Climate justice is making waves in the courtroom. Climate litigation has become a key strategy for activists aiming to hold businesses and governments accountable for emissions and environmental policies.
A recent report revealed that 226 new strategic climate cases were filed globally, bringing the total to 2,967 cases across nearly 60 countries. These cases not only seek justice for specific issues but also aim to further the climate cause itself.
So, what is climate litigation? It’s any legal case related to climate change. This includes cases focused directly on climate issues, as well as those that may not mention climate change explicitly but impact it significantly, like lawsuits against fracking.
The first known climate case dates back to 1986 in the U.S., challenging the government’s failure to assess environmental impacts of fuel economy standards. Since then, climate litigation has evolved through three main waves:
- The first wave began in the 1980s, focused on governmental accountability for climate impacts.
- The second wave emerged in 2007 with the Kyoto Protocol, where cases rose in Europe against governments.
- The current wave started after the Paris Agreement in 2015, incorporating issues like shareholder activism and human rights laws.
Recently, activists from the Global South have pushed wealthy nations to take responsibility for climate-induced losses, an issue that has gained traction during UN climate conferences. While litigation seeks to establish legal accountability, calls for loss and damage aim for financial reparations.
Interestingly, most climate cases are against governments, but over 250 strategic cases have targeted private companies since 2015. The range of sectors under scrutiny has broadened to include food, retail, and plastics. Emerging markets like Brazil and India are increasingly contributing to these cases, accounting for about 9% of strategic lawsuits globally.
One emerging trend is the focus on “climate-adjacent” issues, such as energy transition contracts and carbon market regulations. For example, there have been over 500 cases in China alone related to these topics. If these were included in global climate litigation data, the total count would significantly increase.
So why is this important? Climate litigation can take various forms:
- Government framework cases: Challenge the effectiveness of government climate policies.
- Polluter pays litigation: Aim to hold companies financially responsible for their emissions.
- Failure-to-adapt cases: Target entities for ignoring foreseeable climate risks, like the recent case against a Hawaiin utility for its inaction before devastating wildfires.
In one notable case, a Dutch court ordered Shell to reduce emissions by 45% by 2030. However, this ruling was later overturned due to a lack of consensus on specific emissions targets. Still, the court acknowledged that major emitters can be held liable for their greenhouse gas emissions—setting a critical legal precedent.
Climate litigation has reached international courts. In July 2023, the International Court of Justice stated that countries are legally responsible for their emissions and may owe reparations to those affected by climate change. This holds the potential for future lawsuits regarding marine emissions as well.
Despite some backlash against climate initiatives—like challenges to sustainability disclosure rules—legislative progress is happening. For instance, the Philippines is crafting a climate accountability bill targeting companies for their contributions to climate damage. In the U.S., several states have introduced climate superfund laws that would charge fossil fuel companies for climate disaster cleanup costs.
As the landscape of climate litigation evolves, the stakes are high. Legal actions could significantly impact how companies view their responsibilities, making it costlier to emit greenhouse gases. Just a handful of landmark cases might push businesses to prioritize climate action seriously.
For more information and statistics, check out the [Grantham Research Institute report](https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/publication/global-trends-in-climate-change-litigation-2025-snapshot/).
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