Sharp rise in number of climate lawsuits against companies, report says

A protester from Extinction Rebellion outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London. One of the most rapidly growing forms of litigation is over 'climate-washing' — when companies are accused of misrepresenting their progress towards environmental targets.

The number of climate lawsuits filed against companies around the world is rising swiftly, a report has found, and a majority of cases that have concluded have been successful.

About 230 climate-aligned lawsuits have been filed against corporations and trade associations since 2015, two-thirds of which have been initiated since 2020, according to the analysis by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.