Court rules that state tort claims over greenhouse gas emissions are pre-empted by federal law and fail to state viable causes of action under Maryland law.
Court rules that state tort claims over greenhouse gas emissions are pre-empted by federal law and fail to state viable causes of action under Maryland law.
Germany’s Federal Court of Justice has ruled that private individuals cannot compel car manufacturers to end the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles ahead of the timetable set by EU law, dismissing climate litigation brought against BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Coalition of 25 state attorneys general argues that rescission breaches Clean Air Act and Administrative Procedure Act – in the third lawsuit to challenge the repeal.
Claim alleges US regulator unlawfully changed process for excluding resolutions from proxy materials, with implications for corporate governance and ESG engagement.
Tournai Commercial Court finds farmer-led lawsuit admissible and pauses proceedings pending outcome of related Paris duty of vigilance case due in June.
The United Kingdom’s government-backed OECD complaints body will offer mediation over claims the airline misled the public on emissions reduction and fuel efficiency – but declined to take forward separate allegations relating to carbon credits and sustainable aviation fuel.
Standards for new gas-fired turbines face legal challenge in Washington, DC court, with claims that the agency unlawfully weakened limits and abandoned consideration of public health benefits.
Follow This says the proposal backed by institutional investors managing more than €1 trillion in assets was validly filed, while the oil major says the resolution did not meet legal requirements under the UK Companies Act.
The Federal Court of Australia’s decision in ACCR v Santos highlights the evidential and governance standards companies will need to support forward-looking net-zero and transition pathway statements. With analysis by Paul Schoff, partner at MinterEllison, Sydney.
A 24-state letter asks the transportation, energy and war departments to examine whether the National Academies should be suspended or debarred from federal funding over an allegedly biased section in a manual used by judges.
Federal complaint argues state vehicle emissions regulations effectively impose fuel economy standards reserved to national regulators under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.
If the US Environmental Protection Agency abandons its authority to regulate greenhouse gases, the legal foundation that displaced common-law climate lawsuits may collapse – potentially triggering new litigation against energy companies, writes Sambhav Sankar, senior vice president for programmes at Earthjustice.
The filing argues that overturning the agency’s rule could revive vehicle emissions standards and other climate regulations tied to the 2009 determination under the Clean Air Act.
A federal judge has paused a Washington state climate lawsuit brought by homeowners against a group of oil and gas companies while the US Supreme Court considers a separate case that could determine whether such claims can proceed under state law.
In a complaint brought by Cohen & Milstein and ClientEarth, a former employee alleges the global property services firm failed to assess climate-related financial risks affecting workers’ 401(k) investments.
Judgment confirms that states which join the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes Convention cannot invoke sovereign immunity to block recognition of investor-state arbitration awards in UK courts.
Environmental campaigners Deutsche Umwelthilfe are appealing lower-court rulings that dismissed claims seeking to force BMW and Mercedes-Benz to phase out sales of internal combustion engine vehicles.
Shareholder advocacy group As You Sow has filed a lawsuit against insurer Chubb challenging the company’s decision to exclude a climate-related shareholder proposal from its 2026 proxy materials.
Judge enters final judgment awarding compensatory and exemplary damages in favour of Energy Transfer, with 11% interest running from the March 2025 verdict.
Asset manager agrees to restrict stewardship activities and expand proxy voting as multistate ESG antitrust litigation continues against BlackRock and State Street.
Complaint to ASIC alleges the Australian pension scheme misled members after halving environmental revenue threshold while retaining ‘sustainable’ branding.
Brussels says it will spell out more transparent parameters for invoking ‘urgency’ in a forthcoming Better Regulation communication, while defending its discretion and insisting co-legislators had sufficient evidence to adopt or advance the contested files.
Exxon and Suncor secure review of Colorado ruling that allowed Boulder’s nuisance and deception claims to proceed, putting the scope of federal pre-emption in climate litigation before the justices.
Publishing its reasons for dismissing ACCR’s greenwashing claims against Santos, the Federal Court of Australia held that the energy company's challenged statements - such as “clean”, “zero-emissions” and “carbon neutral” - did not mislead the intended audience in context.
The French energy major tells Forward Law Review that the courtroom is not the right forum to advance the energy transition and that its activities are lawful under national and European law.
Thirteen attorneys general are challenging Trump administration’s decision to scrap billions in IRA and infrastructure grants, arguing it violates Congress’s spending authority.
Environmental groups had asked judges to order tighter emission limits, mandatory clean-up measures and the incorporation of health-based advisory values into binding law.
Nearly 80 corporations linked to three major sustainability initiatives have been put on notice by a multi-state coalition of Republican attorneys general, who argue that coordinated packaging commitments may amount to unlawful restraints of trade.
A hearing at the EU General Court will test whether the European Commission lawfully refused to review Taxonomy criteria allowing LNG-powered vessels and conventional aircraft to qualify as green investments.
The Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth say the US Bureau of Land Management is unlawfully offering long-protected lands for drilling across 5.5 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska.
Two separate challenges filed in the DC Circuit target the US Environmental Protection Agency’s rollback of the 2009 endangerment finding and vehicle greenhouse gas standards, with one petition arguing the repeal violates young people’s constitutional rights.
The City of Paris and a coalition of French NGOs will return to the Paris Judicial Court on 19–20 February in a case that will determine whether a multinational oil and gas company can be legally required to reduce fossil fuel production in line with climate objectives.
Australian oil and gas company Santos has secured a significant legal victory after the Federal Court of Australia dismissed a high-profile climate disclosure case brought by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR).
The European Central Bank has imposed periodic penalty payments on Crédit Agricole for failing to sufficiently identify and assess its climate-related and environmental risks by a supervisory deadline.
A group of 42 Senate Democrats led by Sheldon Whitehouse is accusing the US Environmental Protection Agency of treating the rulemaking as a “fait accompli” and bypassing core administrative law safeguards.
A group of over 190 residents has filed a civil claim in the Lyon judicial court against Arkema France and Daikin Chemical France, seeking compensation for alleged harm linked to PFAS contamination in the ‘Vallée de la Chimie’.
A US federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction blocking the state of Oregon from enforcing its packaging extended producer responsibility law against a national wholesaler trade group and its members – in a ruling that could reverberate across similar recycling regimes in other states.
Two environmental groups have launched a legal challenge to the US government’s decision to extend expired offshore drilling leases in the Arctic Ocean – accusing the Interior Department of unlawfully reviving a long-stalled oil project under the guise of a national energy emergency.
