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Court cases involving climate change are becoming increasingly important as global efforts to combat global warming slow down and national policy is subject to criticism. The surge in cases is a result of governments and corporations failing to act on climate change, according to Patrick Parenteau of the Vermont Law School.
The practical implications of court rulings and whether they can truly cut greenhouse gas emissions remain uncertain. In the U.S., cities, states, and citizens have pursued legal action to force governments and fossil fuel industries to take responsibility for causing global warming and enact new emissions curbs or provide compensation for climate change-related damage.
However, many of these lawsuits have been quashed on jurisdictional grounds or for other reasons. Two major developments in climate change-related legal battles have occurred recently. The International Court of Justice at the Hague has heard a case seeking an advisory opinion on the obligations of countries to combat global warming, while Montana Supreme Court backed a lower court’s decision that the state’s fossil fuel policies violated young people’s constitutional right to a clean environment.