Climate Change Law and the Rights of Nature: A Colombian Example Through an International Perspective

Abstract

In 2018, the Colombian Supreme Court bestowed rights to the Amazon Region. The growing climate change risks brought the Court to rule this way. The ruling relied on international environmental law, comparative law, and national policies. The discussion of Rights of Nature is not new; various States have relied on this practice to strengthen environmental protection. Constitutional provisions, legal acts and courts’ decisions are the source chosen by States to entitle the environment with rights. Remarkably, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights already identified how rights of nature are applied in certain American States, raising this discussion to international environmental law. The Colombian Court award may cause further discussions: first, it will allow rights of nature as an alternative in environmental litigation processes, included climate ones. Second, concerning international environmental law, it may contribute to the idea of constituting a regional state practice on rights of nature recognition.