Africa witnesses rise in climate litigation amid its deadliest disasters

Africa has seen a sharp rise in climate litigation during its deadliest spell of climate and weather-related disasters. Fourteen of the continent’s 23 documented climate lawsuits were filed between 2021 and 2025, marking the most active phase yet for legal responses to worsening environmental crises.

During this five-year period, more than 221 million people across Africa were affected by extreme weather events—ranging from floods and droughts to heatwaves—according to a new analysis by Down To Earth (DTE). The data, compiled from the research institute Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, reveals a growing readiness to challenge climate inaction through the courts.

Africa’s legal response gains momentum, though global share remains low

While Africa accounts for just 0.87 per cent of the more than 2,630 global climate litigation cases filed since 2011, the continent’s legal momentum is building. The number of lawsuits has risen steadily over three five-year periods.

In 2011-2015, just two cases were filed — both in South Africa and Uganda. That number increased to seven between 2016 and 2020, spanning Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. But the sharpest increase came in 2021-2025, when 14 cases were filed in Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria and South Africa.

This five-year period alone accounts for 61 per cent of Africa’s climate-related lawsuits filed over the past 15 years. This period of increased litigation is significant, as it accounts for 54 per cent of the more than 412 million people affected by weather, climate, and water-related disasters across Africa since 2011, according to a recent DTE analysis of extreme weather events on the continent.

Power of courts recognised to confront climate inaction and demand accountability

The rise in legal cases reflects a growing recognition of courts as forums to challenge climate inaction, demand disaster preparedness and uphold environmental rights. Citizens, civil society groups and communities have increasingly turned to litigation — particularly against energy and infrastructure projects with potential climate and rights impacts.

South Africa has led the continent in climate litigation, with 11 cases — most filed since 2017. Kenya has shown consistent legal activity since 2016, while Namibia and Nigeria have emerged more recently. In 2025, campaigners also filed a Pan-African lawsuit before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, signalling a move beyond national jurisdictions.

From disasters to human rights: A shifting legal landscape

Over the past 15 years, Africa’s climate lawsuits have evolved from disaster-related claims to more sophisticated constitutional and rights-based challenges. Among the earliest cases were three lawsuits in Uganda (two cases) and Kenya (one), all responding to climate-related disasters. 

Uganda was the first African country to see climate litigation. In 2012, Ugandan judge and environmental advocate Kenneth Kakuru filed a groundbreaking case on behalf of children orphaned by climate-induced flooding, accusing the government of failing to protect citizens and ecosystems. More than a decade later, the case remains undecided, exposing systemic delays in early climate litigation.

In another still-pending case from 2020, Tsama William and 47 Others v Attorney General, survivors of a landslide in Uganda’s Bududa district allege that authorities ignored long-standing warnings and failed to implement disaster preparedness plans. The government denied responsibility, attributing the tragedy to local land-use practices.

Human rights at the heart of newer climate cases

As climate change is increasingly recognised as a human rights issue, newer cases have placed rights-based arguments at their core.

In Kenya, the Illchamus and Tugen communities filed a case in 2022 blaming government inaction for climate-induced flooding of Lake Baringo, which displaced entire communities. The petition frames the displacement as a violation of their rights to life, property and a safe environment. The case is still pending.

A similar shift is visible in South Africa. In December 2024, environmental groups Green Connection NPC and Natural Justice sued the government for approving offshore oil exploration along the country’s southwest coast. They argued the decision ignored climate risks and potential cross-border harm — including oil spills that could affect Namibia — and violated Section 24 of South Africa’s Constitution, which guarantees the right to a healthy environment.

African Court petition seeks continent-wide human rights obligations

In a landmark regional development, climate campaigners have taken their fight to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. On May 2, 2025, a coalition led by the Pan African Lawyers Union filed a petition seeking an advisory opinion on the human rights obligations of African states in addressing climate change.

The petition contended that climate change is already threatening a wide range of rights protected under the African Charter, including rights to life, health, development and dignity, and calls attention to the heightened risks faced by women, children, Indigenous peoples and internally displaced persons.

Energy sector faces most lawsuits

Of the 23 climate cases filed across six African countries between 2011 and 2025, 17 cases (74 per cent) challenged energy, oil and gas ventures, reflecting growing civil society and public resistance to projects seen as breaching environmental protections, constitutional rights and climate goals.

These cases commonly contest lax environmental clearances, emissions exemptions and weak or missing Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), highlighting mounting concerns over regulatory loopholes.

