Global trends in climate litigation

This event marks the launch of the Grantham Research Institute’s Global Trends in Climate Change Litigation 2026 Snapshot report, an annual report now in its eighth year. The report presents an overview of the expansion, complexity, and maturity in the global field of climate litigation.

We examine the way in which the field continues to expand, encompassing cases in new geographies and cases involving an increasingly diverse array of actors. We also examine the way climate cases can create a “ripple effect” that impacts the activities of both companies and regulators.

We consider the way in which the field has evolved to become more complex as the transition picks up pace, impacting corporate actors, but also communities and ecosystems. We examine the use of litigation that challenges climate policy and climate projects, situating developments in the courts alongside regulatory rollbacks and political backlash.

We identify signs that the field of climate litigation is rapidly maturing. States obligations to act on climate change are increasingly clear. While corporate obligations are less certain, several recent decisions on admissibility can be seen as building blocks towards emergent norms of transnational corporate accountability.

The event will begin with a short presentation from the report’s authors. A panel of experts in climate change law will then provide their reflections.

Meet our speakers and chair

Maria Antonia Tigre is the Director of Global Climate Change Litigation at the Sabin Center. She manages the Sabin Center's Global Climate Change Litigation Database with the support of the Sabin Center's Peer Review Network of Climate Litigation. Maria Antonia is a leading expert in the field of climate change law and climate litigation, having published dozens of articles on the topic. She also co-heads the Sabin Center and GNHRE's project on Climate Litigation in the Global South. Her research particularly focuses on rights-based climate litigation, climate litigation in the Global South, and international advisory opinions on climate change.

Catherine Higham is a Senior Policy Fellow at at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, at LSE. Catherine Co-leads the Climate Change Laws of the World project – the most comprehensive global resource on climate legislation and policy and co-authors the Global Trends in Climate Litigation Snapshot Report series.

Michael Lerner is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Policy in the Department of Government. Michael studies comparative environmental politics with a broad interest in the challenges and strategies related to adopting timely policy responses to environmental change. His research focuses on policy advocacy, including corporate lobbying on climate change, transnational advocacy networks and the innovation and diffusion of environmental policy.

Ruchi Parekh has a broad public law practice with expertise in planning and environment, information, local government and election law. She has acted in several leading climate cases in the UK. Ruchi was named Planning and Land Use Junior of the Year 2025 and featured in The Planner’s Women of Influence 2023. She was listed in the 2023 ENDS Report Power List and shortlisted in the Diversity and Inclusion: Future Leader category. She has an LLM from Harvard and an LLB from LSE.

Joana Setzer is an Associate Professorial Research Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, at LSE. Dr Setzer is also the Co-lead of the Mobilizing political, legal and governance systems theme of LSE’s new Global School of Sustainability and the lead author of the Global Trends in Climate Litigation Snapshot Report series.

Jonathan Pershing is the inaugural Dean of the Global School of Sustainability at LSE. Dr Pershing has extensive experience at the highest level of US climate policy and has played a key role in creating international climate agreements. He has held significant positions in the US Department of State — including as the US Special Envoy for Climate Change — and at the US Department of Energy, as well as leadership roles in the World Resources Institute and the International Energy Agency.

More about this event

Join us on campus or register to watch the event online at LSE Live. LSE Live is the home for our live streams, allowing you to tune in and join the global debate at LSE, wherever you are in the world. If you can't attend live, a video will be made available shortly afterwards on LSE's YouTube channel.

The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment was established by LSE in 2008 to create a world-leading multidisciplinary centre for policy-relevant research and training on climate change and the environment, bringing together international expertise from across LSE and beyond, including on economics, finance, geography, the environment, science, law, international relations, development and political science.

Launched in 2025, the Global School of Sustainability at LSE (GSoS) is the centre of social science expertise for sustainability impact at LSE. We work in partnerships across the LSE community and beyond to advance pioneering sustainability research and global policy engagement.

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