Climate Justice and Renewable Energy: Should the Law Require an Equitable Distribution of Costs and Benefits?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61823/dpia.2026.1.507Keywords:
climate justice, renewable energy sources, climate law, legal ethics, RES, energy transitionAbstract
The article addresses the issue of climate justice in the context of the development of renewable energy sources (RES). It starts from the thesis that law is not a neutral instrument of technical regulation, but can and should act as a promoter of climate justice. The theoretical section presents ethical frameworks, including the concepts of John Rawls, Hans Jonas, Joan Tronto, Henry Shue, Simon Caney, Amartya Sen, and Martha Nussbaum. The empirical part analyzes selected judicial decisions (Urgenda v. Netherlands, ICJ Advisory Opinion of 2025) and legislative solutions in Spain (energy communities), Germany (Energiewende), and Poland (the “10H rule”). The analysis demonstrates that law can serve both as a tool supporting climate justice and as a barrier to its implementation. The article concludes with recommendations for designing climate law in a way that ensures a fair distribution of the costs and benefits of the energy transition while protecting the rights and interests of present and future generations.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Martyna Łaszewska-Hellriegel
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