
By Sandra Arntz and Samuel Ballin
Introduction
The Working Group on Human Rights and the Climate Crisis brings together researchers working across different areas of human rights who share an interest in climate change as a cross-cutting issue in contemporary human rights. This is one of NNHRR’s younger Working Groups, currently approaching its first anniversary since being established in December 2023. The Working Group developed out of an NNHRR workshop on ‘future-proofing human rights research, teaching and practice’. This workshop brought together a group of human rights researchers with and without a background in climate-related research, all of whom shared a concern for the future of human rights in an era of climate crisis. The need for a Working Group was one of the main outcomes of the workshop, and the Working Group is now open to all researchers who share an interest in climate change and its impacts on (any aspects of) human rights.
Within this, members are encouraged and enabled to develop sub-groups around particular thematic interests. The Working Group currently has two sub-groups on ‘eco-anxiety and climate trauma’ and on ‘teaching climate change’. The ‘eco-anxiety’ group aims to better understand the emotional and psychological impacts that climate change can have on us as human rights researchers, including strategies to deal with climate-related grief and vicarious trauma. The ‘teaching climate change’ group explores ways to mainstream climate change in human rights and legal education, as well as ways managing the psychological impacts on teachers and students.
Lunchtime 'pitch meetings'
Besides a common interest in climate change as a cross-cutting issue in human rights research, the membership of the Working Group thus includes a wide range of research interests. This is highlighted during the regular lunchtime ‘pitch meetings’, in which two members are invited to give a ten minute research presentation followed by a Q&A. Both junior and senior researchers are encouraged to present their research, and some of their topics and experiences are given below.
Lianne Baars (Leiden University) presented her research on the conceptualization and contextualization of international rights-based climate litigation: “Within the open, supportive environment, I had the opportunity to test new theories and receive feedback from a room of like-minded academics. The questions I received helped me develop certain themes in my chapter, sparking fresh ideas and new angles to consider. As such, this experience strengthened my research and I would recommend it to all members looking to engage meaningfully with the Working Group.”
Sharngan Aravindakshan (Tilburg University) presented his comparative research on judicial decision-making in public interest litigation cases: “The Working Group brings together a broad range of highly reputed senior academics, whose insightful and much-needed critical perspectives and comments at my pitch meeting prodded me into thinking more critically about the limits of my research and how I could address them. Also, as an international PhD working on human rights research, the Working Group’s pitch meeting has allowed me to engage and connect with other human rights researchers in the Netherlands, something that has been of immense value to me.”
David Patterson (Groningen University) presented his research on ‘future-proofing human rights: lessons from protecting and promoting the right to health in the climate crisis’: “I started my PhD at the age of 65. Not looking to a long academic career – my intention is to have some impact as I do the research. This is one of the questions I pitched – how to frame the methodology which reflects this? The discussion was immensely helpful. I was gratified that senior academics also joined the call and shared their views. We had a full 30 minutes just to share and discuss my research. The online format also allowed engagement with researchers from across the Netherlands. The climate crisis and its impacts are not yet a major area of legal research (though they may soon be), so the input I received was even more valuable.”
Other activities during the first year of the Working Group
The Working Group has already been very active during its first year. As mentioned above, in effect the group’s first meeting was the NNHRR workshop on ‘future-proofing human rights research, teaching and practice’ in September 2023. Although climate change impacts all human rights, the climate crisis is not yet a cross-cutting theme (as, for instance, gender is) in human rights research and teaching in most academic institutions. Addressing this has thus been the primary aim of the Working Group since even before it was formally established.
As well as the regular lunchtime pitch meetings, a central activity of the Working Group is its general online meetings. These meetings, which typically last around an hour, are an opportunity for members to discuss upcoming events relating to human rights and the climate crisis – both those being organised within and outside the Working Group. The meetings also provide a chance to plan future events and discuss the other on-going activities of the Working Group and its sub-groups. Members also have a chance to meet one another and to share any updates or questions with the wider community of the Working Group.
The Working Group also hosts occasional events organised around a particular theme. The group on ‘teaching climate change’ organised a webinar with Julia Dehm from LaTrobe University in Australia, who is researching and writing about ways to integrate climate change into Australian legal education. The webinar was recorded and remains available for members to view in the shared drive of the Working Group. If non-members are interested to view it, they are welcome to reach out to one of the coordinators or the authors of this profile.
Together with the other working groups of the NNHRR, the Working Group on Human Rights and the Climate Crisis also presented its (first) panel at the annual NNHRR Toogdag at Utrecht University in June 2024. This panel again showcased the variety of interests that exist within the Working Group and its sub-groups. Medes Malaihollo (Groningen University) presented his research on due diligence obligations of states and the right to self-determination of indigenous peoples in international law in times of climate change. Anmol Gulecha (Tilburg University) presented her research on methods used by the non-European courts to engage with scientific/empirical evidence in public interest litigation cases. Otto Spijkers (Leiden University College) presented his work on climate anxiety in human rights research and teaching. Finally, Samuel Ballin (Radboud University) presented his research on climate migration in the EU. Following these presentations, the Working Group organised an interactive discussion around the impacts of climate change on the research, students, teaching and personal lives of those present.
Inaugural symposium: Ending the Climate Crisis through Rights-Based Climate Litigation? Trends, Challenges and Opportunities
The flagship event of the Working Group in 2024 was its inaugural symposium, organised together with the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM) 20-21 November in Utrecht. Full details of the various panels and presentations will soon be made public, but the Working Group was very proud and excited to convene this historic meeting of academics and other experts on climate change and human rights. Rather than a single keynote, the symposium began with a short opening statement from one of the litigants in Bonaire v The Netherlands, followed by an expert panel discussion with members from World's Youth for Climate Justice, FossielvrijNL, Milieudefensie, Greenpeace International and Blue Ocean Law (who represent Vanuatu in the ICJ Advisory Opinion).
All members of the Working Group were invited to a meeting following the inaugural symposium, during which we discussed the events and other activities planned throughout 2025. Human rights researchers (of all levels of seniority) are welcome for most events and are also encouraged to sign up as new members, whether or not they have a specific background in climate change. To become a member of this Working Group, please email one of the coordinators and ensure you are registered as a member of the NNHRR.