Leaving no one behind: EU climate action, human rights and a 'just transition'

Abstract

Climate change is viewed as simply an issue of getting to net zero carbon emissions without considering the potential violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of different individuals and groups of people that such a tremendous structural transformation may cause. Human rights coherence is largely left as an afterthought, seemingly playing no significant role in the setting of specific EU GHG emission reduction targets for 2020, 2030 or 2050 as part of the European Green Deal (EGD). After developing a legal framework of a 'just transition', this thesis critically evaluates EU climate action, and specifically the EGD, by looking at its (potential) human rights implications.