Climate Politics In The Courtroom: Legal Activism Between The Andes And The Global Stage

在许多国家，律师和活动家正在将气候变化问题告上法庭。他们正在对政府和私人公司提起诉讼，以限制全球变暖，并寻求对现有影响的损害赔偿。这些案例提出了关于社会应该如何应对气候变化的根本问题：公共机构、公司和公民之间应该如何分配责任？谁应该为代价高昂的适应措施以及现有的损失和损害买单？处于边缘地位的弱势群体如何获得国际体制机制的支持？在气候变化问题上做出明智的政治决策需要哪些知识和证据？我通过一个长期的案例研究来解决这些问题。2015年，秘鲁农民SaúL Luciano Lliuya对德国能源巨头莱茵集团提起了一场重大的气候司法诉讼。声明称，欧洲最大的温室气体排放者之一莱茵集团通过生产燃煤发电，导致安第斯山脉的冰川消退和洪水风险。原告要求为洪水安全基础设施提供财政捐助，以保护他的房子。这是世界上第一个被宣布为可受理的此类案件。在2018年的一项开创性裁决中，位于德国哈姆的上州法院发现，这一主张具有坚实的法律基础，并开始听取证据。预计在2022年之前不会有最终裁决。对卢西亚诺·柳亚有利的裁决可能会为追究温室气体排放者在气候变化方面的法律责任开创一个重要的先例。世界上许多其他司法管辖区都有与德国类似的法律规定。其他国家的法律从业人员已经在此案的基础上开发新的索赔。我的研究从原告及其法律团队的角度跟踪这一索赔，分析科学如何对法律论证产生影响，并研究气候诉讼的社会和政治后果。我是从一名法律顾问开始参与索赔的。我之前曾在环保非政府组织德国观察工作，为诉讼的科学和法律论证以及后勤协调做出贡献。随后，我从人类学的角度探索了这一主张的更广泛背景，在秘鲁安第斯山脉、法庭听证会和联合国气候峰会上进行了20个月的实地研究。我的博士论文研究了这起诉讼如何将温室气体排放者和那些面临气候变化最严重影响的人视为邻居，从而重新构建有关气候变化的讨论中的道德关系。作为ESRC的研究员，我将与领导ERC资助的气候变化损失和损害项目的Lisa Vanhala教授合作，进一步探索气候诉讼的政治动态。虽然我的博士学位专注于法律背景下的科学和道德，但我将利用该奖学金，基于我已经收集的数据和有限的额外研究，探索气候诉讼的政治和社会影响。我的工作是此类工作中的第一次：通过我接触到法庭程序、法律讨论和气候政策论坛，这种对气候诉讼的长期定性研究成为可能。这为我提供了一个关于法律激进主义如何影响政策制定的不同寻常的视角。我讨论了政治学家和社会法律学者目前感兴趣的主要问题，例如哪些机构应该应对气候变化，以及法律激进主义如何影响公共辩论。对于律师来说，我的工作为气候诉讼的具体挑战提供了指导，包括证据障碍和后勤困难。我的研究吸引了政策制定者，因为我参与了关于如何更公平地分配应对气候变化的责任的概念性辩论。作为一名公开参与的学者，我觉得有责任与那些有能力实施积极变革的人分享我的工作。

In numerous countries, lawyers and activists are bringing climate change into the courts. They are filing lawsuits against governments and private companies to limit global warming and seek damages for existing impacts. These cases raise fundamental questions about how societies ought to engage with climate change: how should responsibility be distributed among public institutions, corporations, and citizens? Who should pay for costly adaptation measures and for existing loss and damage? How can vulnerable marginalised communities access support from international institutional mechanisms? What knowledge and evidence are needed to make informed political decisions about climate change? I address these questions through a long-term case study.In 2015, the Peruvian farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya filed a momentous climate justice lawsuit against the German energy giant RWE. The claim argues that RWE, one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters in Europe, contributed to glacial retreat and flood risk in the Andes through producing coal-fired power. The plaintiff seeks a financial contribution toward flood safety infrastructure to protect his house. This case is the first of its kind worldwide to be declared admissible. In a ground-breaking 2018 ruling, the Upper State Court in Hamm, Germany, found that the claim has a solid legal foundation and began hearing evidence. A final verdict is not expected before 2022. A ruling in Luciano Lliuya's favour could set a significant precedent for holding greenhouse gas emitters legally accountable in relation to climate change. Numerous other jurisdictions around the world have similar legal provisions as in Germany. Legal practitioners in other countries are already building on this case to develop new claims.My research follows this claim from the perspective of the plaintiff and his legal team, analysing how science comes to bear on legal argumentation and examining the social and political ramifications of climate litigation. My involvement in the claim began as a legal consultant. I previously worked for the environmental NGO Germanwatch, contributing to the lawsuit's scientific and legal argumentation as well as logistical coordination. I subsequently explored the claim's wider context from an anthropological perspective, conducting 20 months of field research in the Peruvian Andes, at court hearings, and UN Climate Summits. My PhD thesis examines how the lawsuit frames greenhouse gas emitters and those who face the worst impacts of climate change as neighbours, thereby reconfiguring the moral relations at stake in discussions about climate change.As an ESRC Fellow, I will further explore the political dynamics of climate litigation in collaboration with Prof Lisa Vanhala who leads the ERC-funded Politics of Climate Change Loss and Damage project. While my PhD focussed on science and morality in a legal context, I will use the fellowship explore the political and social impacts of climate litigation based on data I have already collected and limited additional research. My work is the first of its kind: this long-term qualitative study of climate litigation is made possible through my access to court proceedings, legal discussions, and climate policy forums. This provides me with an unusual perspective on how legal activism affects policymaking. I address major questions of current interest to political scientists and socio-legal scholars such as which institutions should address climate change and how legal activism affects public debates. For lawyers, my work provides guidance on the concrete challenges of climate litigation including evidentiary hurdles and logistical difficulties. My research appeals to policymakers as I contribute to conceptual debates about how responsibility for addressing climate change can be more justly distributed. As a publicly engaged academic, I feel the responsibility to share my work with those who have the power to enact positive change.