Environmental Rights and Case of Climate Justice in Pakistan

Abstract

Pakistan’s efforts for environmental protection and climate justice offers a striking story. Pakistan not only proved to be an astral leader as Chair of G77 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992, but its judiciary has also been playing a critical role in providing direction for dispensation of climate justice with the help of innovative interpretation of fundamental rights in country’s constitution. In this context, the case of Leghari v. Federation of Pakistan was a step in the right direction for climate justice in Pakistan since it argued that the government’s inability to take timely actions affected the petitioner’s fundamental rights. The decree, too, is a cardinal achievement in the domain of climate justice and climate change litigation process. This paper presents the ground analysis of this case law by combining the previous studies on the subject and overwhelming implication of climate change on human rights. Moreover, it attempts to discuss the cases, which were recently resolved and some of the pending ones which through logical reasoning address climate injustice.