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‘This is not just about climate change any more’: How New Zealand bowed to lobbyists to try to maim climate litigation

‘This is not just about climate change any more’: How New Zealand bowed to lobbyists to try to maim climate litigation

Two weeks ago, New Zealand’s government made a surprise announcement: it would change the law to stop companies from being sued in civil court for harm linked to climate change. A bill to amend the Climate Change Response Act 2002 would be laid to prevent findings of liability for

Leaders and academics emphasise climate cooperation as legal obligation

Leaders and academics emphasise climate cooperation as legal obligation

States have a legal obligation to work together to phase out fossil fuels, leaders and legal experts have stressed during inaugural talks on phasing out fossil fuels in Colombia. There was a strong focus on science at the Transitioning Away From Fossil Fuels conference, held in the port city of

'Not just a single judicial event': South Korea's constitutional climate ruling 20 months on

'Not just a single judicial event': South Korea's constitutional climate ruling 20 months on

It has been nearly two years since South Korea’s Constitutional Court made a landmark ruling, ordering the state to back its headline climate goal with more concrete targets over the next two and a half decades. The decision consolidated four distinct climate cases. Three of these argued that national

'You can only care about what you know about’: How litigation forced states to count the carbon

'You can only care about what you know about’: How litigation forced states to count the carbon

Environmental impact assessment has become a legal battleground for challenging the expansion of the world’s most polluting projects. But will these victories actually lower greenhouse gas emissions? Should climate change be included in an assessment of the impacts of polluting infrastructure such as power stations and activities such as

The US invented climate litigation. It may end up going to its funeral

The US invented climate litigation. It may end up going to its funeral

Put on the kettle and let me take you back a full 40 years to the US. At that time, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration decided to water down the CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) standard, which regulates how far vehicles must travel on one gallon of fuel. Peter

‘More influential than Urgenda’: UK Finch ruling 20 months on

‘More influential than Urgenda’: UK Finch ruling 20 months on

“I've become quite the celebrity in the small world of climate litigation,” laughs Sarah Finch, an environmental activist who won a landmark climate lawsuit that has made big waves in the UK and further afield. Finch had challenged Surrey county council’s decision to extend planning permission for

Climate doesn’t care about borders. Nor does climate litigation

Climate doesn’t care about borders. Nor does climate litigation

When residents of the Caribbean island of Bonaire faced the Netherlands in court last October, they had few expectations for what they might achieve. They had travelled from a place that is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise, extreme heat and other climate-related impacts, but also their beloved home