Marie-Louise Holle presented on climate litigation and private law at CILG, UCPHClimate Litigation and Private Law

On 15 September, Associate Professor Marie-Louise Holle gave a presentation at the University of Copenhagen at the Center for International Law and Governance, on Climate Litigation and Private Law: Protecting Rights and Preventing Damage in the Face of Climate Change. 

About the talk: 
Private law and climate change litigation are rarely thought of as two sides of the same coin. There seems to be a conviction that claimants somehow lead judges astray from positive law and instead down a dark alley of activist and not substantive law. It is my claim that private law fills a so far necessary role in climate law, as it grants rights to those whose legal rights are infringed due to climate change. Claims in climate litigation can be seen as an exercise of the right to prevent damage. The need for the present study is prompted by the lack of co-analysis of climate law and private law. The important backdrop for this analysis is the Draft Common Frame of Reference and its provisions on the right to prevent damage.