ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the role of the human rights framework to adjudicate claims relating to climate change, and the first case at the regional level to have used a human rights framework in relation to climate change, the Inuit petition, and the legal issues raised by that petition, including remedies and state responsibility and the common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) principle. It talks about the loss and damage mechanism that is being negotiated under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the role of litigation and other options available, particularly for small island states to seek justice. Scholars have raised the vexing issues inherent in liability for damage caused by climate change. The utility of the remedies recognized under international law, restitution, compensation and satisfaction, to damage caused by climate change is rather limited. Finally, the chapter describes whether small island states have any recourse under international litigation.