The Hamburg Regional Court said the supermarket failed to make the standards behind a key sustainability label sufficiently transparent, breaching German unfair competition law.
Aurora refiles its climate case as an association after Sweden’s Supreme Court said the earlier claim was not brought by an association and could not be equated with KlimaSeniorinnen.
A federal judge held Missouri failed to identify even a single Starbucks employee or job applicant in the state who was harmed by the company’s diversity policies – leaving the attorney general without standing to sue.
Alan Roberts, partner at A&L Goodbody, who acted for Coolglass, told Forward Law Review the decision confirms that planning authorities are legally bound to align their decisions with national climate objectives.
Judge rules Senate Bill 13 violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments, and permanently blocks Texas from enforcing its fossil fuel divestment and procurement blacklist.
District judge finds Department of Energy taskforce provided policy advice in secret, weakening the rational basis of the EPA’s proposed repeal of the endangerment finding.
The Dutch court’s application of KlimaSeniorinnen marks a shift towards deeper judicial scrutiny of climate targets, implementation and unequal protection within states.
The District Court of The Hague has ruled that the Netherlands is failing to adequately protect the Dutch citizens of the island of Bonaire from the impacts of climate change – with analysis from Marit Bosselaar, partner at Loyens & Loeff, Amsterdam, and Sjoerd Pennink, associate.
A legal complaint filed with the UK’s competition authority alleges that promotional claims made by Scotland Gas Networks about hydrogen home heating risk misleading consumers.
The NGO has said it will not pursue further legal action against the UK government over its revised climate strategy, arguing that earlier court challenges have already forced ministers to strengthen their approach to decarbonisation.
The state of Michigan has filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell and the American Petroleum Institute alleging that they unlawfully conspired for decades to suppress competition from renewable energy and maintain dominance in energy markets.
A federal judge has dismissed the US Department of Justice’s pre-emptive lawsuit seeking to stop the state of Michigan from bringing climate-related claims against fossil fuel companies – finding the dispute was too speculative to support federal jurisdiction.
Environmental groups have filed an amicus brief in support of California’s clean car and truck standards, as the state and a coalition of others challenge the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke long-standing emissions waivers under the Clean Air Act.
EU law does not prevent member states from requiring individuals requesting access to environmental information to provide their name and postal address, says the ECJ – provided such requirements comply with core principles of EU law.
Climate litigation continued to grow worldwide in 2025, with more than 3,400 cases now tracked globally, according to a new report from the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law – even as the pace of new filings slowed compared with recent years.
Forced labour and exploitation claims brought by former migrant workers against Dyson will proceed to a full trial in the UK, after the High Court ruled that the case should be heard on the merits and ordered extensive disclosure from the company.
The US District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that the Trump administration violated the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection guarantee by cancelling millions of dollars in clean energy grants based largely on the political identity of the states in which recipients were located.
The US District Court for the District of Columbia has granted a preliminary injunction allowing construction on the Revolution Wind offshore wind project to restart, following a stop work order issued in December.
A group of 22 young Americans has asked the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to revive a constitutional challenge to President Donald Trump’s 2025 fossil fuel executive orders, seeking to overturn a lower court ruling that dismissed their case on procedural grounds.
The Cantonal Court of Zug has ruled that a climate case brought by four Indonesian fishers against Holcim is admissible, clearing the way for a substantive hearing on the claims.
Outlook 2026: As regulators sharpen enforcement powers and NGOs deploy increasingly sophisticated strategies, companies face rising exposure across green claims, human rights, fraud and emerging technologies.
Over 450 plaintiffs have filed Japan’s first lawsuit seeking state compensation for alleged failures in climate policy, arguing the government’s inadequate measures violate human rights and international obligations.
A coalition of civil society organisations has asked the European Parliament to investigate allegations that Jörgen Warborn breached its code of conduct by acting as both a lobby group president and a legislative rapporteur in the same policy area.
Florida’s attorney general James Uthmeier says “using DEI as an excuse to hire, promote, or humiliate an employee based on race violates Florida's civil rights law” – as he files a lawsuit against Starbucks with the Tenth Judicial Court.
The executive order names the world’s two biggest proxy advisory firms – both involved in a dispute with the state of Texas and being investigated by the state of Florida – and accuses them of promoting “radical politically-motivated” DEI and ESG agendas.
More than 100 Filipinos hit by super typhoon Odette are seeking compensation from Shell in a UK case under Philippines law. Shell says the claim is baseless.
The European Court of Human Rights held that the claimants – who were suing the Austrian government for refusing to ban the sale of fossil fuels – did not have sufficient standing to bring the lawsuit.
A federal judge has struck down the Trump administration’s directive halting federal approvals for wind energy projects, ruling in favour of a multistate coalition led by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The ruling confirms the government’s approach to airport development policy, finding no legal error in its approval of plans to enlarge London Luton Airport – and dismissing the plaintiffs’ claims that GHG emissions were not properly considered in the decision.
A coalition of advocacy organisations has filed a lawsuit challenging a rule by the US Environmental Protection Agency that delays methane pollution controls for the oil and gas industry – giving operators more time to comply with standards that “have been in place for more than a year”.
A lawsuit by Notre Affaires à Tous is targeting the French state over its climate obligations – arguing it should reduce GHGs by 55% as part of an equitable approach to sharing the responsibility for climate change mitigation.
The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld complaints against Lacoste, Nike and Superdry for making environmental claims in Google advertisements that could not be substantiated – saying that a high level of qualification is essential.
Ten young people – supported by Our Children’s Trust and including many of the same plaintiffs as Natalie R v State of Utah – have launched a lawsuit against the Utah Board of Oil, Gas and Mining.
The appeals court of England and Wales has dismissed a challenge to 28 offshore oil and gas exploration licences by ocean conservation NGO Oceana – but it said that environmental effects must be assessed at every stage of the permitting procedure.
The European Ombudswoman has concluded that the European Commission committed maladministration when it rushed through its Omnibus I legislative package – saying a “better balance” needs to be found between agility and transparency.
The Pabai Pabai plaintiffs have filed an appeal with the Federal Court of Australia seeking to overturn a July decision that rejected their climate duty-of-care claim against the Commonwealth of Australia.
Homeowners in Washington have filed a class action lawsuit against several major oil and gas companies and their industry association, alleging that their actions led to extreme weather events and rising home insurance costs.
The state of Florida has filed a lawsuit against ISS and Glass Lewis, alleging that they have used their influence and market share to impose an ideological agenda on American companies and Florida retirees – echoing claims made by Texas AG Ken Paxton in a separate investigation of the two proxy advisory firms.
Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the US administration over a planned offshore oil and gas lease sale arising from the One Big Beautiful Bill – claiming that its actions violate NEPA.
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has granted a temporary injunction on California’s SB 261, blocking enforcement of the state’s climate-risk disclosure law while the court considers the appeal.
The multinational US food company has settled a lawsuit with the Environmental Working Group, agreeing to stop marketing its beef as “climate-smart” and to drop its net-zero emissions pledge for five years unless verified – following allegations that its claims lacked scientific support.
Borgarting Court of Appeal nullifies three North Sea oil approvals for failing to assess downstream emissions, following the EFTA Court’s advisory opinion, in a case brought by Greenpeace Nordic and Nature and Youth Norway.
A 25-state coalition led by Iowa attorney general Brenna Bird has filed an amicus brief in the US Supreme Court arguing that California's new climate laws impose extraterritorial compliance costs and violate first amendment protections.
BHP is found liable under Brazilian law for the Fundão dam collapse in a ruling that clarifies parent company responsibility, confirms the claims are in time until at least 2029, and sets out the next steps in the largest ESG-related group action ever brought in England.
The Danish Energy Appeals Board has upheld a Greenpeace complaint and revoked approval for Ineos’s Hejre oil field, ruling that the project’s environmental impact assessment failed to account for downstream emissions – echoing an EFTA Court advisory opinion on similar Norwegian oil projects.
Canada’s 2025 Budget proposes easing greenwashing compliance by repealing key 2024 Competition Act provisions and restoring the Competition Bureau’s gatekeeper role for challenging environmental claims, writes Beth Riley, partner at McMillan in Calgary.
A legal study by the European Central Bank warns that recent climate-related human rights rulings – including KlimaSeniorinnen v Switzerland – may heighten litigation and transition risks for financial institutions, and urges EU policymakers to integrate stronger climate safeguards into law and supervision.
Shell argues that imposing a company-specific emissions reduction duty would breach EU law and overstep judicial powers, as the Dutch Supreme Court considers Milieudefensie’s appeal in the landmark climate case.
Twenty-one airlines have agreed to modify their terminology around sustainability claims following an investigation by the EU Consumer Protection Cooperation Network – but Constantin Eikel, partner at Bird & Bird, says this will provide the industry with much more certainty than other sectors.
A new lawsuit against Ineos’s €4 billion plastics facility under construction in Antwerp claims a permit granted for the site was based on a flawed environmental impact assessment – but Ineos says the plaintiffs have chosen “legal obstruction rather than open dialogue”.
New York attorney general Letitia James has announced a US$1.1 million settlement with JBS USA over claims that the JBS Group would reach net zero by 2040 – “despite having no plan to actually achieve it.”
Justice Humphreys of Ireland’s High Court has proposed ‘three essential steps’ for assessing projects that create emissions – whilst awaiting the Supreme Court judgment in Coolglass.
Environmental advocacy group Mighty Earth has announced it is suing JBS USA – the American subsidiary of JBS SA, a Brazilian multinational food company and the world’s largest meat processor – over net-zero claims it says the company has “neither the intention nor the capability of fulfilling.”
Farmers from Pakistan – supported by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights – have sent letters of claim to energy company RWE and cement manufacturer Heidelberg Materials, seeking compensation for climate-related damage.
A federal judge rejected claims of consumer deception made against food manufacturer Mondelēz, ruling that its ‘climate neutral certified’ label on Zbar energy bars accurately reflected certification by the Change Climate Project.
The European Court of Human Rights held unanimously that there was no violation of Article 8 of the ECHR when the Norwegian government granted new licences for oil and gas drilling – but affirmed that an EIA is essential to the decision-making procedure.
Canada’s largest pension fund manager is being sued by four young people – supported by Ecojustice and Goldblatt Partners – who allege that their benefits are at risk of mismanagement because CPP continues to invest in fossil fuel expansion “as the rest of the world pivots to climate solutions”.
The oil and gas company has followed the US Chamber of Commerce in launching a lawsuit against the California Air Resources Board which leverages the First Amendment – arguing that California laws SB 253 and SB 261 will compel and regulate its speech.
Boutique litigation firm Hausfeld has sent the oil and gas company a letter before action notifying it of intended UK legal proceedings on behalf of almost 70 Filipino claimants – who allege that its actions contributed to Typhoon Odette in 2021.
The decision in Greenpeace Nordic v Norway will be handed down on 28 October by the ECtHR – the court will decide on whether a government’s decision to expand its oil and gas production violates human rights.
Environmental groups have brought a lawsuit against the US Environmental Protection Agency over President Trump’s proclamation exempting chemical manufacturing plants from monitoring and controlling emissions of hazardous air pollutants for two years.
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority says that a Red Tractor television advert misled the public over environmental claims – but the farm food certifier says it made no environmental claims and that the decision is ‘fundamentally flawed’.
The court applied the reasoning in Juliana v United States, arguing that although the plaintiffs’ case was ‘compelling’, the case for redress must be made politically, not through the courts – but left the door open for an appeal.
Separate lawsuits launched in Texas and Rhode Island argue that US$7 billion in cancelled EPA funding for solar energy must be disbursed – because the One Big Beautiful Bill only terminated ‘unobligated balances’ rather than funds which had already been committed.
Over 100 members of Congress have filed an amicus brief in the Boulder County climate case in a bid to block what they call “the courtroom war against the American energy industry.”
“Poland's failure to submit its national strategy highlights the urgent necessity for all Member States to ensure coordinated and ambitious action and avoid any delay in the collective progress towards 2030 objectives,” the European Commission says.
A recent dispute between two US-based makers of competing earplugs demonstrates that companies may be open to greenwashing actions from their competitors. Gonzalo Mon, partner at Kelley Drye, and Katie Rogers, special counsel, take a deep dive into Moldex-Metric v Protective Industrial Products.
Eight residents from the Caribbean island of Bonaire – a Dutch special municipality – claim the Netherlands is legally obliged to take tougher actions to protect its inhabitants from climate change, citing Urgenda and the first Torres Strait Islanders case.
Pabai Pabai was the first Australian case to consider whether the state owes the Torres Strait Islanders a duty of care – but Australian courts have not been receptive to applicants using the law of negligence to try to influence climate policy, writes Amy Carseldine, special counsel at Clayton Utz in Brisbane.
The Australian financial services regulator has brought its fourth greenwashing civil penalty action, alleging that Fiducian Investment Management Services engaged in misleading conduct regarding its ESG fund.
