Climate science in the courts: trends and new frontiers

Climate litigation is a tool used to challenge the ambition, implementation and integrity of climate action by states and corporations in regional and national courts. Since 1986, almost 3000 climate litigation cases have been recorded across 60 countries (Setzer and Higham, 2025).

Climate science – and climate scientists – can provide crucial evidentiary support in litigation. Courts rely on scientific evidence to provide a clear explanation of how emissions translate to global warming, the compatibility of individual actions with global goals, and assessments of consensus, confidence, likelihood and risk.

2025 was a milestone year for the alignment of climate science and international law, with the International Court of Justice in its Advisory Opinion affirming 1.5^oC as the relevant legal threshold. Given that the remaining global carbon budget for 1.5^oC is almost exhausted, there will be a pressing need for scientific research to explore how government action can be tracked and verified to be compatible with the Paris Agreement and human rights obligations.

This presentation will highlight the current deployment of science in climate cases against governments and explore new frontiers and research gaps in ongoing cases.

 

References

Setzer, J. and Higham, C., 2025, Global trends in climate change litigation: 2025 snapshot, Grantham Research Institute, LSE, doi:10.21953/LSE.LH46LE9Y8SGI.