Is Climate Change Becoming Threats to Human Rights? Brief Study on Climate Change and its Litigation

Many people think of global warming and climate change as synonyms, but scientists prefer to use ?climate change? when describing the complex shifts now affecting our planet?s weather and climate systems. Climate change encompasses not only rising average temperatures but also extreme weather events, shifting wildlife populations and habitats, rising seas, and a range of other impacts. All of these changes are emerging as humans continue to add heat-trapping greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Human rights express the entitlement of all people to be treated equally, to live their life in safety and freedom, and to be protected by their government. So many of our human rights, such as right to life, health, food, and an adequate standard of living, are adversely affected by climate change. This article examines several cross-cutting issues that present challenges for potential litigants across the broad spectrum of climate change litigation. They include problems of proof, of dealing with cumulative and indirect impacts, and of establishing a significant contribution to global warming, as well as issues surrounding the respective roles of courts and legislatures in developing a regulatory response to the problem of climate change.