A group of property owners around the Muskoka Lakes in Canada brought a claim against the government ministry that was responsible for managing the water levels of the lakes. Since 2010, due to climate change, the property owners’ lands began to be severely affected by flooding of the lakes. They argued that the Ministry had […]
Content type: Resource Bank
Data type: Legal citations,
Legal Topic: Climate change,
A group of indigenous people from the low-lying islands off the coast of Australia are bringing a complaint against the Australian government. Their islands are under threat by rising sea levels caused by climate change. Part of their argument is that the Australian government’s failure to take adaptation measures, such as building flood defences and […]
Content type: Resource Bank
Data type: Legal citations,
Legal Topic: Climate change,
In this case, the claimants were group of young people in Colombia who claimed that their rights were infringed by the Colombian government’s failure to do more about reducing climate change by reducing deforestation. The Colombian Supreme Court ordered government departments and ministries to prepare a plan within a specific timeframe to counteract the rate […]
Content type: Resource Bank
Data type: Legal citations,
Legal Topic: Climate change,
This is a very useful scientific analysis that tracks government climate action and measures it against the objectives of limiting global temperature rises to 1.5°C and 2°C. It provides information on a country-by-country basis on: The level of GHG emissions of different countries; The climate action governments have already taken (i.e. their current levels of […]
Content type: Resource Bank
Data type: Legal references,
Legal Topic: Climate change,
This is a mitigation claim thatis being brought against the government by a woman in rural Pakistan. She is arguing the government’s complete failure to reduce its GHG emissions and approve green energy initiatives violates her constitutional rights to life, dignity and a healthy environment.
Content type: Resource Bank
Data type: Legal citations,
Legal Topic: Climate change,
A group of youths argued that the US government’s failure to take appropriate mitigation measures violated the public trust because it demonstrates the government is not taking adequate steps to protect the natural resources of the State (which will be impacted by climate change). In 2016, the Oregon Federal Court denied a motion to dismiss […]
Content type: Resource Bank
Data type: Legal citations,
Legal Topic: Climate change,
A student from New Zealand challenged the government’s decision not to change their 2050 GHG emissions reduction target after the release of the IPCC’s AR5 report, which stated that tougher targets were needed to avoid dangerous climate change. The court ruled that an objective of New Zealand’s Climate Change Response Act 2002 is for New Zealand to […]
Content type: Resource Bank
Data type: Legal citations,
Legal Topic: Climate change,
In the UK, an environmental organisation brought a case against the government for failing to revise their 2050 mitigation target after the Paris Agreement. The government’s view was that the Paris Agreement’s reference to “pursuing efforts to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees” was only intended to strengthen efforts to limit temperature rises to […]
Content type: Resource Bank
Data type: Legal citations,
Legal Topic: Climate change,
This is a database of legal provisions in different countries that relate to climate change. You can find information on: Climate change legislation that exists in different countries; An assessment of the quality of climate change legislation in these countries; and Recommendations on best practice. You can use this database to find out whether there […]
Content type: Resource Bank
Data type: Legal research sources,
Legal Topic: Climate change,
In 2017, an advocacy group brought a case against the Irish government, arguing that the government’s National Mitigation Plan was unlawful and should be quashed, in part, because it violated Ireland’s Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015. In July 2020, the Supreme Court issued a ruling quashing the Plan. The Irish Climate Action […]
Content type: Resource Bank
Data type: Legal citations,
Legal Topic: Climate change,
