It used to be said that Justice was meant to uphold social life; we were even told that the Bible contained sublime examples of it—such as Solomon’s judgment, which nearly split a child in two amid the claims of two supposed mothers. Personally, I prefer, and apply here, what Cicero preached about justice. Roughly speaking, he said that everything truly honest must arise from the interplay of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. I interpret this to mean that honesty—a word and an idea with deep existential resonance, which I apply both to society and to individuals—rests upon four logical notions. If prudence prevails, it becomes easier to attain applied wisdom. In this light, the intention behind individual and collective actions should always be guided by a quest for truth, within a process where honesty leads the way. But not only that: it must also be grounded in an understanding of the order of coexistence and respectability. If this is the case, the many facets of life will contribute to the common good, which should mean nothing other than a transition toward a better society, one with fewer inequalities. I present this as a preamble to what follows.
In recent years we have witnessed a rise in complaints about environmental assaults. Some progress has been made. Better times than the recent past, when the environment—often defined narrowly—was not considered a subject of rights but merely a place for recreation or a source of resources. We sense our incapacity to foresee the consequences this will have for our children and grandchildren, who will inherit and depend upon a complex environment of hopefully proven quality. As of the summer of 2025, marked by wildfires and other devastations, the outlook is grim. Whenever we think of the future, for reasons I cannot fully explain, the genocide in Gaza intrudes upon our thoughts. That deserves reflection in its own right, but for now, let us return to the natural environment.
Let us take a brief historical review. Since the 1992 UN Earth Summit—a landmark date—the planet has been overheating because numerous countries, mostly wealthy, and their populations have burned massive amounts of oil, coal, and gas. In light of this causality, the countries most vulnerable to climate change, most of them poor, argue that rich nations should compensate them for the damage they suffer. It is pure justice, of which Cicero would surely be proud. And beyond that, those aggressions against life must be remedied as far as possible. We are not starting from scratch. At the end of June 2023, the London School of Economics and Political Science published Global trends in climate change litigation: 2023 snapshot. Oxfam must also be mentioned, with its annual reports. The 2023/24 edition was entitled Climate Justice. And we cannot ignore Lawyers Are Responsible, a group of prominent British lawyers who refuse to defend fossil fuel corporations, while offering their expertise to those who have faced judicial reprisals for upholding the universal right to breathe clean air.
There are, fortunately, examples that give us hope—though not many, for these matters always advance slowly. First and foremost is the “climate ruling” of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, delivered in July 2024. Many of us regarded it as the climate trial of the century, even though it was in fact only an advisory opinion. It states clearly that states are “legally obliged” to cooperate to curb the climate crisis. It does not speak of new protocols. It rules unanimously that, given the socio-ecological situation we face, states are legally bound to reduce emissions, to halt the rise in global temperatures, and, more broadly, to organize life in order to protect citizens against the very likely increase in climate disasters and their social consequences. Moreover, it holds that states must also address the losses and damages generated. Similar positions have been expressed by a growing number of international courts—from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Experts believe this ruling will amplify the number of lawsuits already underway, which, according to Covering Climate Now, already number some 3,000.
Ecosocial justice is awakening. In mid-April 2024, we learned that the European Court of Human Rights had issued a groundbreaking ruling in response to a complaint filed by a group of Swiss women against their government. The ECHR found that Switzerland was repeatedly violating the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to fulfill its duties in combating climate change—a reality not confined to Switzerland alone. But beyond that, the court also laid out a roadmap for other organizations to bring similar cases. At the same time, the court dismissed four individual applications for lack of victim status. In other instances, complaints were dismissed for formal deficiencies in filing. How hard it is to be heard when one lacks the backing of corporations or institutions!
Also in 2024, and outside Europe, the Office of the Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (REDESCA) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights identified climate change as one of the most urgent challenges to be addressed in its 2024–2026 work plan. Resolution 3/21 of the IACHR affirms that there is a climate emergency, aggravated by human activity, which threatens health, food security, access to water, housing, employment, and the right to a healthy environment, among other human rights—and it demands immediate intervention.
