Can the World’s Biggest Climate Change Case Help to Save the Ocean?

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the first climate change constitutional case in the English-speaking Caribbean. The case challenges the oil and gas buildout offshore Guyana, a new frontier for petroleum. This may be the biggest climate change case to date based on the amount of greenhouse gas pollu-tion at stake or on the amount of potential liability arising from harm to the ocean. The article locates the case in current climate litigation. However, it characterizes the problem as greenhouse gas pollution and not climate change, which it treats as a symptom. The case raises interesting questions about the court’s obligation to take into account international law in deter-mining the scope of the State’s constitutional duty to citizens for a healthy environment. It also flags the difficulty of applying international law to determine the climate obligations of a carbon sink. The case is ongoing.