Climate litigation continues to rise in the US and abroad. The UNEP, in conjunction with the Columbia Law School Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, published their Climate Litigation Report 2025, the fourth in an ongoing annual series. The report found that climate litigation is alive and well across the globe:
“Climate litigation continues to show a steady expansion, both in the number of cases filed and the number of jurisdictions within which they have been brought. This number comprises 1,986 cases in the United States of America and 1,113 cases in all other jurisdictions combined, which includes 611 cases filed in countries in the Global North, 305 cases filed in countries in the Global South, and 216 cases filed before international or regional courts, tribunals, quasi-judicial bodies, or other adjudicatory bodies.”
These findings are consistent with similar research from the Grantham Research Institute that we wrote about back in July. The numbers for 2024 don’t quite reach the volume of cases we saw filed in 2021 at the height of new climate litigation. However, there is clear, continued interest and growth in climate litigation. With the federal government taking a hostile stance towards climate change policy, we will likely see more activity in the courts as plaintiffs challenge federal policy and push states to adopt more climate-friendly practices.
Our members can learn more about climate litigation here.
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