Climate Justice and Human Rights: A Comparative Legal Study of Pakistan and the United States

Abstract

In the face of potential threats and risks to human rights from the catastrophic climate crisis, there is a global trend to outline environmental policy frameworks through the lens of human rights and justice. The disproportionate burdens of environmental degradation by economically vulnerable communities highlight the inevitable need for effective climate justice frameworks. Following the global trend, developing nations as well as developed nations are struggling for an efficient environmental justice framework for themselves. These frameworks are influenced by their distinct political scenarios, legislative initiatives, extent of judicial activism, and other local factors. Comparing such distinct backgrounds would be highly beneficial in understanding the development of the environmental justice framework around the globe. This study is an endeavor to comparatively analyze the frameworks of Pakistan and the United States by evaluating how this nation conceptualizes and implements environmental rights. This study mainly examines the constitutions, major statutory laws, and landmark judicial decisions regarding the development of environmental justice in these countries. It comparatively examines the two frameworks and highlights the major divergences as well as convergences between the two. In the end, it recommends reciprocal lessons for each country from the experience and expertise of the other. Ultimately, by comparing the environmental justice framework of a developed nation like the United States and an environmentally vulnerable developing nation like Pakistan, this study aims to contribute to the global discourse on climate justice.