Last week the Sabin Center published a report that looks back on climate litigation developments in 2025. This third installment in our year-end series provides a snapshot of how the field of climate litigation has evolved over the course of this year. The report also revisits significant rulings from around […]
Maria Antonia Tigre
64 posts
Today, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School have released the Global Climate Litigation Report 2025: Status Review. This fourth edition of our joint survey builds on earlier reports published in 2017, 2020, and 2023, continuing our collaborative […]
When lawsuits first began to raise climate change issues in the late 1980s, the cases were rare and experimental, with litigants testing out ways to draw on the growing body of climate science to argue for legal obligations to address “the serious and imminent threat to our environment posed by […]
As the realities of climate change become increasingly dire, communities worldwide face devastating impacts, from rising sea levels to extreme weather events, disproportionately affecting those who have contributed the least to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this context, impacted individuals and communities are increasingly seeking recourse in international and regional […]
The International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s recent advisory opinion on climate change represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of international climate law. By affirming that States can incur legal responsibility for failing to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the ICJ brought long-standing principles of State responsibility into sharper focus […]
“An existential threat” – this is how the International Court of Justice (ICJ) characterized climate change in its long-awaited advisory opinion on the obligations of States with respect to climate change. In the most significant development in international climate law since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the ICJ outlined […]
On July 3, 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) delivered a historic advisory opinion regarding States’ obligations in relation to the climate crisis (AO-32/25). The IACtHR was particularly articulate in qualifying States’ obligations under the right to a healthy environment as having a jus cogens nature (paras. 287ff), […]
On July 3, 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) issued Advisory Opinion AO-32/25, its most wide-ranging and ambitious interpretation of State obligations in the context of the climate emergency to date. The opinion responds to a request submitted by Colombia and Chile, and is notable not only for […]