The Rise of Climate Litigation in International Law: Holding States and Corporations Accountable
- gabrielakvisionfac
- 4 hours ago
- 5 min read
Author: Dóra Fekete
Nowadays, the issue of climate change can no longer be regarded solely as a scientific and political question; it has become one of the most dynamically developing areas in contemporary, current international law. As is perceptible to everyone, the consequences of global warming are becoming increasingly severe around the world; states are encountering major and urgent difficulties in complying with international climate targets. As a result, more and more individuals, civil society organisations, and communities are turning to the bodies of justice – the courts – to demand legal consequences for possible irregularities. This trend, which we refer to under the umbrella term climate litigation, reinterprets the boundaries of responsibility for states and major corporations in this matter, and all of these can have precedential value for the interpretation of international legal questions worldwide. The emergence of climate lawsuits in global legal practice is becoming an area that increasingly brings together human rights, environmental protection, and cross-border cooperation aspects within a single case in relation to environmental protection.
The concept and legal foundations of climate litigation
The concept of climate litigation refers to legal procedures whose aim is to challenge inadequately applied climate policy principles and to oblige major actors in both the public and private sectors to adopt stricter measures. But what exact measures? For example, ordering the reduction of emissions linked to the materials they use. The first such and similar cases were all launched before international judicial forums, but since then, with their increasing number, climate litigation has become a well-known, central reference point. There are numerous international agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and other human rights treaties, which provide normative rules to interpret climate-related omissions that harm the environment as violations. These apply to us in the sense that they infringe our right to life or our right to a healthy environment – rights that every nation-state in the world declares and protects at the constitutional level. That this issue is being taken increasingly seriously is also demonstrated by the fact that the International Court of Justice (and other human rights courts) are taking a greater role in ensuring compliance with rules setting out international obligations and in enforcing them through legal means. This shows an entirely new, modern direction in which, alongside state actors, civil society groups are gaining an increasingly prominent role in the practical shaping, interpretation, and, where necessary, enforcement of international norms.
Examples from global legal practice of landmark cases
Below, I present several cases that have significant importance for the transformative role of climate litigation in the world’s legal practice.
Urgenda Foundation v. The Netherlands
One of the most well-known decisions was Urgenda Foundation v. The Netherlands, in which the court declared that the failure of states to reduce harmful emissions can be considered a violation of human rights. This ruling represented a real breakthrough legally, because it created a direct link between the omission of climate action and state responsibility.
Milieudefensie v. Shell
Almost in parallel with the previous case, Milieudefensie v. Shell brought about a major expansion of corporate responsibility: in this case, the court ordered the multinational corporation to align the proportion and trajectory of its emissions with international climate targets. This decision clearly stated that large corporations cannot evade compulsory rules, since these are not voluntary “charitable” promises or favours, but actions influencing and serving human health and well-being, which have binding force at the legislative level for all major actors.
The International Court of Justice
Another important development was the proceeding initiated by Vanuatu, in which the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion on the obligations of states in relation to climate change matters. A concrete, final decision has not yet been adopted, but it is expected to become a global milestone in defining the concept of climate responsibility more precisely.
The challenges of climate litigation
As we have seen above, many good and exemplary international precedents have been and are being created in relation to climate litigation, but we must also reckon with numerous complicating circumstances and obstacles. Because the significance of these types of cases extends across national borders, jurisdiction is difficult to determine, and plaintiffs often struggle to prove how a specific harmful emission is directly linked to real, measurable damage. For this reason, even when decisions become final, their enforcement is often slow and difficult, partly due to political and partly due to economic interests. If we draw an analogy, these difficulties point to long-standing problems in international law: the tensions between state sovereignty and global cooperation, the lack of centrally regulated enforcement mechanisms, and the limitations of “soft law” type obligations.
Emerging trends
It can clearly be stated that this area of law is undergoing rapid development in modern legal practice.• Climate lawsuits brought by younger generations are becoming increasingly common, based on the principle of intergenerational justice.• Indigenous communities are increasingly referring to the disproportionate burdens of climate change to draw the world’s attention before broader and broader forums.• There is the phenomenon called ecocide, the movement to recognise it as an international crime conveys the message that in the future, even individuals may be held criminally liable for environmental destruction. These trends all show that international environmental law is becoming increasingly important, and the international community is increasingly willing to rethink and recreate many legal-conceptual categories connected to it.
The role of climate litigation in the future of international law
As we have seen, the institution of climate litigation has now become a key factor in the development of international law. It strengthens the legitimacy of legal claims connected to environmental matters, thus enabling civil-level pressure on governments and major corporations. The bodies of international justice appear to be becoming partners in this and are trying to provide increasing support by creating binding normative rules. Therefore, climate protection also means that it is no longer merely a question of political or economic decision-making, but a matter of legal accountability. As global public efforts to combat climate change intensify, the role of international law is also growing stronger. We hope that affected communities will have an increasingly decisive role in ensuring that a long-term, liveable, clean, orderly, and healthy environment can be sustained – or at least that the negative impacts of environmental-influencing factors can be reduced or slowed as much as possible. This is in the interest of every generation.
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