The AfCHPR’s Advisory Opinion on Human Rights and Climate Change: Preliminary Reflections on Its Potential Contribution to Climate Justice

Abstract

African States contribute minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions but disproportionately experience the adverse effects of climate change, with profound consequences for human rights, sustainable development, and intergenerational equity. This article contextualises these disparities within the historical dynamics of fossil capitalism and an international legal framework characterised by enduring global inequalities and differentiated responsibilities. It assesses the limited integration of African States’ priorities, circumstances, and normative perspectives in global climate governance and in the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on climate change. The analysis further examines the African Human Rights System, particularly the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR), in establishing environmental standards for human rights protection in the context of climate change. Finally, the article analyses the potential contribution of the requested AfCHPR’s Advisory Opinion on climate change to the development of standards on human rights, the protection of future generations, and corporate accountability in the context of climate change.