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The rise of climate change litigation
14/9/2022
6 min read
Feature
Activists and their legal advisors have begun to find ways to use the law to get climate policies changed – often with positive outcomes. The trend is likely to continue, or accelerate. So write Elaina Bailes, a committee member of the London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA) and Partner at Stewarts, and Faranak Ghajavand, Senior Associate, also at Stewarts.
Climate change litigation is fast becoming one of the most effective forms of climate activism; the number of cases brought in courts globally has doubled since 2015. While environmental activists have been bringing legal challenges on climate change grounds since the 1980s, scientific advances are making it easier to attribute the damages caused by climate change to companies’ activities. There is thus increasing scope for claimants to use the rule of law to hold businesses and governments to account.
Outside the US, the majority of cases have been brought in Australia, the UK and the bodies and courts of the European Union (EU). Claims are brought based on a wide range of legal principles, but tend to be either:
- strategic, aimed at producing broader societal shifts and policy changes (both governmental and corporate) towards a greener agenda; or
- damages-based, seeking financial compensation for legal wrongs based on environmental grounds.
It is not just climate activists who are jumping on the bandwagon; shareholders, consumers and investors are increasingly only willing to invest or do business with companies who can demonstrate their environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials. If companies fall short, those parties will not hesitate to bring greenwashing claims or seek damages, for example, for loss to share value.