Climate Litigation in the Context of Mitigation : An Evolving Jurisprudence

Climate litigation is a broad term that captures cases involving both conventional and novel causes of actions and remedies.This chapter focuses on cases seeking to force stronger actions by public and private entities to reduce carbon pollution of the atmosphere.The treatment is necessarily selective given the large number and variety of cases. The goal is to highlight major decisions from different countries and compare the ways the courts are exercising their power to compel corrective action. The chapter is organized into three sections. Section 1 discusses the role that climate science plays in this litigation. Section 2 evaluates the effect that these cases have had so far on advancing the goals of climate mitigation. Section 3 offers some thoughts on the future course of climate litigation in the context of mitigation