One of the earliest and most influential cases was the Thabametsi coal plant lawsuit in South Africa. Filed in 2015 and decided in 2020, the court ruled that failing to consider the project’s climate impact rendered its approval unlawful.

More recently, in November 2024, environmental organisations Earthlife Africa and groundWork sued Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned utility, over controversial emissions exemptions for eight coal-fired power plants. Approved by South Africa’s environment ministry, the exemptions let the state-owned utility bypass Minimum Emission Standards. The case, now pending, challenges the weakening of air quality laws meant to reduce pollution and address climate change.

In Kenya, a court on March 13, 2025 cancelled the environmental licence for a geothermal project. The Environment and Land Court of Kenya at Nakuru ruled that Sosian Energy Ltd (SEL) had failed to conduct climate risk assessments and public consultations, making the approval invalid.

These rulings signal growing judicial recognition of climate responsibility in energy planning. They also underscore the expanding legal obligation to embed climate considerations across the lifecycle of infrastructure projects—from assessment to approval and operation.

Judicial orders in recent years are reinforcing the need for meaningful public participation and the legal obligation to integrate climate considerations throughout project planning and approval. On a climate-vulnerable continent, such legal interventions are reshaping how governments and developers across Africa approach environmental accountability, particularly in the energy sector.

Legal barriers persist despite growing momentum

Despite the uptick in cases, climate litigation in Africa still faces serious obstacles. According to the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA), as of 2021, 62 environmental courts and at least 21 environmental tribunals were operational across Africa. Yet, the legislative frameworks remain underdeveloped, with many legal systems ill-equipped to handle climate-specific cases, according to a July 2025 Journal of Human Rights article.

A lack of resources, weak climate laws or inadequate enforcement of existing ones, and limited access to climate science expertise all pose significant challenges to climate litigation in Africa. Complex and costly evidence requirements, limited legal aid, and slow judicial processes often deter communities—especially the poorest and most vulnerable—from seeking justice. 

For instance, women, who are among the most climate-vulnerable, are often unable to pursue climate-related legal action not because harm isn’t occurring, but because there is insufficient data to demonstrate how climate change is affecting them or to identify those responsible. The problem lies in the lack of data collection, not in the absence of harm.

Such challenges partly explain why 11 of the 23 documented African climate cases remain unresolved. South Africa, despite leading the continent in litigation volume, also has one of the longest-pending climate case, filed in 2017. The oldest unresolved case dates back to Uganda in 2012, over government inaction following extreme weather events.

However, legislative reform is beginning to take root. Between 2016 and 2023, six African countries enacted climate change laws: Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Benin Republic, Mauritius and South Africa. These have created clearer legal pathways for action. 

African voices in global climate courts

As domestic legal frameworks evolve, African communities are also taking their demands to international courts. In 2022, residents of Kanseche, Malawi, filed a lawsuit in the UK High Court against a British-owned sugar company for alleged negligence during Cyclone Ana floods.

In another case, environmental group Friends of the Earth UK sued the British government for financing a liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique, arguing it breached climate obligations. Although dismissed in 2023, the case drew global scrutiny of how foreign investment contributes to Africa’s climate vulnerabilities.

While regional efforts, like those led by the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, are boosting public awareness and strengthening support networks, the African countries are increasingly using global legal platforms to amplify their voices. 

Africa’s climate concerns have also reached the International Court of Justice (ICJ). At the ICJ climate hearings in December 2024, countries including Zambia and Madagascar advocated for stronger legal protections for vulnerable communities and future generation. A regional submission was also made by the African Union, supported by 14 nations — Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tonga, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Madagascar, Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, Egypt, Kenya, Seychelles, The Gambia and Burkina Faso.

An ICJ advisory opinion on climate obligations on July 23, 2025 made it clear that all States are obligated under international law to protect the global climate system. This ruling by the International court has strengthened the legal standing of African nations in their efforts to address climate change and its impacts through judicial and legal avenues.

Lawsuits expected to rise as climate crisis deepens

Africa contributes less than 4 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but faces some of the most acute climate impacts. With droughts, floods and rising heat threatening lives and livelihoods, courts have become an essential avenue for justice and survival.

What began as a handful of localised cases is fast becoming a pan-African legal movement to demand accountability, redress environmental harm and assert human rights.

As governments across the continent pursue large-scale infrastructure projects to meet growing energy needs, urbanisation and industrial development, legal systems will play a critical role in balancing these ambitions with the continent’s urgent climate vulnerabilities.

The past five years show that climate litigation is no longer rare in Africa; it is rising, evolving and reshaping the continent’s response to the climate crisis.