One lawyer's groundbreaking work in shaping climate law
As governments stall and emissions climb, human rights lawyers like Monica Feria-Tinta are turning to the courts to force climate action — one tree, island, or river at a time.
Samira Shackle reports for The Guardian.
In short:
- Feria-Tinta is pioneering legal strategies that argue climate inaction violates human rights, helping Indigenous and vulnerable communities take their cases to global courts.
- Her work includes landmark victories like the Torres Strait case, where the United Nations ruled Australia failed to protect islanders from climate harm, and Ecuador’s Los Cedros forest, which won legal rights as a living entity.
- While legal wins are often slow and hard-fought, they’re shifting the global legal landscape, transforming courts into battlegrounds where climate justice and biodiversity now have a voice.
Key quote:
“Whether it’s a single tree, or a whole community depending on a river, what is at stake is the future of humanity.”
— Monica Feria-Tinta
Why this matters:
As heat, floods, and displacement intensify, the courtroom has become a potent line of defense. Climate litigation can hold powerful players accountable, push policy change, and help protect the ecosystems our health depends on — even when other systems fail. These legal wins are slow, complex, and anything but guaranteed. But they’re a signal that the courtroom is becoming one of the last places where the planet still stands a fighting chance.
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