Global Trends in Climate Litigation 2025 Snapshot Report Launch

Join us for the launch of the Grantham Research Institute’s Global Trends in Climate Change Litigation 2025 Snapshot Report– now in its seventh year. This influential report provides an annual overview of key developments in climate litigation worldwide and identifies emerging trends shaping the future of climate law and governance.

This year’s report marks a decade since the landmark rulings in Urgenda Foundation v State of the Netherlands and Leghari v Federation of Pakistan. These cases pioneered the ‘rights-turn’ in climate litigation. Ten years on, the field has matured and diversified. In this edition, we expand our typology of case strategies to examine trends in cases heard by Supreme Courts and their equivalents, offering new insights into litigation outcomes at the highest judicial levels.

The 2025 Snapshot also examines major developments from 2024 and early 2025, including:

*Emerging trends in litigation under Trump: The re-election of Donald Trump at the end of 2024 has already reshaped the US climate litigation landscape. Executive Orders issued in early 2025 have stalled renewable energy funding under the Inflation Reduction Act, triggering a wave of legal challenges. Meanwhile, in Europe and other regions, proposed rollbacks of corporate sustainability regulations are expected to alter patterns of corporate climate litigation.

*Developments in international cases: In April 2024, the European Court of Human Rights handed down its decision in KlimaSeniorinnen v Switzerland, recognising failures in Switzerland’s climate regulation as human rights violations. In May, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea issued a landmark Advisory Opinion affirming that anthropogenic GHG emissions qualify as marine pollution, imposing clear obligations on State Parties under UNCLOS. The report explores the early signs of how these judgments are being implemented.

*Responsibility for scope 3 emissions: In June 2024, the UK Supreme Court ruled that planning approvals for new oil production must account for Scope 3 emissions, setting a major precedent for fossil fuel project assessments. Meanwhile, the Dutch appellate court overturned parts of the earlier decision against Shell in Milieudefensie et al. v. Royal Dutch Shellyet reaffirmed that corporations have a duty of care to mitigate dangerous climate change – highlighting ongoing debates around corporate responsibility for value-chain emissions.

Event Format:

The event will be chaired by Professor Larry Kramer, President and Vice Chancellor of the LSE, and will begin with a short presentation from author Joana Setzer on the findings of the Grantham Research Institute’s 2025 Global Trends in Climate Change Litigation Snapshot Report. A distinguished panel of experts in climate change law will then provide reflections on the report, focusing on developments in key jurisdictions including the US, Brazil, Australia and East Asia, and the International Court of Justice.

This event will be followed by a drinks reception.

Chair:

Professor Larry Kramer, President and Vice Chancellor of the LSE. He previously served as the President of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and as the Dean of Stanford Law School.

Report author:

Dr. Joana Setzer, Associate Professorial Research Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. She leads the Climate Change Laws of the World project.

Panellists:

Danielle de Andrade Moreira is an Associate Professor of Law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), where she directs the Law, Environment, and Justice in the Anthropocene (JUMA) research group. She leads a research initiative monitoring climate litigation developments across Brazil and coordinates the Brazilian Climate Litigation Platform.

Professor Michael Gerrard, Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia Law School and Faculty Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

Professor Jacqueline Peel, Professor of Law and the Director of Melbourne Climate Futures at the University of Melbourne.

Kate Cook is a Barrister at Matrix Chambers, specialising in environmental, public international, and human rights law. She has appeared before the ICJ and other international tribunals on environmental and climate matters.