PUTTING AFRICA ON THE STAND: A BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF CLIMATE CHANGE LITIGATION ON THE CONTINENT

摘要

Although climate change litigation is rapidly increasing worldwide, and despite Africa being one region predicted to be most severely affected by climate change, the continent has not yet seen any significant growth in this specialized form of litigation. Only a comparatively small number of court cases have been recognized as climate-change conflicts in Africa. While briefly reflecting on possible reasons for this surprising trend, the primary objective of this Article is to offer a first comprehensive interrogation of the state and prospects of climate change litigation in Africa with a focus on three cases from South Africa, Uganda, and Nigeria. The analysis commences with a characterization of current trends in and forms of climate change litigation emerging the world over, including a brief assessment of the climate change conflicts usually litigated, and the challenges and benefits associated with this specialized form of litigation. The Article then discusses the unique nature of climate change impacts in Africa and assesses how this could shape the litigable climate change conflicts on the continent. Drawing on three cases from the countries mentioned above, and mindful of the risk of over-generalizing, the authors highlight and critically reflect on possible emerging climate change litigation trends in African courts, while also comparing them to trends now emerging worldwide.