The effectiveness of climate change litigation
Chapter in Research Handbook on Climate Change Litigation
The idea that litigation is an effective tool for change is an important driver of legal action on climate change. Yet the effectiveness of climate litigation is underexplored. This chapter explores how to best conceptualise and assess whether climate litigation is effective. We consider effectiveness as a type of impact, distinct from broader concepts such as ‘outcomes’ or ‘results’. This chapter draws on literature which examines the impact of human rights litigation and strategic litigation for social change. While this literature offers a starting point through which the effectiveness of climate litigation can be examined, we suggest that some of the unique and contextual characteristics of climate litigation require a different approach. We propose a broad theoretical framework that can be readily adapted to assess the effectiveness of climate change legal cases or litigation campaigns. The framework can serve to develop baselines and/or assess progress across legal cases and jurisdictions and over time. This can allow stakeholders in climate change litigation to be clear about the change they are seeking through litigation, to develop better strategies and tactics and to reflect on lessons learned after a legal case.
Setzer, J., Silbert, N. and Vanhala, L. (2024). The Effectiveness of Climate Change Litigation. In Edward Elgar , edited by Francesco Sindico, Kate McKenzie, Gastón Medici-Colombo, Lennart Wegener. Edward Elgar.