public International Law and Director of Teaching and Training, BIICL.

To attend the event, please visit BIICL. Pre-registration is required.

Join in the conversation @BIICL #ClimateLitigation.

This event is part of the "All4Climate - Italy 2021" Programme, promoting 2021 as the Year of Climate Ambition.

The event will be livestreamed here: https://fb.watch/v/K34KQHd-/ 

Date: 14-15 July 2021
Time: 13:00 - 17:30 (GMT+1) / 14:00 - 18:30 (CET)
Venue: Online