Consumer protection and climate change
Forthcoming in Douglas Kysar & Ernest Lim (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Private Law (Oxford University Press 2026)
This Chapter explores the impact of climate-washing litigation on private law development, focusing on the Global South, where these cases remain underexplored. It provides a mapping of climate-washing claims and their outcomes, highlighting how they have predominantly emerged in the Global North, often framed within consumer protection laws. However, an emerging group of cases is addressing localised harms to communities. Our analysis centres on three Global South cases related to the voluntary carbon credit market. It argues that these cases broaden our understanding of climate-washing litigation beyond corporate narratives, showcasing its use in furthering climate justice agendas. It examines how legal arguments related to misrepresentation, due diligence failures, and contractual obligations intersect with broader public law frameworks, including human rights law. It also illustrates the challenges of fitting such disputes into conventional legal categories and the need for more integrated approaches that mediate between public and private law. This Chapter concludes by reflecting on how this may influence policy developments and help reshape transnational corporate accountability.
Chan, Tiffanie and Velez-Echeverri, Juliana and Setzer, Joana and Higham, Catherine, Consumer Protection and Climate Change (July 11, 2025). Forthcoming in Douglas Kysar & Ernest Lim (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Private Law (Oxford University Press 2026).