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Climate litigation is now being pursued across more countries than ever before, according to a new report published today by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University.
The report, Climate Change in the Courtroom: Trends, Impacts, and Emerging Lessons, reveals how courtrooms are increasingly becoming battlegrounds for climate accountability, addressing issues ranging from greenwashing and carbon offsets to energy-intensive data centres.
Now in its fourth edition since the series began in 2017, the report draws on data from the Sabin Center’s Climate Change Litigation Databases to analyse key trends, pending cases, and court decisions shaping the global response to the climate crisis.
“Climate litigation has evolved into a powerful global tool for advancing climate action and accountability,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.
“Transforming our energy, mobility, housing, and food systems must be a collective effort, through ambitious and science-based policymaking. Independent judicial systems are essential to ensuring this transformation is both just and effective.”
As of June 30, 2025, a total of 3,099 climate-related cases had been filed in 55 national jurisdictions and 24 international or regional courts, tribunals, and quasi-judicial bodies.
This represents a sharp rise from 2,180 cases in 2022, 1,550 in 2020, and 884 in 2017, underscoring the growing role of courts in shaping environmental policy.
While cases originating from the Global South still make up less than 10 per cent of all filings, the report notes that this share is steadily increasing.
Countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia are seeing more citizens, youth groups, and Indigenous communities turn to legal systems to demand stronger climate action and protection of their rights.
Over the past four decades, since the first recorded climate litigation case, the field has not only expanded but also matured.
Today’s lawsuits touch virtually every aspect of climate governance: from challenging fossil fuel projects and holding corporations accountable for emissions, to pushing governments to meet their Paris Agreement targets.
The report also draws connections between climate litigation and emerging legal battles over biodiversity loss, pollution, and environmental harm, where similar arguments and scientific evidence are being applied.
Among the significant developments highlighted is the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which recently clarified States’ obligations in addressing climate change.
Courts are increasingly recognizing the scientific basis of climate-related claims, including attribution science, which links specific extreme weather events to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.
These rulings, UNEP notes, are helping to define global legal norms and responsibilities for climate action.
However, the report also warns of an uptick in anti-climate litigation cases aimed at rolling back environmental protections, challenging ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investment principles, or silencing public opposition to high-emitting projects.
Such lawsuits increasingly target climate advocates, journalists, and civil society organizations, raising concerns about shrinking civic space and the criminalization of climate activism.
UNEP and the Sabin Center urge governments and legal institutions to safeguard judicial independence and protect environmental defenders, stressing that robust and fair legal systems remain central to achieving the world’s climate goals.
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