Dissertation Proposal

Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal

Addressing Health Crises through Courts?

Climate Litigation in Latin America, the Right to Health and Vulnerable Populations

Thalia Viveros Uehara School for Global Inclusion and Social Development University of Massachusetts Boston May 2022

(Co-Founder, Social and Economic Rights Associates)

Content

1. The Problem

2. Research Questions

3. Conceptual Framework

4. Relevance

5. Methodology

6. Validity and Ethical Considerations

7. Limitations

The Problem

Climate Change is causing Health Crises

Image: Simulated change in annual mean temperature at 1.5°C global warming (IPCC, 2022).

Climate change is increasing morbidity, mortality, and disabilities (IPCC, 2022).

Latin America's poverty and inequality exacerbate health vulnerability to climate change

209 million people living in poverty (ECLAC, 2021).

Highly unequal access to quality health care

Courts are gaining prominence as the last hope against inaction by states

Image: Global GHG emissions and projections for meeting the 1.5°C Paris Agreement goal (Climate Action Tracker, 2021)

Research Questions

How do health crises emerge within, and how are they tackled by courts through, domestic climate litigation in Latin America?

How do plaintiffs' profiles, opportunity structures, resources, motives, objectives, arguments, and legal bases of their claims relate to existing and emergent health concerns of vulnerable populations?

How do courts' profiles, accessibility, resources, arguments, and legal bases of their judgments relate to existing and emergent health concerns of vulnerable populations?

VARIABLES

VARIABLES

QUESTION

QUESTION

VARIABLES

VARIABLES

Gloppen's framework to analyze what drives the litigation process

Gloppen, S. (2008). Litigation as a Strategy to Hold Governments Accountable for Implementing the Right to Health. Health and Human Rights, 10(2), 21–36.

QUESTION

QUESTION

VARIABLES

VARIABLES

Gloppen's framework to analyze what drives the litigation process

Gloppen, S. (2008). Litigation as a Strategy to Hold Governments Accountable for Implementing the Right to Health. Health and Human Rights, 10(2), 21–36.

Conceptual Framework

Law, Sociology, and Development Studies

HEALTH CRISES

CLIMATE JUSTICE

NEW LATIN AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONALISM

POVERTY

Legal Dimension

Socioeconomic Dimension

SOCIAL EXCLUSION

RIGHT TO HEALTH

LITIGATION

RIGHTS-BASED CLIMATE LITIGATION

VULNERABLE POPULATIONS

Relevance

Practical

Academic

1. Civil Society and Public Interest Litigants
2. Judges

1. Research on Litigation
2. Development and Climate Change Studies
3. Human Rights and Climate Change Law

Methodology

Transdisciplinary multi-methods approach

Why Transdisciplinarity?

(Leavy, 2011)

01

02

03

04

Abstract & specific

Common good

Complexity

Diversity

Links abstract and case-specific knowledge

Considers the diversity of perceptions

Promotes the common good

Grasps the complexity of the problems

+ info

+ info

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DATA COLLECTION

Basic Content Analysis

01

All domestic climate change lawsuits filed to date across Latin American countries (>20)

DATA ANALYSIS

DATA COLLECTION

Doctrinal Analysis

02

Qualitative Multi-Methods Approach

Six case studies (two cases per country; three countries)

DATA ANALYSIS

Interviews

DATA ANALYSIS

03

Six case studies: two interviewees per case (n=>12)

Contextual Analysis

DATA ANALYSIS

04

Six case studies

VRU/ World comparative law

Basic Content Analysis

01

All domestic climate change lawsuits filed to date across Latin American countries (>20)

22 july

E-PÚBLICA JOURNAL

Doctrinal Analysis

02

Qualitative Multi-Methods Approach

Six case studies (two cases per country; three countries)

15 september

SCHEDULES(AUGUST 2022)

Interviews

03

Six case studies: two interviewees per case (n=>12)

DATA COLLECTION (SEPT/OCT 2022)

Contextual Analysis

04

DATA COLLECTION (NOV/DEC 2022)

Six case studies

Validity and Ethical Considerations

Three validity procedures(Creswell and Miller, 2000)

Approval from UMass Boston's IRB

ReflexivityAvoiding uncritical thinking and biases

Justice, Equity, and Inclusion

Limitations

Data Availability

Novelty of climate litigation

Focus on claims formation and adjudication stages

Non-Public Data

Databases may not contain all case documents

Access to Interviewees

Challenging recruitment process due to participants' time constraints

Summary

Embracing justice, equity, and inclusion

Transdisciplinary multi-methods approach

Latin America is experiencing health crises

A small knowledge brick but necessary to hold up climate resilient development and just transitions

Fill gaps in current academic literature and advance practical knowledge for public interest litigants and courts

Courts hold the potential to address the compounded effects of climate change and health inequalities

