Our Mission

We aim to use the law to combat Climate Change.

Courts can play an important role in stopping warming. They can remind politicians that, once laws are made, even government must adhere to them.

As the political will to combat climate change wanes, litigation and legal activism will prove more potent than political advocacy; not to mention protest or civil disobedience. Judicial willingness to interfere with government’s discretion on how to reduce emissions will likely increase as binding targets continue to be missed.

While parliament will remain the most important arena in the battle for climate security, the courts will at minimum provide vital accountability and a counter-weight to lobbying.

The best available global tracker, maintained by the Sabin Center at Columbia Law School, counts, on a fairly narrow definition of "climate litigation", almost 3,000 cases to date: https://climatecasechart.com. The caseload will likely increase substantially during Trump's second term.