Judge finds no evidence of pecuniary loss in Spence v American Airlines – a class action dispute over ESG proxy voting in US pension funds – but enjoins the airline from any future ESG-related shareholder proposals.
Citing the judgment in Held v Montana, two conservation groups have filed a lawsuit against the state’s environmental assessment in ongoing litigation concerning the Yellowstone County Generating Station methane plant.
Fifteen former plaintiffs from the historic Juliana case have petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleging that the US government’s policy on fossil fuels has perpetuated climate destruction and blocked their access to judicial remedy.
Parliament is considering a bill that would make UK company directors legally accountable for the environmental impact of their decisions. The direction of travel is clear, writes Robert Allen, head of ESG at Simmons & Simmons in London.
The US District Court for the District of Columbia has granted Revolution Wind a preliminary injunction against the US government’s stop work order – which halted construction of an offshore wind farm in federal waters and cited national security and environmental protection concerns.
Attorney General Ken Paxton claims the two proxy advisory companies have misled institutional investors and public companies over voting recommendations – after a court handed down a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking Texas’s anti-ESG law.
Switzerland downplays the report from the European human rights body – whilst Greenpeace argues the country has yet to credibly implement the central requirement of the landmark ruling requiring a CO2 budget compatible with a 1.5°C limit.
ClientEarth has announced it is suing the commission for “illegally changing its transparency rules to prevent the public from accessing crucial documents for their health and the environment.”
The activist NGO says it has filed a lawsuit against the food conglomerate over alleged misleading claims made by its Polish bottled water brand Nałęczowianka.
Youth plaintiffs argue in Lighthiser v Trump that the president’s executive orders actively expanding fossil fuel production violate their constitutional right to life and liberty – in a two-day hearing in the Montana district court.
The Ontario Securities Commission has filed an application for enforcement proceedings against asset manager Purpose Investments and its CEO Som Seif for allegedly misleading ESG-related sales communications.
“It is the agency’s responsibility to determine whether its Final Rules will be rescinded, repealed, modified, or defended in litigation,” says the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit regarding the fate of the controversial ESG investing rules.
The US District Court for the District of Puerto Rico has dismissed a lawsuit accusing energy companies of racketeering – owing to the claims being barred by the statute of limitations.
The Court of Justice of the European Union has dismissed Austria's lawsuit seeking to annul the inclusion of nuclear power and gas in the EU's sustainable investment scheme.
Theresa Mockel of ECCHR talks to Forward Law Review about the arguments that were put forward in the first hearing of climate change dispute Asmania et al. v Holcim in Switzerland last week – which focused on whether climate cases are admissible in civil courts.
Revolution Wind and the states of Rhode Island and Connecticut are suing the administration after it issued an order to halt construction of an offshore wind farm located in federal waters owing to concerns over national security and environmental protection.
Four organisations from the US tourism industry – led by Cruise Lines International Association – are challenging the state of Hawaii over a new passenger tax, arguing that it violates the US Constitution and federal law, and burdens passengers and the cruise industry.
The grantees’ constitutional claim is meritless and contractual claims can only be heard in the Court of Federal Claims, says the Washington, DC appeals court – as it vacates the injunction preventing the US Environmental Protection Agency from terminating grants awarded under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has slammed three cruise ticket sellers for making misleading sustainability claims regarding the use of liquefied natural gas to fuel cruise ships.
A court in Texas handed down a preliminary injunction on Friday, temporarily blocking the state’s anti-ESG law – which comes into force on 1 September – from applying to the two proxy advisory services while the case proceeds.
A German commercial court found that the tech giant’s sustainability claims for its watches were misleading after activist NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe challenged the longevity of its offsetting forestry project in Paraguay.
Shareholder advocacy organisation Investors for Paris Compliance alleges “systematic greenwashing” by Cenovus and Enbridge relating to net zero targets – and takes the unusual step of filing its complaint with the Alberta Securities Commission.
A legal challenge backed by Our Children’s Trust argues that state regulations unlawfully prohibit the consideration of climate and air pollution when considering whether to approve new power plants.
“Federal law does not permit agencies to create or rely on such secret, unaccountable groups when engaged in policymaking,” argue NGOs in a lawsuit challenging the group behind the report used to condemn the Clean Air Act endangerment finding.
The Dutch arm of Friends of the Earth has written to 28 large corporations asking them to submit their climate transition plans for assessment. Milieudefensie says it aims to “recognise frontrunners, encourage those in the middle tier to strengthen their climate policies, and hold laggards accountable”.
In the country’s first-ever ICSID arbitration claim, the Singaporean investment company behind British coal company West Cumbria Mining is suing the United Kingdom after the government abandoned its support for a new coalmine in northern England.
The online fast-fashion seller has been fined €1 million by Italy’s Competition Authority for what the watchdog described as “misleading” and “omissive” environmental claims across the company’s marketing and website.
The European Commission says it has decided to refer France to the Court of Justice of the European Union over its labelling requirements for waste sorting – as it warns Germany and Estonia over their failure to correctly transpose the Single-Use Plastic Directive.
The US proxy advisory services company says Senate Bill 2337 is “unconstitutionally vague, chilling Glass Lewis’ speech by defining the Act’s requirements with intensely politicized terms that have no agreed meanings.”
The SEC “has no intention of allowing the Climate-Related Disclosure Rules to go into effect,” says commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, after the US regulator tells the Eighth Circuit it will not clarify its position on the rules.
Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation has ruled that Greenpeace’s climate litigation against Eni can continue – despite the energy company’s compliance with government policy – because the lawsuit seeks damages which, it says, is a justiciable action.
“Human rights and environmental protection are interdependent,” says the High Court of Justice of Galicia, as it rules that Spanish authorities have a legal duty to act when public health and the environment are at risk.
The court agreed that the Torres Strait Islands have been ravaged by the impacts of climate change – but it said that current tort law places “insurmountable legal hurdles” in the plaintiffs' way and cannot compel the government to act.
Friends of the Earth has filed an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights over the UK’s National Adaptation Programme, after the High Court declared the government's climate adaptation strategy to be lawful.
At a Simmons & Simmons panel, Holland & Knight partner Meaghan Hembree said that Trump’s ESG rollback is fuelling state-level divergence, regulatory uncertainty and rising litigation – demanding sharper compliance strategies from companies operating in the US.
Montana, together with 18 other states and Guam, has requested permission to intervene as defendants on behalf of the Trump administration, which is being sued by a coalition of young people over three energy-focused executive orders the president made at the beginning of his second term.
The environmental NGO is arguing that US lawsuits brought by Energy Transfer qualify as an abuse of rights under Dutch civil law – after it lost a US$660 million dispute with the oil and gas company.
