E - Law and Policy by Geography
2008 U.S. emissions scenarios under legislative proposals
3. National Policy Measures
5. Local and State Level Measures
Colombia’s Supreme Court has recognised that fundamental human rights are “substantially linked and determined by the environment and the ecosystem” and that the Columbian Amazon has its own rights.
In Germany the Constitutional Court recognised that “one generation must not be allowed to consume large portions of the CO2 budget while bearing a relatively minor share of the reduction effort, if this would involve leaving subsequent generations with a drastic reduction burden and expose their lives to serious losses of freedom”.
The Urgenda case in the Netherlands was a watershed moment for climate litigation. It was the first time a government was found to owe a legal duty of care to protect people from climate harms.
E - Litigation and Liability Extracts
E - Public Policy
I:GeographicImpacts
E - Adapt Law
E - Adaptation Policy
E - Business Risk Disclosure Topics
E - CO2 Significance Under CEQA NEPA SEPA
E - International Policies
E - Legal Implications of SLR
E - Liability Risks
E - Mitigation Policies and Measures
E - National Policies
E - Necessity Defense
E - Other Policy Responses Topics
E - Reasons for optimism
E - State and Local Response
E - Use of Law Against Climate Change Mitigation
Climate Case Chart - U.S.
2015 Hague District Court orders Dutch Government to reduce Dutch emissions by at least 25% by 2020, a stricter requirement than in the Paris Agreement
2015 Peruvian farmer brings suit against Germany utility RWE for damages, asking compensation based on RWE’s % of global emissions from 1751 to 2010. German Appeals court held the suit admissable.
2016 Conservation Law Foundation sues Exxon based on vulnterability of an Exxon oil tank farm to storm surge and other hazards
2016 Exxon investor files securities fraud class action against Exxon based on failure to disclose recognized risks of climate change.
2017 In Sinnok v. Alaska a group of children sued the state and the Governor for pro-oil policies that exacerbate the impacts of climate change where they live
2019/12 Dutch Supreme Court rejects appeal of Government against District and Appeals Court decisions, letting a reduction requirement of 25% by 2020 stand.
2019/12 New York Court rules for Exxon in securities fraud case
2019 NGOs brought suit against French oil company Total, charging a failure to adequately report and mitigate climate risks
2020/3 Billionaire hedge fund manager threatens to sue banks for lending money to coal-mining companies
2020 Federal Appeals Court finds that Juliana v United States defendants (21 young people) lack standing for their lawsuit
2020 Federal Court of Australia declared than Minister of Environment, in approving a mining project, has a duty to take reasonable care to avoid injury or death to persons under 18.
2020 Irish Supreme Court rules that Irish National Mitigation Plan does not comply with the Irish Climate Act because too vague in specifying low carbon transition to 2050
2021/4 German Constitutional Court holds that German Federal Climate Change Act iincompatible with fundamental rights due to vagueness.
2021/4 Paris Administrative Court holds that French Government has failed to comply with commitments under the Paris Agreement. Ordered payment of 1 Euro for moral damages, and ordered action by 12/2022.
2021/5 District Court of the Hauge rules that Shell must cut emissions by 45% by 2030, in first court ruling that companies need to align policies with the Paris Agreement
2021 Cases by category of law 2017 - Jan 2021
2021 Cases by sector 2017 - Jan 2021
2021 Cases with outcomes favorable to climate action are in the majority
2021 Climate laws and policies around the world as of May 2021
2021 Federal agencies that were defendants in cases 2017 - Jan 2021
2021 Grounds of review in cases against governments 2015-2021
2021 Not all cases are aligned with climate goals
2021 Number of cases involving US federal environmental statutes
2021 Number of lawsuits around world by jurisdiction
2021 Outcomes in human rights cases
2021 Plaintiffs and petitioners in “con” cases 2027 - Jan 2021
2021 Plaintiffs and petitioners in “pro” cases 2017 - Jan 2021
2021 Proportion of cases with outcomes that are favorable, unfavorable, and neutral (cases outside US)
2021 Proportion of strategic cases over time
2021 Total climate litigation cases over time, U.S. and non-U.S.
2021 Total number recorded climate litigation cases 1986 - 2020 (US vs all other countries)
2021 Who were the defendants in cases 2017 - Jan 2021
Climate Lawsuits Vary Widely
Could the legal system's approach change?
2010 Deutsche Bank - Growth of US Climate Litigation: Trends and Consequences
2015 Bank of England Governor Mark Carney characterizes litigation risks as “significant, uncertain, and non-linear”
2015 was a key year for climate change law, including the Urgenda and Leghari cases
2021 has been an exceptional year for climate iltigation
ClientEarth files first known climate litigation case against a central bank (National Bank of Belgium)
Climate litigation has shifted from retroactive responsibility for disasters to forward-looking to prevent environmental damage
Complaint’s Causes of Action
Defendants acted to increase fossil fuel usage
Defendants actions were reckless
Defendants had a meeting of the minds
Defendants knew what would happen
Defense Production Act useful since president can use through executive order, and DPA can provide guarantee to manufacturers
EPA says it is already doing enough
Establishing the personal consequences of climate change
Even for those who believe that climate litigation can play an important role in bringing the world closer to a 1.5°C trajectory, there is only so much the courts can do.
Katrina Breaches Canal Litigation
Legal case in favor of using the Defense Production Act to address climate change - climate change is risk to national security
Leghari case based on constitutional protection of the right to life.
Schneider: There are tools in toolbox other than PTD that are better suited to dealing with climate change. All Dept. of Interior policies now utilize a "climate change lens"
Setting the stage for the complaint
The 2016 amendments removed some challenges to the complaint
The question remains: how much can climate change cases really contribute to climate action in Australia – and internationally – and will it be enough to turn the current disastrous climate trajectory?
The statutory context for TSCA
The vast majority of climate litigation has been in the U.S., but also includes 39 other countries and international courts and tribunals
TSCA was used with CFCs
US, unlike most countries, does not have environmental protection built into its constitution
Vanuatu has launched a campaign to seek an Advisory Opinion from the world’s highest court – the International Court of Justice – on the issue of climate change and human rights.
Weller on potential of tort law for victims of climate change: “in a nutshell, causation and breach of duty cannot be established.”
Whitman: Not clear how PTD model applies to air - very different from using PTD to influence state resource management decisions
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Headings - Extracted Materials
E - Law and Policy by Geography
Extracted Graphics | Extracted Ideas