1.A. Workshop: Public health, climate change and strategic litigation

Abstract

Abstract There is ample and growing evidence of the damage to human and planetary health from environmental pollution and climate change. National and international legal frameworks provide opportunities for strategic legal challenges to government inaction (whether as the primary polluter or for a failure to regulate a third-party polluter) and to industry polluters. Public health professionals need to understand how litigation can be used as a public health tool to advance policies to address environmental and health challenges. [Parmet, W.E. and Daynard, R.A., 2000. The new public health litigation. Annual Review of Public Health, 21(1), pp.437-454; Laaser U. and Beluli F. A Global Public Health Curriculum. South Eastern European Journal of Public Health. 2nd Edition (2016); Foldspang, A. ed., 2018. ASPHER's European List of Core Competences for the Public Health Professional. Sage Publications.] A positive court decision can require governments to take immediate and long-term action or require polluters to cease, clean up and compensate. Successful national court decisions also provide precedents for legal action in other countries. If action in national courts fails or is not possible, legal action may be taken in European and international courts and tribunals. When legal action fails, or there is no decision, strategic litigation can still focus national and international media coverage and draw public attention to real or potential harms caused by government or industry action or inaction. Public health, environmental and human rights advocates can make better use of strategic litigation to address environmental harms and advance climate change mitigation and adaptation. Most European countries have already seen some strategic litigation on climate change. Litigation based on international and European human rights frameworks is also gaining ground. The workshop will examine the elements of strategic litigation and current cases in European courts. The workshop will follow a planned pre-conference webinar on public health, climate change and strategic litigation sponsored by EUPHA in October 2021. Key messages Strategic litigation supported by effective interdisciplinary collaboration can strengthen government resolve and stimulate action to address environmental and climate goals. Strategic litigation can advance public health objectives even without a favourable court decision. Its value includes the publicity and awareness generated and engagement of multiple stakeholders.