Masterclass in strategic litigation for climate action and energy equity: the power of public health professionals, legal experts and communities working together to address climate change and energy poverty as determinants of health
1
Groningen Centre for Health Law, Faculty of Law, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
2
Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
3
Law and Public Health Section, European Public Health Association, Utrecht, Netherlands
4
Ethics and Public Health Section, European Public Health Association, Utrecht, Netherlands
5
Public Health, Ethics and Law Network, Global Network for Academic Public Health, Washington, DC, United States
6
School of Business and Economic Studies, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
In many areas of public health policy, legal action has delivered significant and long-lasting impacts. Court action (litigation) has long been part of the public health advocacy toolbox. There is increasing use of climate/energy equity litigation in national and international courts and tribunals, including in the global South.(1,2) This also includes cases where climate change is a peripheral issue, as in air pollution cases.(3) Health is considered a powerful argument for climate action, including in litigation.(4) Evidence of climate harms to human health and the environment is increasingly part of climate/energy litigation.(5) Public health professionals have a key role and expertise in the collection, analysis and presentation of this evidence.(6) Civil society organisations with interdisciplinary capacity are also key to bringing cases and pursuing the implementation of judgments. Indigenous Peoples and other vulnerable communities can present powerful testimony. Description: This masterclass will use expert presentations and group work to explore the issues from both global South and global North perspectives, drawing on ‘From analysis to action: climate litigation. A guide for public health professionals.’(6) By the end of this masterclass the participants will be able to: - Describe how public health professionals, legal experts and communities can collaborate to advance climate action/energy equity through advocacy and legal action. - Identify why climate action is an international legal obligation for states, not just a policy choice; - Note how courts recognise that advances in attribution science mean that evidence of health harms can be used to quantify state and corporate liability; and - Explain professional silencing and ways to avoid it.
CONCLUSIONS:
Public health professionals have a key role in climate / energy equity litigation: interdisciplinary collaboration is essential. Multiple avenues exist for capacity building on opportunities to address climate change and environmental health through legal action and litigation.
In many areas of public health policy, legal action has delivered significant and long-lasting impacts. Court action (litigation) has long been part of the public health advocacy toolbox. There is increasing use of climate/energy equity litigation in national and international courts and tribunals, including in the global South.(1,2) This also includes cases where climate change is a peripheral issue, as in air pollution cases.(3) Health is considered a powerful argument for climate action, including in litigation.(4) Evidence of climate harms to human health and the environment is increasingly part of climate/energy litigation.(5) Public health professionals have a key role and expertise in the collection, analysis and presentation of this evidence.(6) Civil society organisations with interdisciplinary capacity are also key to bringing cases and pursuing the implementation of judgments. Indigenous Peoples and other vulnerable communities can present powerful testimony. Description: This masterclass will use expert presentations and group work to explore the issues from both global South and global North perspectives, drawing on ‘From analysis to action: climate litigation. A guide for public health professionals.’(6) By the end of this masterclass the participants will be able to: - Describe how public health professionals, legal experts and communities can collaborate to advance climate action/energy equity through advocacy and legal action. - Identify why climate action is an international legal obligation for states, not just a policy choice; - Note how courts recognise that advances in attribution science mean that evidence of health harms can be used to quantify state and corporate liability; and - Explain professional silencing and ways to avoid it.
CONCLUSIONS:
Public health professionals have a key role in climate / energy equity litigation: interdisciplinary collaboration is essential. Multiple avenues exist for capacity building on opportunities to address climate change and environmental health through legal action and litigation.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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