References (1/4)

Atun, R., de Andrade, L. O. M., Almeida, G., Cotlear, D., Dmytraczenko, T., Frenz, P., Garcia, P., Gómez-Dantés, O., Knaul, F. M., Muntaner, C., de Paula, J. B., Rígoli, F., Serrate, P. C.-F., & Wagstaff, A. (2015). Health-system reform and universal health coverage in Latin America. The Lancet, 385(9974), 1230–1247. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61646-9 Andreassen, B. A. (2017). Comparative analyses of human rights performance. In B. A. Andreassen, H.-O. Sano, & S. McInerney-Lankford (Eds.), Research Methods in Human Rights. A Handbook (pp. 222–252). Edward Elgar Publishing. Atwoli, L., Baqui, A. H., Benfield, T., Bosurgi, R., Godlee, F., Hancocks, S., Horton, R., Laybourn-Langton, L., Monteiro, C. A., Norman, I., Patrick, K., Praities, N., Rikkert, M. G. M. O., Rubin, E. J., Sahni, P., Smith, R., Talley, N. J., Turale, S., & Vázquez, D. (2021). Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increases, restore biodiversity, and protect health. BMJ, 374(1734). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1734 Bruckner, B., Hubacek, K., Shan, Y., Zhong, H., & Feng, K. (2022). Impacts of poverty alleviation on national and global carbon emissions. Nature Sustainability, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00842-z Creswell, J. W., & Miller, D. L. (2000). Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory into Practice, 39(3), 124–130.

References (2/4)

Couso, J. A. (2006). The Changing Role of Law and Courts in Latin America: From an Obstacle to Social Change to a Tool of Social Equity. In R. Gargarella, D. Pilar and R. Theunis (Eds.), Courts and Social Transformation in New Democracies, (p. 65). Ashgate Publishing Limited. Climate Action Tracker (2021, November 9). CAT Emissions Gap. https://climateactiontracker.org/global/cat-emissions-gaps/ ECLAC. (2021). Social Panorama of Latin America 2020. United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Friedman, L. M. (1989). Litigation and Society, Annu. Rev. Sociol. 15, 18. Gloppen, S. (2008). Litigation as a Strategy to Hold Governments Accountable for Implementing the Right to Health. Health and Human Rights, 10(2), 21–36. https://doi.org/10.2307/20460101 IPCC. (2022). Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. In Press.

References (3/4)

Jafry, T., Mikulewicz, M., & Helwig, K. (2019). Introduction. Justice in the era of climate change. In T. Jafry (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Climate Justice (pp. 1–9). Routledge. Leavy, P. (2011). Essentials of Transdisciplinary Research: Using Problem-Centered Methodologies. Routledge. Nussbaum, M. (2003). Capabilities as fundamental entitlements: Sen and social justice. Feminist Economics, 9(2–3), 33–59. Nachmany, M., Fankhauser, S., Setzer, J., and Averchenkova, A. (2017). Global trends in climate change legislation and litigation. 2017 Update. Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. OECD and World Bank. (2020). Health at a glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2020. OECD Publishing. Popay, J., Escorel, S., Hernández, M., Johnston, H., Mathieson, J., & Rispel, L. (2011). Social exclusion and health inequalities: Definitions, policies and actions. In J. H. Lee & R. Sadana (Eds.), Improving equity in health by addressing social determinants (pp. 88–114). World Health Organization. Parry, L., Radel, C., Adamo, S. B., Clark, N., Counterman, M., Flores-Yeffal, N., Pons, D., Romero-Lankao, P., & Vargo, J. (2019). The (in)visible health risks of climate change. Social Science & Medicine, 241, 112448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112448

References (4/4)

Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom (1st. ed.). Knopf. Scheppele, K. L. (2004). Constitutional Ethnography: An Introduction. Law & Society Review, 38(3), 389–406. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0023-9216.2004.00051.x Scheffer, M. (2015). Demografia médica no Brasil. Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, Faculdade de Medicina da USP, Conselho Regional de Medicina do Estado de São Paulo, Conselho Federal de Medicina. Tokar, B. (2019). On the evolution and continuing development of the climate justice movement. In T. Jafry (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Climate Justice (p. 13). Routledge. UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). (2000). General Comment No. 14: The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health. E/C.12/2000/4, Geneve. UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). (1999). General Comment No. 2: International Technical Assistance Measures. Geneve. von Bogdandy, A., Ferrer Mac-Gregor, E., Morales Antoniazzi, M., & Piovesan, F. (Eds.). (2017). Transformative Constitutionalism in Latin America. The emergence of a new Ius Commune. Oxford University Press.

Thank YouMuchas Gracias Tusen takk Bedankt

Thalia Viveros Uehara University of Massachusetts Boston t.viverosuehara001@umb.edu