Legal Solution for Climate Action!

By S R Ranjan: Officially legitimate, climate crisis has turned into climate cases and are making the courtroom more pertinent to efforts to address climate change around the world. With all due respect, thankfully, the “growing tidal wave” of climate cases is driving much-needed change. “Judiciaries around the world are increasingly playing a critical role in addressing climate change. Their role in combating climate change cannot be overstated,” said United Nations Environment Programme executive director  Inger Andersen.

In the wake of ‘climate emergency’ and the growing demand for climate action, in recent years, climate litigation cases have spiked. A UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report finds that climate cases have nearly doubled over the last three years. The report, Global Climate Change Litigation Report – 2020 Status Review, published by UNEP in cooperation with the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, shows climate litigation has become more common and more successful worldwide. As per the report, in 2017, 884 cases were brought in 24 countries; as of 2020, cases had nearly doubled, with at least 1,550 climate change cases filed in 38 countries, 39 including the European Union (EU) courts.

Global Climate Change Litigation Report – 2020 Status Review shows key emerging trends in these litigation cases. It indicates that while climate litigation continues to be concentrated in high-income countries, the trend is expected to further grow in the global south. The report lists recent cases from Colombia, India, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines and South Africa.

On the the positive side, the report shows how climate litigation is compelling governments and corporate actors to purse more ambitious climate change mitigation and adaptation goals. “Citizens are increasingly turning to courts to access justice and exercise their right to a healthy environment,” said Arnold Kreilhuber, acting director of UNEP’s Law Division. “Judges and courts have an essential role to play in addressing the climate crisis.”

Furthermore, the report outlines how these climate cases are forcing greater disclosures and ending “corporate green washing” on the subject of climate change and the energy transition. People are holding their governments to account and challenging non-enforcement of climate-related laws and policies. "Climate litigation is a key lever for keeping governments and corporations on task in the fight to combat climate change," said Sabin Center for Climate Change at Columbia Law School  executive director Michael Burger, Executive Director.

With respect to governments failing to take climate actions to adapt to extreme weather events, companies misreporting climate risks and cases brought to enforce previous court decisions, UNEP expects climate litigation to increase in national and international bodies.

(Singh Rakesh Ranjan)

Freelance Journalist

 (Representational images: source)