Between Heat and Hope

In this episode we are joined by Professor Svenja Ahlhaus. Svenja Ahlhaus is junior professor of Political Theory at the University of Münster in Germany. Her research interests span from theories of political representation in ecological crises to the boundaries of political communities, migration, citizen- and membership, to questions of democracy and religion. In this episode we discuss some of Svenja’s recent and ongoing work on strategic litigation and its role in democracy; specifically whether there is such a thing as anti-democratic strategic litigation and how this concept relates to the context of strategic climate litigation.
Svenja explains some possible traits of strategic litigation that could mean that it actually undermines some core functioning of democracy. Through this conversation we gain insights on a more nuanced picture of strategic litigation. Which becomes only more important as strategic litigation becomes a more prevalent phenomenon and we are continuing to struggle with democratic backsliding. By understanding the risks it bears better, the conversation hopefully also inspires on how to address these challenges.

References
SLAPP of Energy Transfer against Greenpeace International (decision from North Dakota)
Greenpeace International fighting SLAPP under EU legislation

Recommendation
David Kirkpatrick, The Next Targets for the Group that Overturned Roe (October 2, 2023 in The New Yorker)

About
Editing: Simon Waswa
Music: “Delayed Flight” by Michael Ramir C. via mixkit
Recorded at the University of Amsterdam, June 2026
The LitDem Project
This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (grant agreement n° 101125511).

International Investment Law as an Obstacle to Climate Protection
The episode introduces the basics of international investment law, zooming in on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), a system of dispute resolution which allows foreign investors to seek damages, amounting on average to several hundreds of millions of euros, against governments.
Wiebe delves into the history of ISDS, explaining how fossil fuel companies like Shell were actively involved in the creation and shaping of international investment law. Stephanie outlines the most common criticisms of ISDS, including the system's lack of transparency and its potential to create a chilling effect on climate policy. She explains these dynamics further using the example of the case of ExxonMobil v the Netherlands concerning the closure of the Groningen gas field.
Finally, Stephanie and Wiebe reflect on perspectives for reform, concluding that procedural reforms of ISDS fall short of meaningfully addressing concerns around regulatory chill and the legitimacy of ISDS as such. Ending on a hopeful note, Stephanie brings up how ISDS was discussed as a potential barrier to climate action at the first Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, indicating that internationally political momentum is building towards a potential overhaul of or exit from the system altogether.

References
Wiebe Hommes & Laurens Ankersmit, Shell and the Creation of International Investment Law, 1957–1968
Investor-State Dispute Settlement: What Are We Trying to Achieve? Does ISDS Get us There?
Investor-state dispute settlements: a hidden handbrake on climate action
ICSID Caseload Statistics 2024
Kyla Tienhaara & Christian Downie, Risky Business? The Energy Charter Treaty, Renewable Energy, and Investor-State Disputes
Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels (Santa Marta)
SOMO & Both Ends Road Map for Santa Marta Conference

Recommendations
Documentary: The Tribunal
Report: Aftershock in Groningen
The Nutmeg's Curse

About
Editing: Clara Kammeringer
Music: “Delayed Flight” by Michael Ramir C. via mixkit
Recorded at the University of Amsterdam, May 2026
The LitDem Project
This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (grant agreement n° 101125511).

Educating Climate Conscious Lawyers
Julia Dehm speaks about what it means to work, teach, and think as a lawyer in the midst of the climate crisis. Julia reflects on the relationship between theoretical research and real-world impact, the importance of collaborative and community-engaged scholarship, and the need to make climate change central rather than peripheral to legal education and legal practice. The conversation also explores how historical approaches can help lawyers better understand the structures that have produced ecological harm, while also opening space for more just and imaginative legal futures.
The episode further discusses the practical and personal dimensions of doing climate-related work: avoiding burnout, balancing academic life with family responsibilities, and building supportive communities. The episode offers an invitation to think about law not only as a tool for responding to environmental crisis, but as a field that must itself be transformed by ecological awareness, responsibility, and care.
Julia Dehm is an Associate Professor and ARC DECRA Fellow in the School of Law, La Trobe University Australia. Her research addresses issues of international and domestic climate change and environmental law, natural resource governance and human rights, economic inequality and social justice. She visited the UvA as participant in the Decolonial Futures Scholars in Residence Programme 2026.

