{"id":27249,"date":"2025-09-25T07:00:33","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T12:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.law.columbia.edu\/climatechange\/?p=27249"},"modified":"2025-09-24T21:07:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T02:07:16","slug":"relaunching-the-climate-litigation-database-tracking-the-law-in-a-new-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.law.columbia.edu\/climatechange\/2025\/09\/25\/relaunching-the-climate-litigation-database-tracking-the-law-in-a-new-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Relaunching the Climate Litigation Database: Tracking the Law in a New Era"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 \u201cthe serious and imminent threat to our environment posed by a continuation of global warming.\u201d1<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0Four decades later, climate litigation has become a defining feature of the global response to the climate crisis. The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, marked a turning point. By establishing a near-universal framework for climate commitments, it provided courts and litigants with a concrete reference point. Since then, the number of climate cases has surged across jurisdictions, with litigants testing the extent to which governments and corporations must go to meet their obligations. In 2024 and 2025, the role of courts was underscored yet again by landmark advisory opinions from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the International Court of Justice\u2014all of which emphasize the central role of law in defining the climate responsibilities of states and corporations. The Sabin Center\u2019s Climate Litigation Databases\u2014which Sabin Center founder and faculty director Michael Gerrard first created in 2007\u2014have contributed in significant ways to defining the field of climate change litigation. Against this backdrop, we are proud to announce the relaunch of <\/span>The Climate Litigation Database<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Computer<\/a>A Trusted Resource, Reimagined<\/b><\/h2>\n

For more than 15 years, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School has tracked climate litigation through its U.S. and Global databases. These resources have become the backbone of research, advocacy, and policymaking in the field\u2014cited by scholars in leading journals, relied on by practitioners and NGOs in litigation strategies, used in courtrooms, and referenced by journalists, policymakers, and international organizations alike. They have helped users map trends, assess risks, and understand the evolving role of courts in addressing the climate crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, those databases come together as a single, unified platform: <\/span>The Climate Litigation Database<\/span><\/a>. This is not a new product but a renewed commitment: the same reliability, scope, and rigor that users trust\u2014now paired with new tools that make the data more powerful and accessible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Technology Meets Legal Insight<\/b><\/h2>\n

This relaunch is made possible through a partnership with <\/span>Climate Policy Radar<\/span><\/a>, a not-for-profit organization building open databases and research tools on climate law and policy. By applying advanced machine learning and natural language processing, CPR\u2019s technology allows users to:<\/span><\/p>\n