GLOBAL TRENDS IN CLIMATE-RELATED LITIGATION
As the effects of a warming planet become increasingly clear around the globe, it is no surprise that climate-related litigation has skyrocketed in recent years. The total number of climate-related cases worldwide has increased from 884 in 2017 to 1280 as of December 2022, according to the United Nation’s 2023 Global Climate Litigation Report. And in the US, where approximately 70 percent of climate-related cases have been brought, the number jumped from 654 to 1522 cases in the same five-year period. But the US is certainly not the only jurisdiction in which climate-related litigation is being pursued. Climate-related litigation has become an emerging area of litigation across the globe, with suits being brought in 65 different jurisdictions in 2022. We expect these trends to continue. This article surveys the kinds of litigation being brought in this area and some of the issues it raises for global corporations today.
Overview of climate litigation
Climate-related litigation generally has three aims: (i) influencing environmental laws and regulations; (ii) influencing corporations and other private entities to adopt and implement more climate-friendly business practices and policies; and (iii) holding corporations and other entities accountable for their own commitments on climate and environmental issues. Traditionally, climate-related cases were brought against governments based on claims of violations of domestic constitutional or international and human rights laws. These cases involved claims that government action (or lack thereof) to adapt to or mitigate climate change violated the plaintiffs’ rights to a safe climate and healthy environment or their human rights more broadly.
Jan-Mar 2024 issue
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP