climate litigation

56 posts

Computer screen with image of the new Climate Litigation Database website

Relaunching the Climate Litigation Database: Tracking the Law in a New Era

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 […]

Defining Success in Climate Litigation: Lessons from the KlimaSeniorinnen Judgment

The legal landscape for climate action is undergoing a paradigmatic shift. Whereas the primary focus was once on treaty negotiations and diplomacy, climate advocates are now increasingly turning to the courts. Yet as more rulings are handed down in favor of plaintiffs, important questions arise. Are these decisions driving meaningful […]

Sabin Center Files Amicus Brief to Support States and Local Governments in Federal Funding Freeze Case

Last Friday, July 25, the Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) in support of the Plaintiff States in the case New York v. Trump. The case, brought by twenty-two states and the District of Columbia in the U.S. District Court for […]

Protecting Rights in the Anthropocene: How the Inter‑American Court’s Right to a Healthy Climate Pushes the Boundaries of Human Rights Law

On July 3, 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) issued its long-awaited Advisory Opinion No. 32 (AO-32/25) on the “Climate Emergency and Human Rights” (the official English translation can be found here; for an overview of the decision’s key elements, see here). A broad group of States, communities, […]

Addressing Accountability in the IACtHR’s Advisory Opinion: The Question of Reparation and Loss and Damage 

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), […]

A Differentiated Path Forward: The Inter-American Court’s Advisory Opinion on Climate Change and Human Mobility Rights

Within hours of the publication of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ (IACtHR) Advisory Opinion OC-32/25 on the “Climate Emergency and Human Rights” (AO-32/25), the international human rights community erupted with acclaim. Academics and human rights advocates swiftly characterized the opinion as “historic”, a “landmark decision”,  with one colleague declaring […]

Examining the Remarkable Rise of Ultra Vires Claims Against the Executive Branch

Since 2016, presidents and their administrations have increasingly drawn lawsuits arguing that they are overstepping their authority. In these ultra vires claims, litigants contend that presidential actions—including, for example, executive orders, proclamations, or memoranda, as well actions by executive agencies done at the President’s behest—exceed the scope of the authority […]

The End of Nationwide Injunctions for Federal Funding Award Terminations

On Friday, June 27, the Supreme Court’s term closed and the Court handed down its final opinions, including in a case called Trump v. CASA. The CASA plaintiffs challenged President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship, but the Court’s decision – which made no substantive holdings about citizenship or immigration […]