A coalition of NGOs, led by Earthjustice, is suing the US Environmental Protection Agency to reinstate cancelled grants that they say should have been disbursed under the Biden administration’s Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant programme.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleges in a major court action that Australian Gas Networks made false and misleading representations in its ‘Love Gas’ TV and digital advertising campaign.
The London School of Economics’ annual report – Global Trends in Climate Change Litigation – finds that more than 80% of climate cases reaching apex courts involve government defendants, but cases against corporate defendants are more likely to succeed.
The environmental NGO says that the EU’s Omnibus Simplification Package potentially violates numerous legal principles – and warns that breaches of essential procedural requirements could invalidate the legislation.
The court found that the producers do have standing – and so reversed a lower court’s order dismissing their challenge to California’s 2013 Clean Air Act waiver that governs the adoption of emission standards for new vehicles.
The guidance comes in the wake of the 2024 Finch Supreme Court ruling that downstream GHG emissions must be considered in environmental impact assessments.
Three environmental groups have filed a complaint against the European Commission for granting ‘strategic’ status to the proposed Mina do Barroso lithium mine in northern Portugal.
Chloe Edworthy at Macfarlanes and Louise Barber at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer examine the Council of Europe’s new treaty that, for the first time, sets out binding international standards for the criminal prosecution of serious environmental harm.
Greenwashing and ESG disputes are no longer a risk on the horizon – they’re here, and businesses must be prepared, write Heike Schmitz, partner and co-head of ESG (EMEA), and Sousan Gorji, senior associate in the disputes team, at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.
Susman Godfrey is representing the American Bar Association in a lawsuit that claims President Trump’s executive orders targeting law firms are a “deliberate policy designed to intimidate and coerce law firms and lawyers to refrain from challenging the President or his Administration in court”.
In this Q&A, Sebastian Gräler and Julius Fabian Stehl at Hogan Lovells in Dusseldorf analyse the recent court decision that "laid a conceptual foundation for civil climate liability under German private law".
California and 10 other states have filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s recent decision to revoke the state’s authority to set its own vehicle emissions standards.
Two environmental groups argue that the government’s emissions reduction plan fails to fulfil basic requirements of the law – and say their lawsuit is the world’s first “to challenge a government’s heavy reliance on tree planting to achieve climate targets”.
The DC district court upheld the Securities and Exchange Commission's amendments to Rule 14a-8, which govern shareholder proposals – dismissing the plaintiffs’ claims that they were introduced to inhibit ESG proxy voting.
The MPF last week filed a lawsuit challenging a US$180 million carbon credit deal between the state of Pará and the LEAF Coalition. With analysis from Manuela Demarche and Clara Amoroso de Andrade at Trench Rossi Watanabe, and Gedham Gomes and Luiz Gustavo Bezerra at at Tauil & Chequer Mayer Brown.
The Canadian Competition Bureau has issued its final guidance on environmental marketing claims to help businesses comply with new anti-greenwashing provisions of the Competition Act.
The number of cases before the ICJ is high, say panellists at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LIDW event – reflecting frustration with the UN Security Council and an increasing move beyond bilateralism.
African businesses are likely to be widely affected by new EU corporate disclosure rules on human rights and sustainability, write partner Kate Paterson and associate Sibongile Sibeko at Bowmans in Johannesburg – and may face serious consequences if they fail to act.
Plaintiffs have pledged to appeal the New Mexico Court of Appeals’ dismissal of a lawsuit alleging the state has failed to uphold its constitutional duty to protect public health and the environment from the harms of oil and gas pollution.
Major US oil producers are facing a first-of-its-kind climate lawsuit which alleges that they should be held responsible for the death of a woman during an “unprecedented” heatwave – under wrongful death, product liability and public nuisance claims.
The court said that judges must show deference to government agency decisions – and that emissions from separate projects do not constitute indirect effects for the purposes of environmental impact statements.
Twenty-two young plaintiffs claim that actions by the US president and federal agencies “knowingly increase greenhouse gas pollution, violate their constitutional rights, and unlawfully override laws passed by Congress to protect public health and the environment”.
Thames Water has been fined by the national regulator for breaches of rules pertaining to its wastewater operations and dividend payments – and served with an enforcement order to bring its infrastructure up to standard.
German regional court dismisses plaintiff’s appeal – which sought to hold RWE accountable for the effects of its domestic emissions on Peru – but finds that under German law a plaintiff could have a calculable claim against a polluting company if it refuses to take preventative measures.
“The Order shouts through a bullhorn: If you take on causes disfavored by President Trump, you will be punished,” says District Judge Richard Leon as he dismisses the president’s executive order – days after a similar order against Jenner & Block was overturned.
The investment management firm says the latest intervention from the DOJ and FTC in the ESG antitrust case rests on an “absurd theory” that coal companies conspired with their shareholders to reduce coal production.
District judge calls the executive order against the firm “doubly violative of the constitution” – and grants summary judgment enjoining the government action.
The European Commission says that it has carried out a “coordinated investigation” and has notified the Chinese online fast-fashion retailer that several of its practices are in breach of EU law.
The US Senate voted 51–44 on 22 May to revoke California’s authority to set its own vehicle emissions standards, effectively sinking the state’s plan to ban new petrol-powered car sales by 2035. California governor Gavin Newsom says the state will fight the repeal in court.
The General Court of the European Union has affirmed 2022 rules restricting bottom trawling in marine protected areas in the German North Sea after a challenge from a German fishing group.
The European Free Trade Association Court issued an advisory opinion on environmental impact assessments as part of Greenpeace’s litigation against the Norwegian state’s North Sea fossil fuel permitting.
Rescinding the rule would be “a diversionary tactic to avoid answering the key questions of statutory authority and compliance with the APA,” said SEC chair Marc Uyeda in comments at the SEC Speaks conference.
Environmental Defense Fund, represented by Covington, says it is backing Apple’s motion to dismiss because it believes the tech company’s approach “represents credible climate action”.
“Pennsylvania cannot apply its own law to claims dealing with air in its ambient or interstate aspects,” says judge as he dismisses Bucks County’s climate lawsuit against six major energy companies with prejudice.
The company said it could have been clearer that emissions are not prevented by carbon offsets, as it settles out of court with NGO Parents for Climate in Australia’s first case targeting the marketing of consumer products as ‘carbon neutral’.
Ten NGOs have submitted an amici curiae in support of a lawsuit that challenges the Trump executive order halting the development of wind power – calling the president's views “scientifically baseless”.
