Global Trends in Climate Litigation 2023: report launch

Date:: 29 June 2023, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Speaker:: Laura Clarke, Sophie Marjanac, David Gaukrodger, Birsha Ohdedar, Maria Antonia Tigre, Catherine Higham, Joana Setzer, Laura Ford, Elizabeth Robinson
Venue:: Auditorium, Centre Building, LSE and online

Placards designed by Friends of the Earth displaying messages from young people about their hopes for the future, outside the High Court in London in June 2022 which was hearing the case R (oao Friends of the Earth et al.) v. Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy “Net Zero Challenge”. © Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland).

This event marks the launch of the Grantham Research Institute’s 2023 Global Trends in Climate Change Litigation report, an annual series now in its fifth year. This influential report presents an overview of climate litigation, highlighting recent developments and future trends. The report is widely read and cited by civil society organisations, policymakers, the legal community, judges, financiers, scholars and media all around the world.

Over the past year, the climate litigation field has seen novel case strategies deployed against a broad array of government and corporate actors. Notable examples in the private sector include a world-first case brought against Shell’s Board of Directors, as well as against a commercial bank. Three new cases have also been brought against Russia, Finland and Sweden, to challenge the inadequacy of their national climate plans more Increasingly a broad range of actors is compelled to understand how the litigation landscape is evolving and what risks litigation poses to their activities in the public and private spheres.

The event will be chaired by the Grantham Research Institute’s Director, Professor Elizabeth Robinson, and will begin with a short presentation from authors Joana Setzer and Catherine Higham on the findings of the 2023 Global Trends in Climate Change Litigation report. The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion, with four distinguished experts in the field: Birsha Ohdedar (SOAS), David Gaukrodger (OECD), Maria Antonia Tigre (Columbia Law School), and Sophie Marjanac (ClientEarth). Panellists will react to the report and draw out key aspects from their own experience in the field.

Speakers and chair

Prof. Elizabeth Robinson (@EJZRobinson66) is the Director of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

Dr. Joana Setzer (@JoanaSetzer) is an Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and leads the Climate Change Laws of the World project.

Catherine Higham (@CatherineHigha3) is a Policy Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and coordinates the Climate Change Laws of the World Project.

Dr. Birsha Ohdedar (@birsha_o) is a Lecturer in Climate Change and Environmental Law and the Deputy Director of the Law, Environment and Development Centre at SOAS, University of London.

David Gaukrodger is the Senior Legal Advisor at the OECD Investment Division.

Dr. Maria Antonia Tigre (@toniatigre) is the Global Climate Litigation Fellow at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School.

Sophie Marjanac (@SMarjanacCE) is the Climate Accountability Lead at ClientEarth.

Laura Ford is a partner at DLA Piper and leads the firm’s Corporate Crime, Investigations & Compliance practice in the UK.

How to attend

This public event is free and open to all. This event will be a hybrid event, with an in-person audience and an online audience.

For the in-person event: No ticket or pre-registration is required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis.

For the online event: Registration for this event will open after 10am on Thursday 8 June.

For any queries email events@lse.ac.uk.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEClimateLitigation