Climate Litigation

Lecture delivered at Peking University Institute of International Law on 23 September 2021. This presentation reflects critically on the actual and potential influence of climate litigation on the way the “who should do what” question in managing climate change risks is addressed, with a focus on climate litigation undertaken in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a particularly interesting case study, because legal proceedings have been initiated, first against a State, and then also against a multinational corporation. A foundation called Urgenda initiated proceedings against the State of the Netherlands; followed by Milieudefensie (“Friends of the Earth Netherlands”) initiating proceedings against a multinational corporation headquartered in the Netherlands, i.e., Shell. The Urgenda proceedings have been concluded, the Shell-proceedings have only just begun, with a first ruling at District level on 26 May 2021.