The convention provides “the basis for a more coherent criminal justice response by states to environmental crime, including across borders” the council says – calling it a “game-changer”.
Federal law does not pre-empt the plaintiffs’ state law claims, says the state of Colorado’s highest court in an opinion which diverges from recent judicial decisions on climate action.
The Dutch NGO says it intends to seek an immediate end to Shell’s investments in new oil and gas fields and an order compelling the company to set 1.5°C-aligned emissions reduction targets from 2035 to 2050.
Facing a lawsuit, the US Department of Agriculture says it will return content to its website that was removed in the wake of the Trump administration taking office.
The states are challenging the termination of funds disbursed through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for electric vehicle charging stations – an action which California governor Gavin Newsom has called “yet another Trump gift to China”.
The European Commission says the drinks-maker has agreed to replace recycling claims including “I am a bottle made from 100% recycled plastic” after European consumer organisation BEUC lodged a complaint.
The state is one of 18 suing the government over President Trump’s 20 January memorandum that indefinitely halted federal approval for the development of windfarms.
DC judge says the order stigmatises and penalises the firm for representing clients that have pursued claims and taken positions with which the US president disagrees – as well as the firm’s own speech.
The US Department of Justice has announced lawsuits against New York, Vermont, Hawaii and Michigan in a bid to shut down “unconstitutional” climate superfunds and state actions against energy companies.
The failure of the Ontario government’s appeal means the landmark Mathur case will return to the Superior Court, which will determine whether the rights of young people were infringed by the province’s alleged failure to adequately tackle climate change.
The court disagreed with Chevron that Rhode Island had made inaccurate claims about the company’s operations in the state – and allowed the climate change complaint to proceed unaltered.
“Threatening law firms and lawyers because they have represented or employed political opponents of the Trump administration or have expressed viewpoints disfavored by the administration is a textbook violation of the first amendment,” say 20 US attorneys general in an open letter.
A district court has rejected arguments by members of the travel industry that The Hague’s advertising ban conflicts with their rights under the Dutch constitution and EU law.
The Trump administration issued an executive order in April focused on eliminating state laws that regulate emissions or impose liabilities on energy companies. Kenneth Markowitz at Akin explains to Forward Law Review the potential issues the attorney general will face.
An Eighth Circuit appeals court judge has granted an abeyance after intervenors in State of Iowa v SEC filed a motion to suspend the ‘unnecessary’ case.
A group of NGOS led by ClientEarth has challenged the decision-making process behind the EU’s Omnibus Simplification Package, calling it “undemocratic, untransparent and rushed”.
In a lawsuit aimed at multiple government agencies, the university says “the government’s actions flout not just the first amendment, but also federal laws and regulations.”
The US Department of Labor has requested the suspension of appeal court proceedings while it considers rescinding the Biden-era rule which allows fiduciaries to consider ESG factors in retirement funds.
A US circuit judge has ordered an administrative stay to block the release of frozen funds held by Citibank to NGOs that were awarded billions for clean energy projects by the Biden administration – one day after a circuit judge ordered the money to be disbursed.
The ACCC says Clorox made misleading representations to consumers that some of its Glad kitchen and garbage bags were partly made of recycled ocean plastic – in a judgment which considered marketing copy in tandem with packaging colour and imagery.
Anton Foley and others v Sweden was rejected by Sweden’s Supreme Court in February – in part because it found the class of individual plaintiffs lacked standing – but non-profit organisation Aurora is looking to refile the case, drawing on the 2024 Klimaseniorinnen ECtHR ruling.
“In the absence of an integrated and transformative vision, there is a fear that PNACC 3 will not improve France's adaptation to climate change in the long term,” say a group of organisations that have written to the French prime minister in advance of legal action.
“Preliminary injunctive relief is necessary to restore the status quo until a final judgment in this case,” say the plaintiffs, attempting to prevent the transfer of state LNG assets after a district judge dismissed their climate lawsuit.
More than 500 law firms – including Freshfields, Arnold & Porter and Fenwick & West – joined a brief in support of Perkins Coie, claiming that President Trump’s executive order against the firm violates “core First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment guarantees, as well as bedrock separation-of-powers principles”.
“At bottom, this is just a run-of-the-mill (albeit large) contract dispute,” says the US Environmental Protection Agency’s court filing in the US$7 billion dispute with Climate United – represented by Jenner & Block – over frozen grant money.
The court said the Biden-era sale of the offshore drilling lease, which covered over 70 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico, failed to sufficiently consider the environmental impact of potential developments – but deferred a decision on the remedy.
Fifteen major car manufacturers were fined around €458 million for jointly misleading consumers over vehicle recycling by the EU – with a further £77 million levied against 10 of them by the UK.
A group of NGOs is suing the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for failing to issue regulations that ensure the state achieves its statutory greenhouse gas reductions.
The law firm targeted in an executive order by President Trump on Friday has filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief. “The President’s sweeping attack on WilmerHale and other law firms is unprecedented and unconstitutional,” it says.
France has rejected US attempts to prevent DEI policies at French companies that operate in the US – whilst the US Federal Communications Commission has opened investigations into hiring practices at Disney and ABC.
The Dutch Friends of the Earth says it has delivered a summons with almost 10,000 pages of evidence to force a hearing over the Amsterdam-based bank’s oil and gas clients and emissions – which the NGO claims will build on the KlimaSeniorinnen decision.
“The Constitution, top to bottom, protects against such attempts by the government to target citizens and lawyers based on the opinions they voice, the people with whom they associate, and the clients they represent,” the complaint says – whilst the US president issues an executive order aimed at WilmerHale.
The Scared Climate Optimist: Joshua Domb at Gen-R Law looks at the strategic use of litigation to drive systemic interventions and board-level focus on climate change.
The NGO is supporting nine Spanish plaintiffs challenging pollution from industrial pig farming – in an attempt to build on the ECtHR decision in Cannavacciuolo, which held that environmental pollution can threaten the right to life.
Maritime NGO Oceana appeared in court today to dispute the UK government’s decision to award 31 exploration licences in UK waters, citing a severe threat to marine life – and to argue for the application of the landmark Finch decision.
The European Commission has instructed Spain not to comply with a 2018 arbitral award ordering the country to compensate European private equity group Antin over changes made to a renewable electricity support scheme. With comment from Louise Barber, of counsel at Herbert Smith Freehills.
The Cologne Regional Court upheld an environmental NGO’s claims that the airline’s ‘CO2 offset’ advertisements were misleading and set out the penalties for any further violations of Germany’s Unfair Competition Act.
