Climate Justice and the ETOs

This chapter will explore whether the Maastricht Principles have contributed to the clarification of ETOs for human rights in relation to climate justice. I will first consider some conceptual issues of relevance to both the ETOs and the quest for climate justice. Second, with reference to several examples, I will illustrate how the concept of extraterritoriality may create confusion rather than clarity in the climate context. I will then illustrate how this confusion may be overcome if attention is paid to the precise nature of the relationships at issue to which obligations attach, rather than reinforcing the bright line of politically defined territorial boundaries. Finally, I will explore the implications of the right to a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, including a safe climate system, for ETOs and climate justice.