Climate litigation hit top courts worldwide in 2024

The latest edition of an annual report on climate litigation by the Grantham Research Institute has identified a noticeable broadening in the types of businesses being targeted, and that many cases are now reaching the highest courts.

In its 2025 snapshot (51 pages/ 7.4MB), researchers highlighted that although the volume of climate ligation cases continued to stabilise last year following a period of dynamic growth, the number of cases reaching apex courts is on the rise.

Between 2015 and 2024, 276 climate-related cases reached apex courts – such as supreme and constitutional courts – globally. Of that number, 117 were filed in the US. The report noted that more than 80% of the 276 cases involve government defendants, but that cases against corporate defendants appear to have a higher overall success rate.

“2024 was the year of the apex court, where we witnessed a maturing of climate-related litigation,” said Emilie Jones, a litigation expert at Pinsent Masons. “Cases are reaching top courts around the world and these are courts which have real power to shape climate governance.”

The report identified that at least 226 new climate cases were filed globally last year. Of these, around 20% were targeted at corporates or their directors and not just in those industries most commonly associated with climate litigation. Climate activists are taking aim at a host of sectors – including, for example, agriculture, food and textiles, retail, travel and leisure, and professional services – over their alleged role in facilitating emissions and contributions to climate-related harm. Since 2015, more than 250 “strategic” corporate litigation cases – cases which seek to influence behaviours – have been filed globally.

The report stated that highly anticipated decisions in corporate climate cases in the Netherlands and Germany last year have affirmed that companies have a duty to contribute to combatting climate change and that, in principle, in those jurisdictions, can be held liable for climate-related harm. Jones said it seems likely that other jurisdictions will take a similar approach. However, these cases also suggest that legal evidentiary hurdles, particularly around attribution, remain a challenge to activists.

Corporate defendants were identified in 14% of the 37 cases that appeared before apex courts by the end of 2024. More than half of those cases – 54% – resulted in what the report described as “enhanced climate outcomes”, suggesting such actions are having greater success than claims against states in the world’s highest courts.

The most common climate-related actions in 2024 challenged project approvals, citing failures to integrate climate considerations. Environmental litigation expert Jacqueline Harris said: “Although generally directed at public authority and state decision making, the impact and outcome of these cases bears heavily  on corporates, who have often invested significant time and resources into the planning of the relevant project. These issues are likely to remain a central feature of climate-related litigation for the foreseeable future.”

Climate-washing cases remain the most common strategy against corporates themselves and are assessed in the report to have a 60% success rate – 25 climate-washing cases were filed in 2024, bringing the total to just over 160 cases worldwide to date. The report highlighted that the high success rate of these actions against corporates “suggest that these cases remain effective tools for holding companies accountable,” but warned that “they also risk fuelling ‘greenhushing’ behaviours”, where companies deliberately reduce their sustainability messaging to avoid legal scrutiny.

Corporate framework cases, which challenge companies’ group-wide strategies, are also garnering greater attention. Four such cases were filed in 2024, bringing the total number of cases recorded globally to 25 between 2015 and 2024. “Although a small proportion of the total climate litigation caseload, this signals the growing challenges facing businesses’ corporate-wide strategies,” said Calum Atterbury of Pinsent Masons. “These actions may find more success as climate knowledge grows and can be better consolidated into evidence judges can more readily evaluate.”

The UK was third behind the US and Australia for the jurisdiction with the highest number of climate-related actions. As more sectors are exposed to climate-related claims, Jones said the report underscored the potential risks facing UK businesses. “Every in-house counsel, irrespective of their sector, should have awareness of the risks posed by the threat of climate litigation,” she said. “In some instances these risks may seem remote, but the potential for operational disruption and reputational harm, as well as possible financial consequences, is significant. It is essential to have the right advice early to properly plan and mitigate these risks in a business-specific manner.”