Climate lawsuits gain ground as politics slows

Climate campaigners are increasingly turning to courts as political efforts to curb global warming lose momentum in some countries.

Legal activists have won cases against national governments over the past decade, leading to more climate-friendly policies in countries including the Netherlands, Pakistan, Switzerland and South Korea. Australia's highest court also blocked the expansion of a coal mine in New South Wales earlier this week, citing its climate impact.

Three international courts have issued advisory opinions over the past two years saying countries have legal obligations to address climate change: the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice. A fourth opinion is expected from the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Advisory opinions are not binding in the same way as judgments in contentious cases, but Dennis van Berkel of the Climate Litigation Network said the legal principles they set out are already being used by plaintiffs in national courts.

A Paris court cited the ICJ opinion in a June ruling ordering TotalEnergies to include emissions linked to the use of its products in its corporate vigilance plan. A Dutch court also cited the opinion in January when it ordered the Netherlands to strengthen its climate plan in a case brought by residents of Bonaire. Both rulings are being appealed.

For companies, legal precedent is less established than for states. Jasper Teulings of the Climate Litigation Network said there was nevertheless a “tightening net” for oil companies. Cases over permits for oil, gas and coal projects have led to setbacks for some projects, including in the UK, and Norway's Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on licences for projects in the North Sea.

Further lawsuits are seeking to make major emitters pay compensation for climate-related harm. German courts rejected a compensation claim by Peruvian farmer Saul Luciano Lliuya against RWE last year but left open the possibility that major emitters could be liable for climate-related payments. Similar cases are pending in several countries, including claims involving Shell, Holcim, RWE and Heidelberg Materials.

There have also been setbacks for campaigners, including losses against oil companies in the United States and a New Zealand law change that blocked a lawsuit brought by Maori activist Mike Smith against six domestic companies.