1. Causes of Action

3. RELEVANT DEFINITIONS AND ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS

Consumer Protection Laws are legislative measures designed to protect the welfare of consumers and ensure fair trade from businesses to the consumer. They prevent businesses from engaging in fraud or specified unfair practices to gain an advantage over competitors or to deceive consumers. The essential elements for bringing climate claims are legislative or constitutional legislations that protect the rights of consumers. The use of consumer protection laws in climate litigation revolves around their use to combat greenwashing and enforce accountability for misleading environmental claims. These laws vary across jurisdictions, for instance, European countries have incorporated the European Directive within the provisions of their respective Civil Codes (Netherlands, Poland) or have specific consumer protection laws (e.g. France, Germany, Norway). Australia, Brazil, India, Nigeria, China, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States rely on specific consumer protection legislation, while Kenya has provisions in its Constitution. Barring challenges such as jurisdictional disputes (discussed below) and the absence of specific domestic provisions (e.g. China or Nigeria), consumer protection laws have been utilised to bring climate change claims or potentially can be used to bring climate change claims before courts.

Definitions and Examples of Legislative Frameworks:

1. In Australia, the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and the Corporations Act are pivotal in regulating consumer protection, with agencies like the ACCC actively combatting greenwashing through oversight and legal action against misleading environmental claims.
2. Brazil's Consumer Defense Code stipulates the right to clear information about products and services and protects against misleading and abusive advertising. It includes stringent measures against false or misleading advertising and imposes penalties for non-compliance.
3. The European Union employs the Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices to ensure fair consumer practices across member states, setting criteria for penalties and enforcement mechanisms.
4. Canada has federal consumer protection legislation that includes provisions that could be used in cases of negligence, misrepresentation, and fraud related to environmental concerns​​.
5. China's Civil Procedure Law allows for actions against activities harming the public interest, including environmental pollution and violations of consumer rights.
6. France uses its Consumer Code to take action against companies that mislead consumers about environmental commitments, as evidenced by the case against Total for its advertising campaigns.
7. In Germany, the Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG) is the foundation for consumer protection and has been utilised in actions against greenwashing.
8. Japan allows certified consumer organisations to seek injunctions against illegal acts by business operators and claim damages for victims.
9. The Netherlands offers a robust framework for addressing deceptive greenwashing practices through the European Directive on unfair commercial practices integrated into Dutch law.
10. Norway enforces the Act on Control of Products and Consumer Services, which, among other things, promotes effective energy use in products to prevent environmental disturbance​​.
11. The United States employs various state consumer protection and consumer fraud laws. Cases like those brought under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act showcase the use of consumer laws to litigate against companies for climate change impacts and misleading information.

Essential Elements for Legal Action Against Greenwashing:

1. Statutory Basis: Identifying the specific laws applicable to consumer protection and greenwashing within each jurisdiction.
2. Agency Oversight: Noting the role and actions of consumer protection agencies, which are instrumental in enforcing laws and bringing legal action against non-compliant companies.
3. Legal Precedents: Citing landmark cases where consumer laws have been applied to address environmental misrepresentation and greenwashing.
4. Consumer Rights and Business Obligations: Highlighting the balance of rights and obligations set forth in the legal frameworks, where consumers have the right to truthful information, and businesses are obligated not to engage in misleading practices.
5. Enforcement Mechanisms and Remedies: Detailing the enforcement mechanisms in place for addressing violations, including penalties, corrective advertising, and, in some cases, criminal liability for severe infringements.
6. Collective Actions and Non-Conformity: Examining the provision for collective redress and the application of non-conformity arguments, especially concerning contractual relationships and sustainability claims.
7. Burden of Proof: Assessing the burden of proof placed on advertisers and businesses to substantiate their environmental claims, which is crucial in legal proceedings.

The components that provide a framework for bringing a climate change case against corporations under consumer protection laws are as follows:

1. Misleading Environmental Claims: The claimant must establish that the corporation made misleading or false claims about the environmental impact of its products or services. This could include greenwashing, where a company overstates its environmental credentials.
2. Violation of Consumer Rights: The claimant must demonstrate that these misleading claims violated their rights as a consumer. This could be based on specific consumer protection legislation in their jurisdiction, which generally protects consumers from deceptive or unfair practices.
3. Link to Climate Change: The claimant must establish a link between the corporation's actions or inactions and climate change. This could involve demonstrating that the corporation's activities contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, or that they failed to take necessary action to mitigate their environmental impact.
4. Harm to the Consumer: Finally, the claimant must show that they suffered harm as a result of the corporation's misleading claims. This could include financial harm (e.g., if they paid a premium for a product based on false environmental claims) or non-economic harm (e.g., if they suffered distress or anxiety as a result of the corporation's contribution to climate change).