The ‘Fair Share’ of Climate Mitigation: Can Litigation Increase National Ambition for Brazil?

Abstract

Several years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the world is still far from achieving its emission reduction target. Despite the scientific certainty of the devastating effects of climate change on human rights, countries’ ‘nationally determined contributions’ (NDCs) still fall short of the 1.5 °C goal. Compared to developed countries and their historical contributions, the Global South’s role in climate mitigation may appear insignificant. However, the magnitude of the human rights effects of climate change are enormous. Any increase above 1.5 °C would endanger human well-being and the ecosystems on which human life depends. Therefore, all parties must cooperate to adopt more ambitious NDCs. This imperative—while falling mainly on the Global North, which holds significant historical responsibility for emissions—also extends beyond the Global North, to, for example, a country like Brazil. This article assesses how fair share has played a role in climate litigation cases in the Global North (primarily in Europe) and discusses the possibilities and challenges of bringing similar cases in Brazil. It relies on the fair share methodology used to substantiate the argument of increased ambition in cases in the Global North, discussing whether a similar argument could be brought in Brazil.