Past Events

Panel Discussion: Access to Justice for the Climate Crisis [12 June 2025, Radboud University]

In the context of the NNHRR's Annual Conference, the Working Group organised a panel discussion presenting three distinct perspectives to climate justice litigation. The panel chaired by Dr. Julie Fraser (Utrecht University) was commenced by Irem Akin (Erasmus University Rotterdam) who outlined the corporate law pathways to reaching accountability for corporate harms, such as through influencing the decisions of the board of directors by the shareholders of the company. Clara Kammeringer (University of Amsterdam) continued the discussion by presenting research on the role of non-citizens in corporate climate lawsuits highlighting the challenges arising out of cross-border litigation. Finally, Dr. mr. Esra Akdogan (Wageningen University) presented her recently defended and published PhD dissertation on the sustainability chapters in the European Union’s free trade agreements. She highlighted accountability issues stemming from the soft nature of the obligations present in the agreements and their lack of enforcement. Specifically, because of an existing reporting mechanism to the European Commission, which is flawed by the Commission’s discretion to pursue the claims.

Symposium: Ending the Climate Crisis through Rights-Based Climate Litigation? Trends, Challenges and Opportunities [20 and 21 November 2024, Utrecht University]

The inaugural symposium of the NNHRR Human Rights and the Climate Crisis Working Group, hosted by the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM) at Utrecht University, took place on 20 and 21 November 2024. The event featured expert presentations, in-depth analysis, and discussions on emerging trends in climate litigation, as well as research planning for 2025.

Resources and materials are available here.