Posted on 26 December 2020 by John Hartz

Editor's Choice

2020 Was a Busy Year for Taking the Climate Fight to the Courts

U.S. Supreme Court Building 

This year — with its converging crises, from the coronavirus pandemic to longstanding racial injustice to climate-related disasters — was also a remarkably active time for climate litigation. All around the world, communities, organizations, and especially young people turned to the courts in 2020 in strategic attempts to hold governments and polluting companies accountable for exacerbating the unfolding climate emergency.

In particular, this year saw a notable uptick in climate accountability litigation with multiple new cases filed in the U.S. and internationally.

“This extremely challenging year has made clear that people and the planet must come first,” Kristin Casper, general counsel with Greenpeace International, told DeSmog in an emailed statement. “Many are taking action to make it a reality by bringing their demands for climate justice to the courts.”

“We’re seeing climate litigation spring up all over the world. Advocates in many countries are finding it a very useful tactic,” said Michael Gerrard, environmental law professor at Columbia Law School and founder and faculty director of Columbia’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

Over the years there have been more than 1,500 climate-related cases in 37 countries, according to a report on climate litigation trends released this summer. And a new wave of cases in recent years has made it clear that courts are emerging as a critical battleground in the climate fight.

Click here to access the entire article as originally published on the DeSmog website. 

2020 Was a Busy Year for Taking the Climate Fight to the Courts by Dana Drugmond, DeSmog, Dec 21, 2020

Articles Linked to on Facebook

Sun, Dec 20, 2020

• Historic Picks for EPA, Interior Complete Biden Climate Team by Scott Waldman & Jean Chemnick, E&E News/Scientific American, Dec 19, 2020
• Exxon Pledges to Reduce Emissions, but the Details Suggest Nothing Has Changed by Nicholas Kusnetz, InsideClimate News, Dec 15, 2020
• Trump's toilet obsession is a metaphor for years of flushing climate progress down the drain, Opinion by Michael E Mann, NBC News, Dec 19, 2020
• Scientific studies established clear links between human-caused increased in atmospheric CO2 and global warming, Edited by Nikki Forrester, Climate Review, Dec 18, 2020

Mon, Dec 21, 2020

• The world’s largest iceberg is headed for South Georgia Island—and its wildlife by Sarah Gibbens, Environment, National Geographic, Dec 17, 2020
• As oil prices languish, Alberta sees its future in a 'coal rush' by Jeff Gailus, Environment, The Guardian, Dec 15, 2020
• Climate Change Legislation Included in Coronavirus Relief Deal by Coral Davenport, Climate & Environment, New York Times, Dec 21, 2020
• How Russia Wins the Climate Crises by Abram Lustgarten New York Times Magazine, Dec 20, 2020

Tue, Dec 22, 2020

• The Paris agreement is five years old. Is it working? by Lili Pike, Vox, Dec 16, 2020
• GE Released a Manifesto for Climate Change. It Involves Hydrogen. by Al Root, Barron's, Dec 15, 2020
• More CO2 in the atmosphere hurts key plants and crops more than it helps by Karen Kirk, Article, Yale Climate Connections, Dec 13, 2020
• 5 Climate Change Lessons from 2020 by Kristina Dahl, Blogs, Union of Concerned Scientists, Dec 18, 2020

Wed, Dec 23, 2020

• 10 ways Biden should fix the EPA by Marianne Sullivan & Christopher Sellers, Vox, Dec 18, 2020
• Rethinking stimulus: How Covid economic recovery can help battle climate change by Emma Newburger, Environment, CNBC, Dec 33, 3020
• Climate crisis: I used to mull when to have children. Now I ask if I should I have them., Opinion by Dr. Neelu Tummala, USA Today, Dec 22, 2020
• The top 10 weather and climate events of a record-setting year by Dr. Jeff Masters & Dana Nuccitelli, Article, Yale Climate Connections, Dec 21, 2020

Thu, Dec 24, 2020

• A Bold Request As Climate Change Ravages The Arctic by Marshall Shepherd, Science, Forbes, Dec 23, 2020
• How human activity threatens the world’s carbon-rich peatlands, Guest Post by Prof. Angela Gallego-Sala & Dr. Julie Loisel, Carbon Brief, Dec 21, 2020
• How much will it cost to slow climate change?' by Sara Peach, Ask Sara, Yale Climate Connections, Dec 14, 2020
• The U.S. can get to net-zero emissions by 2050. Here’s how by Adele Peters, World Changing Ideas, Fast Company, Dec 23, 2020

Fri, Dec 25, 2020

• Global warming is real, so why is it cold outside? by Tiffany Means, Climate Explained, Articles, Yale Climate Connections, Dec 25, 2020
• Japan to lay out 'green' growth strategy to meet Suga's net-zero emissions goal - Nikkei by Leika Kihara, Reuters, Dec 24, 2020
• Did the pandemic stave off climate change? Here's what the science says by Matthew Rosza, Salon, Dec 23, 2020
• 6 reasons 2020 wasn’t as bad for climate change as you thought by Emily Pontecorvo & Zoya Teirstein, Climate, Grist, Dec 23, 2020

Sat, Dec 26, 2020

• Sea-level rise from climate change could exceed the high-end projections, scientists warn by Jeff Berardelli, CBS News, Dec 23, 2020
• 2020 Was a Busy Year for Taking the Climate Fight to the Courts by Dana Drugmond, DeSmog, Dec 21, 2020
• China’s green gambit and climate change, Opinion by Minxin Pei, Japan Times, Dec 25, 2020
• Battling America’s ‘dirty secret’ by Sarah Kaplan, Climate Solutions, Washington Post, Dec 17, 2020