A coalition of cities and NGOs have brought a lawsuit to challenge the US government’s freeze on federal funding for environmental and social programmes. “These executive orders cite no legal authority for the president or his agencies to unilaterally freeze, let alone terminate, congressionally appropriated funds,” say the plaintiffs.
A presidential memorandum to the US attorney general warns US law firms over “unethical” litigation against the federal government and in immigration claims – as an email from the chair of Paul Weiss outlines the “existential threat” faced by the firm.
Youth plaintiffs in Natalie R. v State of Utah were asked to amend their claim after the state Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision that ruling on fossil fuel policy would amount to little more than symbolic action.
Luxembourg’s National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) said on 19 March that its administrative court had dismissed Amazon's appeal against a fine of €746 million.
A US jury decided in favour of Energy Transfer on multiple counts over the 2016 demonstrations. Both organisations will meet later this year in a Dutch court as Greenpeace attempts to block enforcement against its international subsidiary.
Three of the world’s largest investment managers asked a federal court on 17 March to throw out a lawsuit which alleges they are engaged in a conspiracy to manipulate energy prices.
The Federal Court of Australia found the retirement fund manager had falsely claimed it did not invest in funds that posed a risk to the environment and the community.
In a landmark case that will examine whether the German energy company can be held liable for the effects of its emissions in a different jurisdiction, a Peruvian plaintiff is seeking damages from RWE to cover the cost of protecting his home from glacial meltwater.
Paul Weiss is the third law firm to be targeted by President Trump, who accuses it of hiring an “unethical attorney” and discriminating against its own employees through its DEI policies. Trump’s executive order implied more firms may be sanctioned.
“The very goal is to chill future lawyers from representing particular clients,” says Perkins Coie, arguing that the order is retaliation for representing the president’s perceived opponents.
The California air pollution regulator hits back at a Calibrate media campaign, calling it "the auto industry’s latest attempt to undermine California’s public health goals by creating an artificial crisis and misleading consumers.”
Baker McKenzie's Global Disputes Forecast reports that 40% of companies consider ESG disputes a significant risk – a notable decrease from last year, when it was over 70%. Partners Peter Tomczak and David Gadsden analyse this decline and how companies are attempting to mitigate the continuing risk.
“Switzerland has to return to the drawing board,” says climate group KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz, as the Council of Europe tells Switzerland that it must present more evidence by September that it is complying with the landmark ECtHR decision.
The complaint, brought by nineteen Republican states, sought a ruling to prevent state-law tort and nuisance lawsuits. Justice Thomas dissented, saying the court should hear a complaint which involves nearly half of US states and alleges “serious constitutional violations.”
The US president issued an executive order on 6 March revoking Perkins Coie’s security clearance over claims its representation of Hillary Clinton and DEI policies constitute “egregious activity”.
Biden's neutralisation of a Trump-era rule that forbade ERISA fiduciaries from considering nonpecuniary factors when making investment decisions is upheld in State of Utah v Vince Micone. “It permits, in full accord with the fiduciary’s duties, a fiduciary to look to collateral factors to break a tie,” a federal judge said.
The US Environmental Protection Agency under Lee Zeldin alleges “financial mismanagement, conflicts of interest and oversight failures” by the previous leadership and demands an investigation of Biden-era NGO funding – amid reports of pushback from a US attorney and a DC judge.
The US Chamber of Commerce is joined by the American Petroleum Institute, the National Mining Association and the Business Council of New York in filing a lawsuit against the state of New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act – targeting the "massive retroactive penalties” it imposes on energy companies.
Switzerland has failed to remedy the Article 8 breach identified by the ECtHR, say climate groups – but the Swiss government insists that it meets the climate policy requirements of the historic ruling.
The US$300 million trial has begun in North Dakota, although Greenpeace has already brought an action in a Dutch court to prevent the enforcement of any US decisions in favour of pipeline company Energy Transfer.
A coalition of activist groups and non-profit organisations claims the US Department of Agriculture’s removal of climate policies and data from its website is unlawful.
The NGO announces its intention to serve ING with a summons on 28 March to force a hearing over the Dutch bank’s oil and gas clients and emissions – but the bank argues Milieudefensie’s demands are “unrealistic and unreasonable”.
Environmental groups are suing the US president and two members of his White House team in an attempt to prevent the reversal of Biden’s January memoranda which protected large amounts of the US coastline from oil and gas drilling.
“Political bodies decide independently on which specific climate measures Sweden should take,” says the Supreme Court of Sweden – as a Californian court dismisses the notion that children are a discrete class who experience the effects of climate change to a greater degree.
“Racism has no place in Missouri,” says state AG as he claims customers pay higher prices and wait longer because of “race-and-sex-based hiring practices” that violate the state’s Human Rights Act.
Claiming the “first use of an EU anti-SLAPP directive,” the NGO is bringing a claim in a Dutch court against the pipeline company. Both parties have been embroiled in a US-based legal dispute since 2016 over attempts to halt the Dakota Access Pipeline project.
“The judge ruled that Shell should curb its emissions, but they did not determine at what rate,” says the Friends of the Earth group - as Shell tells Forward Law Review that it “currently has no obligations” to Milieudefensie under the Court of Appeal judgment.
US federal law pre-empts state law in claims against energy companies for GHG emissions, says district judge – whilst a hearing continues at the Supreme Court in Colorado, in a case which turns on a similar argument.
“The Climate Change Superfund Act is an ugly example of the chaos that can result when states overreach,” say Republican AGs, who argue that federal government policy must overrule state law.
The ECtHR judgment in the Italian waste dumping case is likely to open up new avenues for claimants seeking to put pressure on governments and the private sector. With insight from Cat Greenwood-Smith at Freshfields in London.
The City of Riviera Beach Police Pension Fund is suing the retailer for allegedly misleading investors with policies that led to widespread customer boycotts following its 2023 Pride campaign.
Government inaction on widespread waste dumping in the Campania region of Italy was held to be a breach of Article 2 of the European human rights law in a “seismic” judgment – as Judge Krenc challenges the distinction between climate and environment-related harm.
Downstream emissions must be taken into consideration when granting drilling licences, Scottish court rules as the UK government is forced to reconsider its decision to allow development in the North Sea.
Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) is arguing in the High Court this week that the government’s 2023 Climate Action Plan fails to outline sufficiently how emissions will be kept within Ireland’s legally binding carbon budgets.
In a “remarkable” ruling, the Hague District Court has ordered the Dutch state to significantly reduce nitrogen emissions in 50% of vulnerable natural habitats by 2030 - and to pay Greenpeace €10 million if it fails. With analysis from CMS and Loyens & Loeff in Amsterdam.
“An immediate end to business as usual is a precondition for planetary survival”: Ireland’s High Court quashes a planning authority decision to refuse the development of a windfarm. With comment from Alan Roberts at A&L Goodbody.
Hino Motors Ltd has reached criminal and civil resolutions with multiple US agencies over the submission of false and fraudulent engine emission testing and fuel consumption data. It includes the EPA’s second-largest criminal fine for vehicle air pollution.
As law firms worldwide rush to bolster their ESG practices there is a risk that valuable pro bono work will fall by the wayside. By Jacquelyn MacLennan, a member of the Brussels Bar and a Scottish solicitor, a CEDR-accredited mediator and Hon. Professor at Edinburgh University Law School.
A wind farm was wrongly denied planning permission because the planning authority did not give due regard to the relevant provisions in Irish climate law, according to the decision in Coolglass Wind Farm v An Bord Pleanála.
“Even though this is a lower court decision, it's probably going to be a wake-up call to plan managers.” Joshua Lichtenstein at Ropes & Gray explains why Spence v American Airlines has been called an ESG case – even though no ESG funds were involved.
Over the last five years, the incidence of environmental, social and governance (ESG)-related litigation involving retirement funds globally has grown about 100% per year, writes David Geral, partner at Bowmans in Johannesburg. In South Africa, it is no longer a question of if, but when, the first retirement fund will face litigation.
With climate superfunds in New York and Vermont making the headlines, Forward Law Review talks to Amanda Halter and Ashleigh Myers at Pillsbury about the origins of the funds and the legal questions they pose.
The US Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute blast the state’s “attempt to impose strict liability on companies based in other States for their purported shares of global greenhouse gas emissions”.
“A diverse group of employees helps bring originality and creativity,” the US retailer says as it pushes back against a proposal from the National Center for Public Policy Research.
Held v State of Montana succeeded at appeal in a landmark climate ruling for youth activists. The Supreme Court affirmed a 2023 lower court decision that a state law prohibiting government agencies from considering the impact on the climate when deciding whether to approve fossil fuel projects was unconstitutional.
Attorney general Ken Paxton is bringing a lawsuit against the companies for alleged misrepresentations regarding the safety of products such as Teflon, Stainmaster and Scotchgard.
The stock exchange must abandon its board diversity disclosure rules after the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the SEC was going beyond its remit in approving the decision to force companies to diversify.
“The Paris Agreement contains binding and meaningful mitigation obligations to ensure the protection of the climate system from anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions,” says the UK attorney general in response to calls for more oversight for states – as some commentators label this a missed opportunity.
The government failed to fully assess the impact of its energy plans upon the rights of current and future generations of children – and therefore acted unlawfully, a court has ruled. With analysis from Chandni Gopal, partner at Webber Wentzel in Johannesburg.
The Swiss government has opened a consultation on amending the Ordinance on Climate Disclosures – after the European Court of Human Rights found in April that the country had “critical gaps” it its domestic regulatory framework.
Greenpeace accepts no liability over its 2023 occupation of a Shell-contracted ship but agrees to donate £300,000 to the UK’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution and to avoid protesting at four Shell sites in the North Sea.
Case management begins on 10 December at the Admiralty court in London, in which Shell is seeking £1.09 million in costs and a ban on all future Greenpeace protests – while the environmental activists say it is an “intimidation lawsuit”.
At the International Court of Justice climate change hearings this week, China said it believes the groundbreaking ITLOS opinion “goes against UNCLOS’s intent”. With commentary from Sophie Lamb KC at Latham & Watkins and Louise Barber at Herbert Smith Freehills.
“The outcome of these proceedings will reverberate across generations,” say island states who argue that “a profound sense of urgency” is needed to tackle climate change - while the US argues that current international agreements are sufficient.
Following our focus on Eni v Greenpeace Italy, Forward Law Review considers the current state of anti-SLAPP legislation in the UK and asks: are more laws to protect free speech needed?
The New York Supreme Court found the Department of Environmental Conservation had the authority to deny a Clean Air Act Title V permit to the Greenidge power plant, but that the agency’s final decision in the matter was arbitrary and capricious.
Sarah Court, deputy chair of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, said that the regulator will continue to focus on greenwashing and “misleading claims relating to ESG credentials” in 2025.
Maurits Dolmans and Andreas Wildner at Cleary Gottlieb analyse the Hague Court of Appeals judgment, finding that it is likely to have important implications for future litigation against oil and gas companies.
Oil company Shell has won a significant victory after a Dutch appeals court found the company could not be compelled to make a 45% cut to its carbon emissions by 2030.
Greenpeace and Uplift are challenging UK government consent for oil and gas extraction, although the government has already said it will not contest it.
Forward Law Review asked lawyers in the United States, Canada and Europe what they consider to be the greatest challenges – and opportunities – when Donald Trump enters the White House in January.
Los Angeles County announced on 30 October that it has filed a lawsuit against PepsiCo and Coca-Cola over alleged misrepresentations relating to the effects...
The Court of Appeal for Ontario found that a Superior Court justice had “erred in her analytical approach” in determining that Mathur is a positive rights case.
The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that Aloha Petroleum’s insurance policy does not cover for damage caused by greenhouse gas emissions as they are pollutants under the policy wording.
ClientEarth is pursuing two lawsuits that it claims will bring an end to “hugely unsustainable” fishing in the EU, with one aimed specifically at French trawling.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta alleges ExxonMobil engaged in a “campaign of deception” over decades that “caused and exacerbated the global plastics pollution crisis”.
Court criticises “absurd” legal arguments made by West Cumbria Mining and applies Supreme Court ruling that long term or ‘downstream’ contributions to fossil fuel emissions must be taken into account in environmental impact assessments.
A group of five NGOs has initiated legal proceedings against the European Commission after it rejected their request to review its decision to classify some types of aviation and shipping as eligible for inclusion in the EU sustainable finance taxonomy.
A lack of specific targets beyond 2030 in South Korea’s Carbon Neutrality Act means the state is failing to protect its citizens’ rights, the Constitutional Court says.
Highlighting a recent UK Supreme Court decision on the assessment of new oil field development consents, the government says it will not fight judicial reviews brought against the development of two offshore oil and gas fields operated separately by Shell and Equinor.
A landmark greenwashing fine against investment company Mercer Superannuation heralds a tighter regulatory framework for ESG financial products in Australia.
Friends of the Earth forces the UK government into a legal battle in the High Court, arguing that it is in breach of its own laws on climate change adaptation.
