'The first applications made by youth on climate change are currently pending before the European Court of Human Rights. The Youth, Climate Change, and ECtHR conference will bring together environmental and human rights scholars, practitioners, and young people to reflect and debate on the current topics in the field of environmental human rights and youth climate litigation. The goal is to contribute to the dialogue between academic community and civil society, especially the youth of environmental activists who want to hold States responsible for their failure in protecting the environment, an omission that has been threatening human rights.
The Conference’s format is devised to facilitate reflections and provoke the debate among panelists with the contribution of the audience. The panels will be organized by themes, and the experts will address questions sent by the active youth who are seeking significant change and urgent actions needed to stop the climate crisis. The audience online will also be able to contribute to the conversation by sending questions and comments directed to the panelists.
PANEL I - Environmental Rights as Human Rights
14:00 – 14:15
Opening statements
Sirpa Rautio, Director of the Human Rights Centre
Jukka Viljanen, Professor of Public Law, Tampere University
Young people’s message
14:15 – 14:30
Keynote: David R. Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Environment
“Climate change & human rights and the role of youth”
14:30 – 15:30
Cinnamon Piñon Carlarne, Associate Dean for Faculty and Intellectual Life, Professor of Law, Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
Kari Kuusiniemi, President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland
Bradlie Luisa Ana Martz-Sigala, Research Assistant (CCEEL), University of Eastern Finland
Nicole Onnela, Chair of UN Youth of Finland
Questions by students from Tampereen lyseon lukio high school “Eurooppalinja”
15:30 – 15:45
Break
PANEL II - International Trends in Climate Change, Courts and Youth participation
15:45 – 16:00
Keynote: Dr. Daphina Misiedjan, Assistant Professor, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam
“The Dutch experience (Urgenda case) and the potentials of the ECtHR in environmental cases”
16:00 – 16:50
Gerry Liston, Legal Officer at Global Legal Action Network
Heta Heiskanen, Secretary-General of the Climate Panel, Ministry of the Environment of Finland
Päivi Hirvelä, Former Judge of the ECtHR, Judge in the Finnish Supreme Court
Milka Sormunen, PhD student, University of Helsinki
Ellen Ojala, Climate activist, Climate youth delegate
Questions by students from Tampereen lyseon lukio high school “Eurooppalinja”
16:50 – 17:00
Closing of the conference: conclusions and final statements'
You can register for the conference here.
