Enhancing Climate Action through International Law (EnAct)

To meet the Paris Agreement goals and keep global warming below the 1.5ºC temperature  threshold, States’ climate ambition must be urgently increased, at least by a factor of five (UNEP, 2019). In order to achieve and enforce these crucial goals, other areas of international law become relevant. EnAct explores international law beyond climate change law. In particular, human rights law is increasingly relied upon as a basis for the establishment of a right to a healthy environment and a sustainable climate. International investment law is undergoing significant reform and bears largely unexplored potential to support climate action. Taken together, these areas provide vital tools to complement those available under international climate change agreements.

The overarching aim of EnAct will be achieved through two complementary postdoctoral projects on international human rights law as a catalyst for climate action (Postdoc Linnéa Nordlander, co-PI Professor Jens Elo Rytter from CLIMA) and on international investment law supporting climate ambition (Postdoc Alessandro Monti, co-PI Professor Birgitte Egelund Olsen from Århus University).

1.  EnAct kick-off workshop
   Tuesday, 24th August 2021, 15:00 – 16:45 CEST 
   
   
2. Lunch Seminar with Alessandro Monti, Climate Provisions in BITs and FTAs
   15th November 2021, University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law, Centre for International Law and Governance

3. Seminar with Linnéa Nordlander, Annalisa Savaresi, Daniel Wilkinson, and Felix Horne, The Role of Human Rights in Phasing Out Fossil Fuels 19^th of November 2021, University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law, Centre for International Law and Governance and Human Rights Watch
   
   

4. Lunch Seminar with Linnéa Nordlander, Litigating climate change: the potential of Sámi human rights claims,
   20^th January 2022, University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law, Centre for International Law and Governance
   
   
5. EnAct roundtable “Climate Action beyond the Climate Change Regime: The Role of Human Rights and Investment Law”
   Monday, 7^th of February 2022,  9:00-10:30 (EST) / 15:00-16:30 (CET)
   Hosted by Guarini Center on Environment, Energy & Land Use Law at New York University and Columbia Center of Sustainable Investment 

6. Expert Roundtable, The Energy Charter Treaty between Modernization and Termination: Prospects for Danish Energy Investors, 19^th January 2023, University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law

Publications:

• Alessandro Monti, The FET Standard between Treaty Reform and ISDS Practice: An Analysis of the Modernized ECT, 2024

• Alessandro Monti, Different Paths to the Same Goal? The Potential of BITs and FTAs for Achieving Climate Objectives, 2024

• Linnéa Nordlander, ‘Human Rights Law as a Gap-Filler: The Invisibility of Climate Vulnerability in International Climate Change Law’ in Dina Lupin (ed) A Research Handbook for Human Rights and the Environment (Edward Elgar, forthcoming 2023).
  
  
• Linnéa Nordlander, ‘What’s in a right? Concretizing states’ climate change mitigation obligations under human rights law’ (forthcoming 2023)
  
  
•  Linnéa Nordlander, ‘Culture- vs health-focused arguments in climate change litigation: any implications for rights-based litigation in Europe?’ (forthcoming 2023)
  
  
• Alessandro Monti and Matteo Fermeglia, Evolving Standards of Investment Protection in the ECT Modernization: a New Era for Climate-Related Investor-State Disputes? (forthcoming 2023)
  
  
• Alessandro Monti, Different paths to the same goal? The potential of BITs and FTAs for achieving climate objectives, (forthcoming 2023)
  
  
• Alessandro Monti, Climate change and investor-State disputes: protecting stranded assets or promoting green investments?, in Francesco Sindico, Kate McKenzie, Gastón Medici-Colombo, and Lennart Wegener, Research Handbook on Climate Change Litigation (Edward Elgar, forthcoming 2023)
  
  
• Martina Magnarelli, Alessandro Monti, and Matteo Fermeglia, Expert Roundtable: The Energy Charter Treaty at a Crossroads (18 November 2022) Kluwer Arbitration Blog
• Alessandro Monti, Matteo Fermeglia, and James McGlaughlin, The Modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty: Implications for Investment Climate and EU Law (15 Noveber 2022) EU Law Live
• Linnéa Nordlander, Litigating climate change in the Arctic: the potential of Sámi human rights claims (2022) Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, forthcoming.

