Climate change law in Europe - What do new EU climate laws mean for the courts?

Acknowledgements The authors declare financial support from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Foundation for International Law for the Environment and the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment for the submitted work. [...] More than 60 cases have now been filed before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which is divided into the Court of Justice and the General Court, and at least 10 cases are pending before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).3F2 The broader trend in litigation suggests that most countries in the European continent will see climate cases filed in the coming decades. [...] Amending the Effort Sharing Regulation The primary change to the ESR considered under the Fit for 55 package is to increase the ambition of the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for sectors not covered by the ETS or the LULUCF Regulation. [...] Could the European Court of Human Rights open the door to new challenges before the CJEU? On 29 March 2023, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is due to hear the first case concerning the climate protection obligations of signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights. [...] Should the ECtHR adopt a broad approach in this regard or should the ongoing negotiations regarding Union accession to the Convention finally conclude, this could give rise to new arguments about the standing of individuals to bring challenges to the EU’s climate targets grounded in the right to a remedy under Article 13 of the Convention.