While most climate litigation was in the US, about 17 per cent being reported in developing countries, including the Small Island Developing States
New research shows that the number of lawsuits over climate change has more than doubled since 2017, showing that climate litigation is becoming an integral part of securing climate action and justice.
The report, Global Climate Litigation Report: 2023 Status Review, was published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, the UN body said in a press brief.
The university website states the Sabin Center develops legal techniques to fight climate change, trains students and lawyers in their use, and provides up-to-date resources on key topics in climate change law and regulation.
The paper is based on a review of cases focused on climate change law, policy or science collected up to December 31, 2022 by the Center. The report provides an overview of key climate litigation cases from the past two years, including historic breakthroughs.
“Climate policies are far behind what is needed to keep global temperatures below the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold, with extreme weather events and searing heat already baking our planet,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP.
“People are increasingly turning to courts to combat the climate crisis, holding governments and the private sector accountable and making litigation a key mechanism for securing climate action and promoting climate justice,” Andersen added.
As climate litigation increases in frequency and volume, the body of legal precedent grows, forming an increasingly well-defined field of law. The total number of climate change cases has more than doubled since a first report on the issue, to 2,180 in 2022 from 884 in 2017.
While most cases have been brought in the US, climate litigation is taking root all over the world, with about 17 per cent of cases now being reported in developing countries, including the Small Island Developing States.
These legal actions were brought in 65 bodies worldwide: International, regional and national courts, tribunals, quasi-judicial bodies and other adjudicatory bodies, including special procedures of the UN and arbitration tribunals.
Some key climate litigation cases and matters covered in the report included the UN Human Rights Committee concluding for the first time that a country has violated international human rights law through climate policy and climate inaction, finding Australia’s government is in violation of its human rights obligations to Torres Strait Islanders.
Read more: Climate litigations: Global South catching up with hotspot United States
Brazil’s Supreme Court holding that the Paris Agreement is a human rights treaty, which enjoys “supranational” status and a Dutch court ordering oil and gas company Shell to comply with the Agreement were also covered. This was the first time a court found a private company to have a duty under the Agreement.
“There is a distressingly growing gap between the level of greenhouse gas reductions the world needs to achieve in order to meet its temperature targets, and the actions that governments are actually taking to lower emissions. This inevitably will lead more people to resort to the courts,” said Michael Gerrard, Sabin Center’s faculty director.
The report will be an invaluable resource for everyone who wants to achieve the best possible outcome in judicial forums, and understand what is and is not possible there, Gerrard said.
The paper also demonstrates how the voices of vulnerable groups are being heard globally: 34 cases have been brought by and on behalf of children and youth under 25 years old, including by girls as young as seven and nine years of age in Pakistan and India, respectively.
Most ongoing climate litigation falls into one or more of six categories:
Read more: Climate lawsuits against major polluters linked with fall in their stock prices: Study
The number of cases dealing with climate migration, cases brought by Indigenous peoples, local communities, and other groups disproportionately affected by climate change and cases addressing liability following extreme weather events may increase in the future, according to the paper.
It also predicted difficulties in applying climate attribution science, as well as an increase in “backlash” cases against litigants seeking to repeal climate-action regulations.
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A court had held that Australia’s government was in violation of its human rights obligations to Torres Strait Islanders. Photo: iStock.png)
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