• Alessandro Monti and Linnéa Nordlander: “Planning and running a project-based intensive course: Human Rights and Economic Law for the Green Transition”, pedagogical development project presented at the Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Programme on Wednesday, 18^th May 2022
  
  
• Linnéa Nordlander and Alessandro Monti, A new variety of rights-based climate litigation: a challenge against the Energy Charter Treaty before the European Court of Human Rights, 2022
  
  
• Alessandro Monti and Linnéa Nordlander, OECD Public consultation on investment treaties and climate change, 2022
  
  
• Alessandro Monti and Matteo Fermeglia, Completing the Unfinished Achmea Business in the Komstroy Case: Farewell to Intra-EU ECT-Based Investment Arbitration? (17 September 2021) EU Law Live
  
  
  

Podcast episodes – The Climate Show:

All Episodes accessible on: Spreaker, Spotify, Google play and Apple

• Episode 2. Jeff Colgan: Asset revaluation and climate change
  The podcast in a text version 

• Episode 3. Annalisa Savaresi: Trends in human rights and climate change litigation
  The podcast in a text version (pdf)

• Episode 4. Jacques Hartmann: Rights-based climate change litigation in Europe
  The podcast in a text version (pdf)

• Episode 5. Andreas Müller: An example of rights-based climate litigation: The Mex M. v. Austria case
  The podcast in a text version (pdf)

• Episode 7. Martin Dietrich Brauch: Climate change and international investment treaties
  The podcast in text version (pdf)

• Episode 9. David Boyd: The right to a healthy environment
  The Podcast in text version (pdf)

• Episode 10 Bryce Rudyk: Small Islands Developing States
  The Podcast in text version (pdf)
• Episode 11. Randall Abate: Standing in Climate Change Litigation
  The podcast in a text version (pdf)
• Episode 12. Martha Roggenkamp: Energy Law in the Era of Climate Change
  The podcast in a text version (pdf)

Presentations:

• Alessandro Monti and Matteo Fermeglia, University of Copenhagen, 20 March 2023. EnAct Conference Human Rights and Investment Law for Climate Change: Trends and Prospects. Paper title: Evolving Standards of Investment Protection in the ECT Modernization: a New Era for Climate-Related Investor-State Disputes?

• Alessandro Monti, Southern Denmark University, 6 December 2022. Invited speaker: Legal Innovation in BITs and FTAs: Assessing the Potential for Climate Action

• Alessandro Monti and Linnéa Nordlander, IUCN 3rd International Environmental Law Conference, University of Oslo, 6 October 2022, Human Rights in Climate-Related Investment Arbitration: Enhancing Regulatory Space for Climate Action?
• Alessandro Monti and Goran Dominioni, Tufts University European Center, Talloires, 21 September 2022. Invited speakers: Internalizing Climate Externalities from Internationally Traded Goods: Challenges and Way Forward for Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanisms. Yale University and Tufts University workshop ‘Remaking the Global Trading System for a Sustainable Future’

• Linnéa Nordlander, Norwegian National Human Rights Institution, 16 June 2022, Presentation title: International human rights law as a catalyst for climate action.

• Linnéa Nordlander, University College London, 2 February 2023. Invited speaker: Climate and Investment Litigation Workshop. Paper title: What’s in a right? Concretizing states’ climate change mitigation obligations under human rights law.

• Linnéa Nordlander, University of Copenhagen, 1 June 2022, Presentation title: Litigating climate change in the Arctic: the potential of Sámi human rights claims.
  
