Youth Climate Justice Handbook

Summary

The Youth Climate Justice Handbook is a pillar document for the campaign for an International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on climate change.

What is the handbook

The Youth Climate Justice Handbook (Handbook) is a trident of legal documents developed by World’s Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ), Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC), and a team of international lawyers. Drafted from a youth perspective, the Handbook explains how law can be used as a tool to galvanise climate justice through intergenerational equity and intersectionality.

The Handbook consists of a Summary for Policymakers, the Legal Memorandum, and the Status Report on Legal Principles of International and Human Rights Law Relevant to Climate Change.

What is its purpose

The Legal Memorandum (available in English, Spanish, Arabic and French) responds to the questions contained in the UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/77/276 requesting an ICJ advisory opinion on climate change.

The Summary for Policymakers (available in English, Spanish and Arabic) synthesises the Legal Memorandum. These documents are intended to inform States, their legal advisors and policymakers, about the youth climate justice demands and how they can be incorporated in their submissions to the International Court of Justice. They are also intended to set an example for youth and civil society organisations regarding their meaningful participation in policymaking.

The Status Report is prepared by the Sabin Centre for Climate Change Law at the University of Columbia. This document serves as an appendix to the Legal Memorandum and the Summary for Policymakers and contains the legal foundation on which the answers in the memorandum stand.

How can the Youth Climate Justice Handbook be used?

The Handbook, just like a trident, is a very powerful tool that can be used in many ways:

• The most impactful use is at the High-Level, such as the Legal Memorandum can be annexed as youth submissions to States’ written submissions to the ICJ.
• The legal arguments in the memorandum can also be used by States to make submissions to other adjudicating bodies that are dealing with climate cases and advisory opinions.
• The youth perspective of the Handbook sets out the legal arguments that should be used as guidelines by States and policymakers to ambitiously develop policies and legislations to achieve climate justice.
• Civil society and youth organisations can utilise the handbook to empower and raise awareness for incorporating climate justice with a human rights approach in regional and national climate legislation and policies.