New data from the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science has found that some 226 new climate change litigation cases were filed in 2024, bringing the total number of global cases filed to nearly 3,000.
At the same time, political headwinds are ‘changing the landscape of climate litigation globally’, the institute noted, particularly in the United States, which is historically the country with the highest number of cases filed each year.
Some 164 climate cases were filed in the US in 2024.
Of the 226 cases filed globally last year, 60 were classified as involving an argument not aligned with climate goals, with many of these challenging government authority to pursue a proposed climate policy, or the ESG agenda of the corporate sector.
Global South
Climate litigation is also gaining pace in the Global South, which accounted for close to 60% of cases filed since 2020. Here, governments, regulatory agencies and public prosecutors are more active, with 56% of cases last year initiated by government bodies.
‘This signals a shift towards enforcement actions and cases seeking compensation for localised climate damages, such as from deforestation in Brazil,’ the institute said.
The number of cases reaching apex courts – such as supreme and constitutional courts – are also gaining pace, with some 276 cases reaching said courts between 2015 and 2024. 117 of these were in the US, while 159 were located in other countries.
Corporate cases
While governments remain the primary defendants, suits against corporations are gaining traction and show higher success rates. Around 20% of climate cases filed in 2024 targeted companies, or their directors and senior officers.
‘Highly anticipated decisions in corporate climate cases including Milieudefensie v. Shell and Lliuya v. RWE affirmed that companies have a duty to contribute to combatting climate change and in principle, they can be held liable for climate-related harm,’ the institute noted. ‘However, these cases faced legal evidentiary hurdles.’
The full report, Global trends in climate change litigation: 2025 snapshot, can be found here.