References
Becoming a climate conscious lawyer: Climate change and the Australian legal system, edited by Julia Dehm, Nicole Graham and Zoe Nay
Scorecard — Law Students for Climate Accountability
Julia Dehm and Erin Fitz-Henry, ‘Climate Reparations in Australia’ Alternative Law Journal
Youth Verdict v. Waratah Coal - The Climate Litigation Database
ASRA Network | Waratah Coal v. Youth Verdict
Home - The Australian Climate Case
"Daniel Billy" Case

Recommendations
WHO'S GONNA SAVE US?
Saving The Franklin | Dig with Jo Lauder

About
Editing: Martyna Durlik
Music: “Delayed Flight” by Michael Ramir C. via mixkit
Recorded at the University of Amsterdam, May 2026
The LitDem Project
This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (grant agreement n° 101125511).

Science and justice in climate litigation
In this episode of Between Heat and Hope, we are joined by Professor Joyeeta Gupta. Joyeeta Gupta is Professor of Environment and Development in the Global South at the University of Amsterdam and Professor at IHE Delft Institute for Water Education. Her work sits at the intersection of climate law, earth system science, and environmental justice, with a particular focus on the Global South. She has been involved in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The conversation begins by unpacking the role and working methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, where Joyeeta has been involved as a lead author. It then turnsto the current state of climate science and the prospects of limiting global warming to 1.5°C with no or limited overshoot. Joyeeta walks us through key concepts such as carbon budgets, net zero and overshoot, and explains how these concepts shape mitigation pathways and questions of equity. From there, we discuss the role and limits of science in climate litigation. The episode then turns to North-South equity, fossil fuel phase-out, carbon lock-in, and the particular justice questions raised by climate cases in Europe and the Global South. Finally, Joyeeta reflects on her long engagement with global climate policy and on what a more sustainable and equitable future would require.

References
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Earth Commission
Global Commission on the Economics of Water
Global Constitution Project
CLIFF Project
International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on climate change

Recommendations
Extinction Rebellion
YUMI: Documentary about ICJ Court Case
Fossil fuel Non-Proliferation Initiative
Global Constitution Project

About
Editing: Martyna Durlik, Clara Kammeringer
Music: “Delayed Flight” by Michael Ramir C. via mixkit
Recorded at the University of Amsterdam, April 2026
The LitDem Project
This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (grant agreement n° 101125511).

The Indirect Impacts of Climate Litigation
In this episode of Between Heat and Hope we are joined by Professor César Rodriguez-Garavito. César Rodriguez-Garavito is Professor of Law at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University School of Law. He is the founding director of the More-Than-Human Life Program, the Earth Rights Research & Action Clinic, and the Commons on Machines, Policy, Automation & Society at NYU Law. His work focuses on international environmental law, Indigenous peoples’ rights, technology, and more-than-human rights. In 2025, Cesar published Climate Change on Trial: Mobilizing Human Rights Litigation to Accelerate Climate Action with Cambridge University Press.
The conversation explores the indirect impacts of climate litigation and the ways in which climate cases shape politics, public discourse, and the democratic process beyond the courtroom. Cesar reflects on his trajectory from socio-economic rights and socio-environmental conflicts to climate litigation and the rights of nature. Throughout the talk, we compare the development of climate litigation in Europe with experiences from Latin America and other regions of the world, discussing how different legal cultures and political contexts shape climate cases.
Drawing on Cesar’s earlier work on judicial activism and socio-economic rights, we discuss the distinction between direct and indirect effects of litigation, as well as the material and symbolic dimensions of climate judgments. We also explore the emergence of a global “litigation ecosystem,” where lawyers, scientists, activists, and communities increasingly collaborate across jurisdictions and disciplines. From the KlimaSeniorinnen judgment before the European Court of Human Rights to broader questions of standing, representation, and access to justice, the episode reflects on the democratic implications of climate litigation and the risks and opportunities of rights-based approaches to the climate crisis. Finally, Cesar shares his thoughts on the future of climate litigation and the transformative potential that climate cases may still hold.

Recommendations
Cesar Rodriguez-Garavito, Climate Change on Trial: Mobilizing Human Rights Litigation to Accelerate Climate Action (Cambridge University Press, 2025).
Cesar Rodriguez-Garavito (2011) Beyond the Courtroom: The Impact of Judicial Activism on Socioeconomic Rights in Latin America, Texas Law Review, 89 (7), 1669 – 1698.
Robert Macfarlane, Is a River Alive? (Penguin, 2025).
David Wallace-Wells, The Uninhabitable Earth (Penguin, 2019).

About
Editing: Clara Kammeringer
Music: “Delayed Flight” by Michael Ramir C. via mixkit
Recorded at the University of Amsterdam, April 2026

The LitDem Project
This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (grant agreement n° 101125511).