Future Generations v. Colombia Ministry of Government

In several cases, the Colombia Supreme Court described the Colombia Constitution of 1991 as an ecological constitution that included the protection of the environment among fundamental rights. The nation of Colombia (defendant) was a signatory to the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement included provisions requiring signatories to reduce deforestation and the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) and specifically called for reduction of deforestation in the Colombia Amazon to zero by 2020. In 2018, a group of 25 children, teens, and young adults (young people) (plaintiffs) living in Colombian cities likely to be affected by climate change initiated a suit against Colombia. The young people asserted that Colombia had failed to carry out its obligations under the Paris Agreement and Colombian law implementing the Paris Agreement to effectively protect the Amazon rain forest from deforestation, causing imminent harm to the young people. The young peoples’ claim stated that deforestation had increased 44 percent after 2015, causing changes to the water cycle and a net increase in carbon emissions. An amicus brief filed on behalf of a scientist directing the Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions at the Earth Institute at Columbia University in the United States stated that the precautionary principle required immediate action to address global warming and deforestation to avoid violating the rights of future generations. The trial court ruled against the young people, who appealed.