Rights-based approaches are already focusing governments’ attention on climate change and urging stronger action. Cases in Pakistan and the Netherlands demonstrate the impact these approaches can have. Ashar Lghari, a Pakistani farmer, sued his national government for its failure to implement the 2012 National Climate Policy and Framework.

The courts in the following three examples from Colombia, Argentina, and Pakistan each considered cases involving an entire watershed and created unique solutions to supervise the long-term cleanup and restoration of the river systems. The Colombia Consejo de Estado, the country’s highest administrative appeals court, issued a judgment in 2014 against companies, government agencies, and municipalities that caused or failed to prevent the degradation of the Bogotá River watershed.