The Applicability of International Human Rights Law in Climate Change: All or Nothing at All?

Lei Di

doi:10.21697/2026.15.1.01

Published: 2026-06-26

Vol. 15 No. 1 (2026)

The Applicability of International Human Rights Law in Climate Change: All or Nothing at All?

Lei Di

Polish Review of International and European Law

Section: Studies

https://doi.org/10.21697/2026.15.1.01

Abstract

This article seeks to transcend two extreme positions—all or nothing at all—concerning the application of international human rights law to climate change, in order to find a reasonable place for human rights within the climate change discourse. The application of international human rights law in the context of climate change serves as an alternative approach to the absence of binding human rights obligations within climate change treaties. This application challenges the traditional territorial, temporal and, subject-matter scope of international human rights law, thereby giving rise to conflicting divergences on issues such as the principle of systematic integration in treaty interpretation, the status of the right to a safe climate under customary international law, extraterritorial human rights obligations, and the human rights of future generations. It is necessary to acknowledge that international human rights law plays a limited role in determining conclusions within the ‘violation-remedy’ model of climate change litigation. Reconceptualizing international law through its indeterminacy permits a re-examination of the role of human rights in climate change. Transcending opposing positions requires climate-related stakeholders to afford more time and space for the interaction of human rights and climate change. This will allow for a longer evolutionary cycle for legal norms and a broader conceptual space for rights-climate synergy.

Keywords:

International Human Rights Law, Climate Change, Systematic Integration, Right to a Safe Climate, Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations, Rights of Future Generations

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Di, L. (2026). The Applicability of International Human Rights Law in Climate Change: All or Nothing at All?. Polish Review of International and European Law, 15(1), 9–47. https://doi.org/10.21697/2026.15.1.01

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