Integration of Human Rights and Energy, Environmental, and Climate Justice Principles in EU Law and Policy

Amidst the rise of climate change on the global agenda, the transition to a carbon net neutral economy has become the top priority of EU policy-making with a horizon towards 2050. This overarching objective has been implemented in the formulation of the European Green Deal in 2019, as well as the ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package and the European Climate Law in 2021. This policy trajectory that combines energy policy objectives with climate change mitigation priorities has incorporated emerging jurisprudential concepts such as energy, environmental, and climate justice in the pursuit of a just transition towards carbon neutrality. This paper will examine the conceptual synergies among the literature on environmental policy integration, the literature on just transitions and the aforementioned conceptual elements that represent the human rights turn in energy, environmental, and climate jurisprudence. The paper will apply this framework in the assessment of the extent to which the European Green Deal and the subsequent policy and legislative measures specified above can contribute to the achievement of climate change objectives through an equitable and just transition. The paper will also assess the impact of energy, environmental, and climate justice on their respective legal fields of EU law and policy and examine the integration of their human rights principles in the formulation of EU policy objectives. On a broader level, the paper will highlight their influence on the global emerging patterns of human rights-centric litigation, especially in response to climate change.