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 effort to track how litigation is shaping the global response to the climate crisis. The report analyzes pending cases, decisions, and trends in the 2023-25 period based on The Climate Litigation Database maintained by the Sabin Center.

A Growing Field of Climate Litigation

Climate litigation—defined as cases that raise material issues of law or fact relating to climate change mitigation, adaptation, or science—has expanded dramatically since the first cases in the 1980s.

• As of June 2025, 3,099 cases had been filed in 55 jurisdictions and before 24 international or regional bodies. 
• The United States remains the most active jurisdiction (1,986 cases), but there is significant growth in other regions, including the Global South, where 305 cases are now recorded. 
• Five countries—the USA, Australia, Brazil, the UK, and Germany—have more than 51 cases each.

Landmark International Developments (2023–2025)

Courts and tribunals worldwide have issued historic rulings and advisory opinions clarifying states’ climate obligations:

• European Court of Human Rights (2024): In a contentious case, the Court held that insufficient climate action can constitute a violation of the right to respect for private and family life. It required states to adopt binding emissions reduction targets consistent with science, establishing a human rights-based duty to mitigate climate change.
• International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (2024): Confirmed that greenhouse gases constitute marine pollution under the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea and imposed clear due diligence obligations on states.
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights (2025): Affirmed that the right to a healthy environment is protected under the American Convention on Human Rights and recognized rights of nature.
• International Court of Justice (2025): Declared that states have binding obligations under international law, including human rights law, to prevent climate harm, regulate emissions, and support vulnerable nations.

In addition, this year, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights received a petition from the Pan African Lawyers Union, asking the Court to define the human rights obligations of African states in the context of climate change.

Diverse Domestic and Corporate Cases

Beyond international rulings, litigation is diversifying domestically:

• Cases against governments focus on enforcing climate commitments, climate rights, keeping fossil fuels in the ground, and addressing climate migration.
• Cases against corporations address liability for damages, greenwashing, climate-related financial disclosures, and the role of financial institutions in climate-related matters.
• Backlash litigation is on the rise, including cases brought to weaken climate measures, and Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) aimed at silencing individuals or NGOs involved in opposition to fossil fuels or other high-emitting projects.

Emerging Lessons from the 2025 Report

The report identifies several key takeaways:

• Courts as accelerators: Judgments are holding governments accountable and deterring backsliding.
  
• Human rights framing: Increasingly central in arguments and decisions, with growing recognition of the right to a healthy environment.
  
• Attribution science: Strengthening claims against states and corporations by linking emissions to specific harms.
  
• Strategic impact: Even before final rulings, lawsuits can unblock administrative inertia, push legislative reform, and reshape public debates.
  
• Limits and challenges: Procedural barriers, the need for individualized harm, and weak enforcement frameworks remain obstacles to realizing the full impact of litigation.
  

Building on a Decade of Tracking

This 2025 report consolidates the UNEP and the Sabin Center’s long-running survey of climate litigation and provides a comprehensive review of the period from 2023 to 2025. Collectively, these reports document how courts have become a central arena for defining obligations, addressing harms, and shaping the ambition of climate action worldwide.

Read the full 2025 report here: Global Climate Litigation Report 2025: Status Review