110 Iowa L. Rev. 2201 (2025)
Abstract
Extreme events related to climate change continue to grow in frequency and consequences. Often, the nations most harmed are those least responsible for climate impacts. This dynamic has led some scholars to call for reparations to hold states accountable. This Essay reviews scholarship proposing redress for climate-related harms considering redress and reparations history and literature. To address accountability concerns, it maintains that the Loss and Damage Fund under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change establishes a floor of responsibility for nations contributing to climate change. Further, by drawing on the “polluter pays” and “no harm” principles under international law, the Essay proposes the development of climate compensation funds to address the needs of the most vulnerable countries left unmet by the loss and damage framework. The Essay outlines key features of a climate compensation mechanism utilizing newly enacted climate cost recovery legislation in New York. It concludes by rejecting broad claims for reparations based on climate change—offering instead a narrow case for climate reparations growing out of historic uses and scholarly models of redress.