BUSINESS, CLIMATE LITIGATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN A CHANGING GLOBAL POLITICAL CLIMATE
doi: https://doi.org/10.56461/iup_rlrc.2026.7.ch22
Climate litigation is increasingly framed not only as an environmental issue, but as a struggle over human rights in a changing global political climate. At the same time, business and human rights frameworks in Europe—especially mandatory due diligence and sustainability reporting—are expanding and are often presented as tools to strengthen corporate accountability. This paper argues that, despite the expansion of legal and regulatory mechanisms, corporate actors continue to rely on ESG narratives as a form of corporate legitimization, while affected communities face structural barriers to accessing justice. Drawing on developments in Europe and the Global South, the paper highlights a persistent gap between corporate contribution to climate harm and legal accountability. It concludes that without stronger attention to power asymmetries and access to justice, climate litigation and Business and Human Rights (BHR) regulation may reinforce existing inequalities rather than deliver climate justice.
Keywords: climate litigation, business and human rights, ESG, greenwashing, access to justice.
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