UN 
Since 2015, the number of climate lawsuits filed against companies around the world has skyrocketed, with the majority of cases ending in favor of plaintiffs, according to a new report.
The London School of Economics Grantham Research Institute for Climate Change and the Environment released its sixth report, “Global Trends in Climate Litigation: 2024 Outlook.”
The report’s analysis used a dataset of 2,666 climate lawsuits compiled by Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center on Climate Change. About 70 percent of these lawsuits have been filed since 2015, when the Paris Agreement was adopted, and 233 of them were filed last year.
According to the report, 230 climate-related lawsuits have been filed against companies and trade associations since 2015. More than two-thirds of the lawsuits were filed after 2020.
While historically the majority of climate-related lawsuits have been filed against governments, the number of lawsuits filed against companies has been growing rapidly.
In the United States, where the number of climate change lawsuits is highest, 15 percent of these lawsuits were filed against corporations, compared to 40 percent in the rest of the world.
Last year, 129 climate lawsuits were filed in the United States, 24 in the United Kingdom, 10 in Brazil, 7 in Germany and 6 in Australia.
- Polluter pays lawsuits on the rise
Last year, more than 30 “polluter pays” lawsuits were filed around the world to hold companies accountable for their emissions and climate damage.
The report’s authors identified 6 “turn off the taps” lawsuits, which challenge the flow of funds to projects and activities that are not consistent with climate action. However, 33 such lawsuits filed since 2015 have been lost.
In addition to the increase in climate litigation against corporations, the report also found that litigation has spread to new countries. In the Global South, which is made up of developing countries, climate lawsuits accounted for 8 percent of all lawsuits. (AA)