It is not only climate justice that is emerging, but environmental justice more broadly. Let us turn to the EU in recent times. On June 18, 2025, Euronews published an illuminating article: Europe makes progress on environmental justice, but neglects human right to a healthy environment. It reported that the Council of Europe had just adopted an international treaty intended to help member states “tackle serious environmental crimes.” Drafted over the previous two years with contributions from experts and stakeholders in the Council’s 46 member states, as well as from the EU, the UN, Interpol, and civil society groups. Yet the article warned that the measures fell short in the face of advancing climate change. It quoted powerful words from Sébastien Duyck, senior attorney at CIEL (Center for International Environmental Law): “It is outrageous that in 2025 Europe has still not legally recognized the right to a healthy environment as a basic human right.”
Nor is everything achieved. Social Europe warns of a green jobs crisis in Europe, arguing that slow decarbonization and lack of investment in clean technologies cause more harm than climate change itself; investments in green technologies are needed to create green jobs. Companies and workers—too often forgotten—must be convinced to play an active role in managing these uncertainties. That would be a good way to contribute to climate justice. On another front, attention must be paid to Report PE 773.027—what is happening with European regulation? Commissioned by the European Parliament in June 2025, it addresses legal instruments that establish obligations for companies to report on their sustainability performance, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects, as well as their impact on society and the environment.
We must remain vigilant, for administrations often act as sinks of biodiversity. One case is telling: Ecologistas en Acción of La Rioja filed a complaint with the Spanish Ombudsman, requesting that it be referred to the Constitutional Court. The complaint targets a regional biodiversity law, arguing that it does not propose improvements or support conservation, but rather removes key protections. Specifically, it strips protections from 242 species and lifts the ban on glyphosate.
In Spain, in June 2025, the High Court of Justice of Galicia condemned both the regional government and the Miño-Sil Water Confederation for their mismanagement of water, poisoned by runoff from intensive livestock farming, in this case from pig farms. Along with the ruling came the obligation for authorities to pay €30,000 to each affected person and to repair the environmental damage. The ruling went further, holding that authorities must “immediately adopt all necessary measures to ensure the supply of clean, safe drinking water, free of microorganisms and chemical substances that threaten human health, in order to restore the full enjoyment of their human right to water.”
It can be said that environmental justice is now visible on the horizon. In Spain, litigation for inaction is beginning to move forward. Courts must prepare for the workload to come, filled with ecosocial and climate justice. The 2024 report Climate Rights: Mechanisms for Climate Defense in Spain by IIDMA (International Institute for Law and the Environment) provides abundant grounds for critical analysis and numerous arguments to confront the challenges before us. Let us hope our judges and prosecutors now act more diligently in pursuing the ongoing breaches seen in cases such as the El Algarrobico hotel, Doñana, the Mar Menor, the Albufera of Valencia, or the mega-pulp mill planned in Galicia, among many others. Not to mention the proliferation of wind farms in protected areas and the attempted conversion of the incomparable geological heritage of the Pyrenees (my homeland) into a theme park. Fortunately, AJA (Actualidad Jurídica Ambiental) is keeping watch, ready to call out and challenge such abuses by the authorities. We must remain alert, in “Ciceronian mode,” for climate solidarity must now be a shared duty, an inescapable right.
Carmelo Marcén Albero
Ecosocial researcher and analyst at Fundación Alternativas.
Teacher and PhD in Geography. Former primary, secondary, and teacher-training educator. Author of articles and research on environment and education published in specialized journals such as Cuadernos de Pedagogía, Investigación en la Escuela, and Aula de Innovación Educativa.
Recipient of Spain’s National “Education and Society” Award in 1992 and 1993 for his didactic proposals on rivers and lived landscapes. Author of several books on these themes. Research fellow at the Department of Geography at the University of Zaragoza and at Fundación Alternativas in Madrid. Member of the Council of Ecodes (Ecology and Development Foundation).
