La sentenza KlimaSeniorinnen e il Carbon Budget come presidio materiale di sicurezza, quantitativa e temporale, contro il pericolo e come limite esterno alla discrezionalità del potere

The KlimaSeniorinnen ruling and the Carbon Budget as a quantitative and temporal material safeguard against danger and as an external limit on the discretion of power

Abstract

The article analyses the “KlimaSeniorinnen” case, decided by the European Court of Human Rights, with specific reference to the nature and function of the Carbon Budget. The Court's arguments show that the Carbon Budget is a decisive element of the Due Diligence of States. Consequently, it limits the margin of appreciation of states and also constrains the balancing operations of policy-makers and judges themselves, when reviewing state activity. After this ruling, climate litigations will no longer be able to ignore the role of the Carbon Budget.

Keywords: Carbon budget; European court of human rights; Critical lacunae; Quality of life