Ä¢¹½´«Ã½

This policy report provides an overview of current issues in climate change litigation, focusing on selected cases and developments from May 2018 to May 2019. The report draws on the  and the .

Key points: 

• Climate change litigation continues to expand across jurisdictions as a tool to strengthen climate action, though more evidence of its impact is needed.
• Climate change cases have been brought in at least 28 countries around the world, and of the recorded cases more than three quarters have been filed in the United States.
• Most defendants are governments but lawsuits are increasingly targeting the highest greenhouse-gas-emitting companies.
• Climate change-related claims are also being pursued by investors, activist shareholders, cities and states.
• Climate change litigation in low- and middle-income countries is growing in quantity and importance.

The report finds that climate change litigation is increasingly viewed as a tool to influence policy outcomes and corporate behaviour. Human rights and science are both playing a bigger role in cases. While litigation could encourage private companies and investors to give greater consideration to climate risks, there is insufficient evidence of its impacts.