Voices for Tomorrow (VfT) lecture series, by the ERMA Alumni Taskforce on Climate Justice and the Rights of Future Generations.

In this session, we delve deeper into energy democracy that empowers communities to take control of their energy futures, ensuring equitable access and decision-making power, and energy activism that ignites change, mobilizing individuals and groups to challenge existing power structures and advocate for sustainable solutions.

💡 By connecting the dots between climate justice and energy democracy, we amplify our commitment to inclusive implementation and advocate for a sustainable future for all. Don’t miss out on this invaluable resource.

#3 INTERGENERATIONAL EQUITY

🤔 What is intergenerational equity?
The terms “intergenerational equity” or “intergenerational justice”, have been used interchangeably since the 1980s. They represent a widely recognized principle of international environmental law which requires the preservation of the earth’s natural resources and the environment for the benefit of future generations.

🤔 Why is it important?
Climate change and its various current adverse impacts (greenhouse emissions, heatwaves, floods, disruption of food systems, diseases and mental health issues) will directly affect the generations to come. Among them, the most vulnerable ones will be disproportionately affected. Intergenerational justice recognizes the human rights of the humans not yet born and focuses on the responsibility of the living generations to take measures -today – to protect the future ones.

Although the principal used to be rarely invoked in court rulings, there is an increasing number of

🌟 Important Judgements on Intergenerational Justice🌟

🎯   Held v Montana / United States. This landmark climate ruling bars the state from taking any current action that would negatively affect future generations. It thus becomes a precedent for future suits in those states that do have environmental rights provisions, and an already-established jurisprudence that allows for suits to be brought by individuals and NGOs under those provisions.

🎯 2021 Neubauer, et al. v. Germany. In this case, the German youth challenged Germany’s Federal Climate Protection Act at the Federal Constitutional Court arguing that the target under the legislation of reducing GHGs by 55% until 2030 from 1990 levels was insufficient. The Court struck down parts of the legislation stating that the obligation under the Basic Law extended beyond protecting the climate and “also concerns how environmental burdens are spread out between different generations”.

🎯 2020 Urgenda Foundation v. State of Netherlands, the Dutch Supreme Court held that the government had a duty to protect the rights to life and home from the threat of climate change, but did not feel the need to decide on whether plaintiffs could represent future generations by noting that; “After all, it is without a doubt plausible that the current generation of Dutch nationals, in particular but not limited to the younger individuals in this group, will have to deal with the adverse effects of climate change in their lifetime.”