Global Perspectives on Corporate Climate Legal Tactics
Research project examining the unique aspects of climate litigation across the corporate world leading to the production of a toolbox for the effective implementation of climate law.
The project analyses and compares best practices from 17 jurisdictions and will provide recommendations to relevant stakeholders in order to facilitate continuous improvement in the implementation of climate change law. The Toolbox will contain an inventory of substantive and procedural provisions relevant to climate change cases, to be used as legal models by policymakers and legal practitioners. It will also act as an authoritative reference point for judges and other adjudicators, leading to more consistent and informed climate change litigation decisions. Ultimately, the project will support and quicken global carbon reduction and the transition to net zero.
Research in the first phase of the project is focused on the following jurisdictions:
Australia Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Kenya Netherlands Nigeria Norway Philippines Poland United Kingdom United States
Follow the links above to see the breadth and range of the expertise within our International Expert Group. This community currently consists of more than 180 members who give their time pro bono.
Toolbox for Corporate Climate Litigation
On 27 March 2024 BIICL launched its Global Toolbox on Corporate Climate Litigation.
The Rt Hon the Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, Arbitrator, One Essex Court, President of BIICL, and former President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, introduced the event and the concept of the Toolbox and Prof David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment spoke about the usefulness of the research and tools.
The event involved short presentations from rapporteurs and members of our Core Group. The presentations can be accessed via our Corporate Climate Litigation Platform Launch Event page.
Climate Change+4National Conferences and Regional Summits
The project researchers and rapporteurs are working together to plan and organise 5 regional summits,
There will also be 17 national conference. Where the rapporteur is hosting both the national conference and the regional summit, the events will be combined. The national conferences will inform and train local users on how to best implement the research and guidelines presented in the Toolbox.
The UK national conference took place on 27 March at the LSE.
Summits
- Asia Summit and Philippines National Conference: University of the Philippines College of Law, Manila, June 2024
- Africa Summit and Kenya National Conference: Nairobi, 20-21 June 2024
- Americas Summit and Brazil National Conference: Brasilia, 29-30 October 2024
- Europe Summit and France National Conference: Aix Marseille University, 30 September - 1 October 2024
- Oceania Summit and Australia National Conference: Melbourne University, 6 August 2024.
Conferences
- Nigeria: Zoom, 2 May 2024
- China: 4 May 2024
- Netherlands: Utrecht University, May 2024
- Germany: Lausanne University, 21 May 2024
- Poland: Lausanne University, 22 May 2024
- India: Nirma University Law School, 1 June 2024
- Japan: Zoom, 15 June 2024
- Italy: ADVANT Nctm Milan, 11 September 2024
- Norway: Oslo University Faculty of Law, 20 September 2024
- Canada: Osgoode Hall Law School, Vancouver, 15 October 2024
- USA: Zoom, 11 November 2024
BIICL's Corporate Climate Litigation Platform
A Corporate Climate Litigation Platform is in development. It consists of 3 elements:
- a Toolbox of reports and resources to facilitate litigation planning;
- an AI-powered comparative database;
- a library of climate litigation resources.
The National Reports are published in the Toolbox and are available to download.
If you would like to have your work on corporate climate litigation referenced in our platform, please complete and submit this Google form.
The Project
More than 2000 climate change litigation cases have been filed globally. Whilst the majority of these cases have been filed against States, climate change-related cases have also been filed against private actors, mostly fossil fuel and cement companies, major greenhouse gas emitters. Whilst there is a growing body of work analysing climate litigation from a comparative perspective, analysis of the peculiarities of cases involving corporate players has yet to receive the same rigorous analysis as those cases against states.
Our project, Global Perspectives on Corporate Climate Legal Tactics will provide a repository of the most effective best practices worldwide in terms of substantive and procedural legal tools. It will offer a legal Toolbox for national and international legislators, and an inspiration for corporate actors to raise their climate-related ambitions.
The project team and its network of rapporteurs representing 17 jurisdictions are mapping and creating a comparative analysis of existing cases. They are analysing the causes of actions, procedures, and remedies used.
The project is forward-looking, identifying possible arguments and legal tools to tackle climate change through litigation involving companies. It is developing legal models to be incorporated into domestic legislation, regulation, contracts and international treaties. Combined, this will help litigation planning whilst allowing corporate actors to make positive changes to mitigate their litigation risk and contribute to combatting climate change.
Research team: Dr Ivano Alogna (Project Lead), Prof Duncan Fairgrieve, Dr Jean-Pierre Gauci, Dr Irene Pietropaoli, Alina Holzhausen, Aditi Shetye, and Anthony Wenton, British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL).
The research team is supported by a Core Group of experts in corporate climate litigation and related areas, from around the world. These experts are drawn from academia, science, and legal practice.
Tackling Climate Change Through Private Law: Comparative Insights and Prospects
On Wednesday 31 January Dr Alogna and Nigel Pleming will convened a webinar on climate change law, comparing relevant examples from France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.
Four of our national rapporteurs took part in discussions:
Dr Kim Bouwer, Assistant Professor, Durham University Law School
Prof Elbert de Jong, Professor of Law, Economics and Governance, Utrecht University School of Law
Prof Mathilde Hautereau-Boutonnet, Professor of Private Law and Researcher in Environmental Law, Aix-Marseille University, and BIICL Visiting Research Fellow
Dr Sophia Schwemmer, Researcher, Institute for Foreign and International Private and Business Law, University of Heidelberg
