STRIVE: Strengthening Climate Strategic Litigation in Italy

STRIVE is a European project funded by Liberties, aimed at strengthening Italy’s capacity to engage in climate strategic litigation. The project supports the legal sector and activist groups in our country.
At the end of September, a meeting between these groups was held, with the goal of understanding the challenges in climate litigation in Italy, sharing experiences and defining the best next steps forward as a sector. As part of the first part of this project we conducted an in-depth analysis of recent jurisprudence on climate law and we aim to raise awareness on the intersection of human rights and climate change while encouraging those suffering the impacts of climate changes to step forward for help from one of the many firms working in this area in Italy. At the heart of this initiative is the encouragement to take concrete steps despite difficulties in litigation, through research, building strategic responses, and triaging possible prospective legal cases.

In recent months, CILD has focused its efforts on research, creating the STRIVE Narrative Background and the STRIVE Case Law Database; two fundamental tools that we are making available to all interested parties.

The  STRIVE  Narrative Background, titled “Strategic Climate Litigation in Italy: Development and Challenges”, explores the development of climate litigation in Italy, analysing the challenges, opportunities, and legal frameworks involved. This tool is evolving and will continue to enrich itself throughout the project, offering insights that can be useful to professionals and activists in the sector.

The STRIVE Case Law Database, on the other hand, collects the most significant Italian and European legal cases related to climate change and human rights and provides users helpful insights about those cases to easily allow for them to be compared and contrasted. This tool is helpful for anyone wishing to explore climate litigation cases raised in other European countries and their implications on the jurisprudence in this field. These tools are just the starting point and will be updated as the project progresses.

Finally, CILD will run a triage service providing initial guidance to those with potential legal cases related to human rights and climate change. In Italy, anyone who believes they may have a legal case concerning the intersection of human rights and climate change can contact us at info@cild.eu, with “STRIVE” in the subject line, describing their concerns. We will be able to direct you to the best legal professionals or firms to discuss possible next steps.

We consider this an important step in strengthening the legal response to environmental challenges and offering the necessary support to those facing issues related to the climate crisis.