Stories to Watch: Climate litigation grows rapidly around the world

The United Nations Environment Program released the Global Climate Litigation Report: 2020 Status Review on 26th January which demonstrated the increase in prevalence and success of climate-related cases around the world in the last three years. In 2017, 884 climate cases were brought in 24 countries. As of 2020, this number has rose to 1550 cases in 38 countries (with almost 3/4th in the USA). These cases were brought forward by an increasingly diverse set of plaintiffs. This report comes in the backdrop of the drumroll leading to the UNFCCC COP26 in Glasgow and public demonstrations over a landmark climate case filed against the French state.

It describes six prominent themes across the litigations analysed, namely climate rights, domestic enforcement, keeping fossil fuels in the ground, corporate liability and reporting, failure to adapt, and climate disclosures/greenwashing. Taken together, these cases represent the foundational contours and principles of climate jurisprudence, upon which many innovative claims and obligations are being sought (e.g. investor fraud claims against large corporations). Yet, many key legal principles and questions remain unresolved.

India has a strong framework of environmental rights and legal principles to support climate litigation and a judiciary that has enjoyed a pro-environment reputation. CPR’s Shibani Ghosh has reviewed the status and potential of climate litigation in India in a 2020 journal piece and a recently published chapter.

According to her analysis, the main environmental and energy related laws, policies and regulations, as well as India’s framework of environmental rights and principles provide several hooks to bring climate claims to court. Judges have referred to climate concerns in some of their judgements. However, there is no decision yet on the justiciability of India’s NDC, or one that directs parties to take measures for mitigation or adaptation. She also warns that the significance of climate litigation in India so far must not be overstated. While the conditions for such litigation are favourable, it is likely to remain peripheral to the more ‘mainstream’ environmental concerns in the near future.

Environmentality is a collection of ideas, perspectives, and commentary by researchers at the Initiative on Climate, Energy and Environment, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. Views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the authors. They do not represent institutional views.

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