"Climate-change litigation is working — but it needs to speed up", 2 October 2024

The clock is running on climate change. But legal routes to justice for those affected must become quicker, cheaper, and more effective – and that’s exactly what our work at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) is pushing for. 

Europe is not spared from the effects of the climate crisis...

Against this backdrop, climate litigation – legal cases brought against governments and corporations on climate-related issues – is an increasingly important tool for communities and campaigners to confront the consequences of climate change...

What can be achieved through climate-related legal action is clear. Court cases can transform the legal and regulatory landscapes by identifying and enforcing obligations on governments and corporates around the world, and in galvanising communities to take further action.

One of the fundamental challenges facing climate litigation...[is that] legal processes are often too slow...

...[C]communities around the world that are impacted by climate change sometimes struggle with where to start with possible litigation...

We have spent the past few years focused on finding a solution: creating an accessible way for judges, litigators, general counsel and communities to identify the best route into corporate climate litigation.

The result is BIICL’s Global Toolbox on Corporate Climate Litigation, launched earlier this year...