Fundamental Issues in Constructing China's Climate Change Civil Public Interest Litigation System

The development of China's civil public interest litigation system for climate change is currently markedly inadequate. The precautionary principle and the theory of public environmental rights can provide a foundation in environmental science and legal theory for constructing this system, which should embody the values of human rights, justice, and efficiency in addressing climate change. Although related to the civil public interest litigation systems for ecological damage and air pollution, the climate change litigation system possesses relative independence in terms of its value objectives, scope of legal regulation, and means of legal adjustment. Current efforts to construct this system in China fail to reflect its relative independence, resulting in an unclear developmental framework and unsystematic implementation pathways. Regarding the developmental framework, it is recommended to position the system according to the external structure and internal logic of the eco-environmental public interest litigation system, clarify its legal basis and jurisprudential foundation, and establish a liability framework prioritizing prevention supplemented by remediation as specific value objectives for its construction. For implementation pathways, it is advisable to leverage the functions of related environmental litigation systems by coordinating with the ecological damage litigation system to strengthen accountability for carbon-related responsibilities, and collaborating with the environmental pollution litigation system to achieve complementarity and mutual support in values, scientific technology, and judicial practice.