Climate change litigation continues to grow in importance year-on-year as a way of either advancing or delaying effective action on climate change. In 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognised the role of litigation in affecting “the outcome and ambition of climate governance”.

The latest edition of the Grantham Research Institute annual report on global trends in climate change litigation takes stock of developments over the period May 2021 to May 2022, and draws on a number of recent case studies from around the world. It also identifies areas where climate litigation cases are likely to increase in the future.

The goal in these reports is to help readers understand the ways in which the law is being used as a tool to advance a variety of often inconsistent climate-related agendas. Legal practitioners may use the law to advance climate action, or, less frequently, seek to challenge the way in which climate policy is designed or implemented or to deter policymakers from implementing more restrictive measures on private parties responsible for greenhouse gas emissions.