Climate Constitutionalism as a Foundation for Climate Litigation in Latin America

Abstract

Climate emergency is one of the facets shaping the current stage of ecological imbalance and requires action to be taken. The trend to address conflicts involving climate change by legal means is clearly on the rise, and the article argues that this calls for an evolving constitutional dialogue on human rights. The article examines the phenomenon, particularly in Latin American countries, explaining how past development of constitutions in the region, for all its precarious effectiveness, has already served to consolidate a path demanding judicial review in matters affecting human rights of constitutional stature. It argues that this path is being pursued by the ongoing climate litigation in Latin America. Based on case discussions, the article demonstrates how compliance with the Paris Agreement has been assimilated as a commitment to constitutional protection of human rights in the region, and how this process must deepen, taking into account regional vulnerabilities and future developments, in order to strengthen the fundamental human right not only to mitigation, but also to adaptation and equitable transitions.