Abstract: The global temperature is set to rise to irreversible and hazardous levels by 2030. In Canada and around the world, governments have been failing to act with the urgency these circumstances demand. Internationally, rights-based class proceedings have been used to pressure governments into action. In common law Canada, such proceedings would provide an opportunity for the judiciary to depart from the conservative approach to certification used in environmental class actions. While the first Canadian attempt is being brought in Quebec where a liberal approach makes authorization more likely, one successful class action will not be enough. Given that applicable rights can be found in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, climate change class actions in common law jurisdictions are possible, and they could play an important role in reducing emissions in Canada.
E. H. Brown (Sun,) studied this question.