If Climate Change Litigation is a Journey, where is the ICJ Taking Us?

Join us for a pivotal dialogue on The International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on Climate Change State Obligations in the light of climate change litigation trends.

Hosted by the Climate Change Legal Initiative (C²LI) and the University of Strathclyde Law School, this event will also be the Glasgow launch of the book “Research Handbook of Climate Change Litigation” edited by the four speakers.
The book presents climate change litigation as a journey and during the dialogue, participants will have the opportunity to discuss the implications of framing the ICJ Advisory Opinion through the “journey” lens.

Location: University of Strathclyde Teaching and Learning Building (TL329) - 16 Richmond St, Glasgow G1 1XQ

Agenda:

14:00 - 14:05 Welcome and introductions

14:05 - 14:25 Introduction to the 'Research Handbook of Climate Change Litigation'

14:25 - 14:35 Framing the ICJ Advisory Opinion in the context of climate change litigation

14:35 - 15:00 Participants discussion

15:00 - 15:15 Key insights from participants

15:15 - 15:30 Final remarks
Speakers:

Francesco Sindico

Francesco is Professor of International Environmental Law at the University of Strathclyde, Founder and Director of C²LI and Co-Chair of the IUCN WCEL Climate Change Law Specialist Group. In this last capacity he has been leading the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law Islands, Nature and Renewable Energy Law Project. Francesco was on secondment with the Scottish Government from September 2021 to April 2024 as Carbon Neutral Islands project lead, a programme for government commitment that supports six islands to become carbon neutral by 2040.

Kate McKenzie

Kate is a co-Founder and Director and has been named as CEO of C²LI. As a licensed attorney in the USA, with over 15 years of practical experience across a variety of legal practice areas including criminal law, corporate responsibility, mediation, social justice issues, and climate change related law and policy. Kate holds a PhD from the University of Strathclyde, where her research focused on climate change litigation with a particular emphasis on state due diligence obligations in ocean-related climate impacts. In addition to her work with C²LI, Kate collaborates with multiple research and policy institutions and academic journals. In addition to her PhD, Kate also holds an LLM in Global Environmental Law and Governance, a Juris Doctor with a concentration in Environmental Law, and a Bachelor of Music in Classical Voice Performance.

Gastón Medici-Colombo

Gastón holds an LL.B. (National University of Rosario, Argentina, 2013), an LL.M. in Environmental Law (Rovira i Virgili University, Spain, 2016), and a PhD in Law (Rovira i Virgili University, Spain, 2021). He is currently a ‘Juan de la Cierva’ Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Barcelona and an Associate Researcher at the Tarragona Centre for Environmental Law Studies (CEDAT). His teaching and research areas are Public International Law and Environmental Law. He has published journal articles, book chapters and books on a variety of issues, including climate and environmental litigation, environmental democracy and the link between human rights and environmental protection. He collaborates with various international projects on climate change litigation, including the Sabin Center Climate Change Litigation Database (University of Columbia, US) and C²LI.

Lennart Wegener

Lennart is Senior Associate for Strategy Development and Legal Analysis at C²LI. He is also a trained lawyer in Germany and legal scholar in international climate change law and climate litigation. In the latter capacity, he has been a co-editor of the Research Handbook on Climate Change Litigation (2024).

Host or Publisher Climate Change Legal Initiative