Climate litigations escalating, cases being heard by Indian courts too: UN report

India features among the countries in the Global South with an expanding climate litigation profile, registering 14 cases to date

Climate litigation is now being pursued across more countries than before with India registering 14 similar cases so far, a new report has stated.

India features among the countries in the Global South with an expanding climate litigation profile, registering 14 cases to date. (Representative file photo)

According to the new Global Climate Litigation Report 2025: Climate Change in the Courtroom – Trends, Impacts and Emerging Lessons by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School, over 3,099 climate-related cases have been filed across 55 jurisdictions and 24 international or regional courts, tribunal and quasi-judicial bodies as of June 30. India has registered 14 such cases so far.

This continues a trend in climate-related cases filed by 2022 (2,180 cases), 2020 (1,550 cases) and 2017 (884 cases). While cases from the Global South still represent less than 10% in 2025, their share is steadily growing. These cases, spanning both the Global North and South, are influencing how governments, corporations, and investors act on their climate responsibilities. Courts are now not only enforcing laws but also shaping how the Paris Agreement’s goals are interpreted through the lens of human rights, equity, and intergenerational justice, UNEP said in a statement.

India features among the countries in the Global South with an expanding climate litigation profile, registering 14 cases to date. These cases address issues including air pollution, deforestation, renewable energy obligations, climate adaptation, and the right to a clean and healthy environment under the Indian Constitution, UNEP said in a statement on Friday.

Indian courts, notably the Supreme Court of India and National Green Tribunal (NGT), have increasingly integrated climate considerations into judgments, emphasizing the State’s duty to safeguard citizens’ rights against the impacts of climate change. Such actions align with the Government of India’s climate goals, including commitments to achieve net-zero by 2070, expand renewable energy capacity, and enhance climate adaptation and disaster preparedness.

For instance, India’s Supreme Court recognized the right to a healthy environment and the right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change when balancing the protection of an endangered species threatened by an overhead transmission line connecting to a renewable energy project (Mk Ranjitsinh & Ors. v. Union Of India & Ors.).149 The Court balanced the need for a just energy transition within the context of the long-term emission reduction goals of the Paris Agreement with conservation priorities, the report said.

The report highlights that over 60 countries with no prior climate litigation participated in global advisory proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), demonstrating unprecedented legal mobilization on climate issues.

In December 2022, the Co-Chairs of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law—Antigua, Barbuda and Tuvalu— submitted the Request for an Advisory Opinion on Climate Change and International Law to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

On 1 March 2023, the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution, requesting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the obligations of States with respect to climate change.

This year ICJ in its ruling unequivocally affirmed that States have binding legal duties under customary international law, treaty law and international human rights law to prevent climate-related harm, protect the climate system and cooperate in the face of escalating risks.

There are several significant international and domestic cases being heard presently against corporations, financial institutions and governments. In the United States of America, state, local and tribal governments have filed more than 30 cases in which they seek damages, abatement and other types of relief from fossil fuel industry defendants for harms allegedly sustained as a result of climate change.

In November 2024, a coalition of European NGOs filed coordinated complaints with the European Commission against France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Sweden, alleging that these Member States failed to meet their legal obligations under EU climate and energy law, particularly concerning the adequacy and timely submission of their National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs).

In Urgenda v. Netherlands, the Dutch Supreme Court ordered the government to reduce emissions by at least 25 per cent by 2020 relative to 1990 levels.