An unprecedented rise in climate change lawsuits seeking to hold companies and countries accountable
At least 230 new climate change lawsuits were filed in 2023, but the researchers noted that the increase in these lawsuits is slower than in previous years.
An aerial view of people walking through a flooded street in the Navegantes neighborhood of Porto Alegre, Rio da Grande state, Brazil, May 4, 2024. A new report finds that more climate lawsuits have been filed in Brazil than in most other countries.
Carlos Faval/AFP via Getty Images
privacy policy Climate litigation against governments and corporations is still on the rise around the world, but the increase may be slowing, according to a new study.
of Annual Report A study assessing trends in climate litigation by the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics found that at least 230 new climate lawsuits will be filed in 2023. However, report authors Joanna Setzer and Kate Higham noted that the number of climate lawsuits is not growing as rapidly as expected. Past few years.
They said the trend could signal “strategic consolidation and focus of litigation activity in areas expected to have significant impact.”
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Still, climate litigation continues to spread to new countries in 2023, with cases filed in Panama and Portugal for the first time.
Setzer and Higham wrote that it “remains difficult to tell whether the cases are a step forward or a setback,” but added that some of the cases are clearly having an impact on climate governance.
Nearly 50 new “climate washing” lawsuits were filed last year, making it one of the fastest-growing areas of litigation, which the Grantham Institute defines as lawsuits against companies or governments over false or misleading claims about the climate.
The report noted that litigation has been successful, with more than 70 percent of completed cases resulting in a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs.
Climate litigants are also broadening their targets: While lawsuits against companies traditionally focused on the fossil fuel sector, they are now also being filed against airlines, financial services companies and food and beverage companies, according to the report.
Setzer and Higham said there could also be an increase in litigation challenging the government’s net-zero target.
The United States continues to lead the way in terms of litigation, with a total of 1,745 lawsuits filed, including 129 new lawsuits filed in 2023. The next highest number of climate-related lawsuits are in the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Germany.
Setzer and Higham noted that older cases filed in Hungary and Namibia were identified for the first time, bringing the total number of countries with recorded climate litigation to 55.
The report also introduces a new category of “transition risk” – legal proceedings brought against company directors and officers over their management of climate change risks. It notes that shareholders of Polish utility company Enea approved the decision to bring such a lawsuit A lawsuit against former directors over plans to invest in new coal-fired power plants.
Setzer and Higham also identified six “turn off the tap” lawsuits challenging funding for projects or activities that are not climate-friendly, bringing the total to 33 filed since 2015.
But the report notes that not all lawsuits are aligned with climate action: Of the more than 230 lawsuits filed in 2023, about 50 “appear to be deliberate attempts to use legal means to obstruct climate action,” the report said.
In these cases Consumer Protection Litigation Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Scrummetti, a Republican, sued investment giant BlackRock, alleging that the company made false and misleading statements about how environmental, social and governance factors influence the company’s investment strategy.
The Grantham report noted that the backlash against ESG in US climate change litigation is “out of step with trends in other parts of the world”.
The report highlighted a landmark decision by a Montana court last year that found the state had violated the rights of young people by failing to consider the climate impacts of oil and gas infrastructure.
“This decision may serve as a model for scientific arguments and evidence that can be used to overcome standing and causation obstacles that have posed significant challenges in similar cases,” the report said, but the authors noted that the decision was made on narrow grounds and is currently on appeal to the Montana Supreme Court.
The report’s section on “Polluter Pays” litigation in the United States highlights about 20 cases in which local governments seek compensation from the oil and gas industry for its climate change responsibilities, but notes that it “may be months or even years” before these cases go to trial, although some have begun to move into the discovery phase.
Through that process, “thousands of pages of internal documents will be made available to plaintiffs and the public, which in itself could significantly change the political debate surrounding defendants,” Setzer and Higham wrote.
The climate liability litigation has been bogged down by a lengthy venue dispute. The Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that asked the Biden administration. Express your opinion on the issue.
Source E&E News Posted with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2024. E&E News delivers news that matters to energy and environmental professionals.
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