Climate Change Litigation On The Rise: What Does This Mean For Governments, Local Communities And Investors?

With over 2000¹ cases filed internationally, climate change litigation is becoming an increasingly important and significant area of litigation. Not only is this type of litigation being used to seek to obtain compensation for affected persons, but it is also being used as a tool to hold governments and (often multinational) companies accountable for a perceived lack of climate mitigation efforts.²

This article explores the use and scope of climate change litigation and what it may mean for governments, local communities and investors.

Actions against Governments

The majority of global climate change related litigation cases are being brought against States.³ These include (a) actions by litigants challenging national governments' policy response to climate change, (b) adaptation cases or (c) initiatives in which States are looking for guidance from international courts and tribunals.

There are a growing number of cases which seek to challenge a State governments' policy decisions in order to compel further action to set and meet national-level targets and take additional action to combat climate change. For example, in the case of Urgenda v State of the Netherlands ("Urgenda"), the Dutch courts found that the Dutch government had breached human rights standards by not taking steps to reduce emissions by at least 25%. Following this landmark case, governments of at least four other European countries (including Ireland, France, Germany and Belgium) have been held to be in breach of human rights obligations by their national courts for failing to implement climate commitments.⁴

Another category of disputes seek compensation for monetary losses suffered by companies due to the impacts of climate change, such as rising sea levels, more frequently severe weather and intensifying wildfires affecting infrastructure and operations. These are often referred to as 'climate change adaptation cases'. For example, in late 2022, two such cases were brought against Exxon Mobil Corp. and other fossil fuel companies. The cases seek damages for the alleged substantial impact that fossil fuel companies have had in causing climate change and resulting harms to New Jersey;⁵ and for losses resulting from storms during the 2017 Puerto Rico hurricane season and ongoing economic losses since 2017.⁶

A further significant avenue to address climate change impacts is through procuring advisory opinions from international courts or tribunals. Three initiatives are currently being...