  
• Alessandro Monti, University of Copenhagen, 1 June 2022, Presentation title: Legal Innovation in BITs and FTAs: Assessing the Potential for Climate Action
• Alessandro Monti, University of Graz, 27 May 2022, Presentation title: From Brown to Green Investments: Rethinking International Investment Law for Climate Action
  
  
• Alessandro Monti and Linnéa Nordlander, British Institute of International and Comparative Law and University of Hasselt, 19 February 2022, Presenter: Climate Change Litigation in Europe: Comparative & Sectoral Perspectives and the Way Forward. Presentation title: Human rights in climate-related investment arbitration: Enhancing regulatory space for climate action?
  
  
• Alessandro Monti, University of Copenhagen, Department of Economics, Research Group on the Economics of Climate Change 29 November 2021, Invited expert: International Economic Law and Climate Change
  
  
• Linnéa Nordlander, Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen and Human Rights Watch, 19 November 2021: The Role of Human Rights in Phasing Out Fossil Fuels. Presentation title: Standard setting and human rights for mitigation commitments.
  
  
• Beatriz Martinez Romera, Linnéa Nordlander, and Alessandro Monti, International Union for Conservation of Nature: Academy of Environmental Law, 30 June 2021, Presentation title: Climate Action beyond the International Climate Regime.
  
  
• Linnéa Nordlander, Hertie School: Centre for Fundamental Rights (main organizer) Workshop: International Human Rights Courts and Bodies at the Edge of the Climate Tipping Point, 10 June 2021, Presentation title Climate change loss and damage in the Arctic: the potential of human rights litigation to fill the remedial void.

• Linnéa Nordlander, University College London, 2 February 2023. Invited speaker: Climate and Investment Litigation Workshop. Paper title: What’s in a right? Concretizing states’ climate change mitigation obligations under human rights law.

• Linnéa Nordlander, University of Dundee International Law Society, 14 November 2022. Invited speaker: International Climate Change Litigation and Human Rights. 

• Linnéa Nordlander, University of Copenhagen, 2 November 2022. Panel organizer and speaker: NEEDS 2022 Conference – Global Disasters. Presentation title: Health arguments in human rights-based climate change litigation: what implications for emissions reductions?.

• Linnéa Nordlander, Lund University, 2 September 2022, Speaker: CONNOR 2030 Workshop – Constitutionalism in the Nordics: Climate Change and Constitutional Law. Presentation title: Determining Emissions Reduction Pathways: Making States’ Climate Change Mitigation Obligations under Human Rights Law Concrete.

EnAct starts running in April 2021 and is supported by a Scientific Advisory Board made up of renowned Danish and international experts from academia (Brown University, Leiden University, University of Oslo, University of Stirling, University of Eastern Finland, University of Innsbruck, University of Dundee and New York University) and legal practice (Horten and Kromann Reumert).

• Human Rights and Economic Law for the Green Transition
  Find the course here

• TLHE project (AA 2021 - 2022)
• Project title: Planning and running a project-based intensive course: Human Rights and Economic Law for the Green Transition
• Project Description: The project concerns the development and running of a new 7.5 ECTS MA/LLM-level intensive course, ‘Human Rights and Economic Law for the Green Transition’. The course runs over ten days, with four hours of teaching per day. The project aims to advance the understanding of how an intensive programme affects student perception of learning, as well as their motivation. In doing so, it addresses the following research question: How does an intensive course influence students’ perceived learning and motivation? In order to answer this question, the project is structured as a cycle of activities that cut across the entire course process: before (course design), during (implementation of course design and surveys), and after (internal evaluation meeting and iterative process). The cycle is repeated as long as the course is offered. The implementation phase involves three surveys, administered at the start, middle, and end of the course, in order to assess student’s perceived learning and motivation as compared to non-intensive settings. The results of the three surveys inform an iterative process, through which the course is continuously improved and developed, which is the main aim of the project. In addition, we also aim to generate knowledge about intensive learning in sustainability education, relevant to educators at the Faculty of Law, KU, and elsewhere.