Dozens of climate cases are reshaping legal landscapes worldwide, with landmark victories piling up faster than rising sea levels. The Montana Supreme Court made history in December 2024 by affirming a groundbreaking ruling that established a constitutional right to a stable climate system. No small feat. The decision applied strict scrutiny to laws affecting environmental protections, fundamentally telling polluters they can’t hide behind legislative loopholes anymore.
Landmark climate rulings have courts telling polluters the constitutional jig is up—no more hiding behind legislative loopholes.
Meanwhile, Hawaii’s Department of Transportation got dragged into court and folded like a cheap lawn chair. Rather than face trial, they settled in June 2024, issuing a formal “Recognition of Rights” document. They’re now legally bound to achieve zero emissions in public transit by 2045. Funny how the threat of judicial smackdown clarifies governmental priorities.
Corporate giants aren’t faring much better. A German court made history in May 2025 by ruling companies can be held liable for their emissions in the RWE case. The Peruvian farmer didn’t get his payout, but he opened the floodgates for corporate accountability. Indonesian residents followed suit, filing against cement giant Holcim for insufficient emissions reductions. Corporate lawyers are burning midnight oil these days.
The numbers don’t lie. Climate litigation exploded to 3,099 cases globally by July 2025, up from 2,550 just two years earlier. The United States leads with nearly 2,000 cases, but the Global South is catching up fast, accounting for 60 percent of recent filings. Nobody’s safe—lawsuits now target everything from energy companies to animal farms to retail operations. The town of Carrboro, North Carolina made headlines by filing the first climate-change lawsuit against an electric utility, expanding the range of potential defendants beyond traditional fossil fuel companies. With the UK facing rising GDP costs from climate change, these legal strategies could prove essential for forcing action.
Even the highest courts are wading in. The Juliana plaintiffs have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on climate standing issues, while state supreme courts in Massachusetts, Hawaii, and Colorado rejected oil company dismissal motions. Republican-led states are fighting back, challenging vehicle emission standards in the Sixth Circuit.
But the tide has turned. Climate litigation is no longer fringe—it’s mainstream, effective, and increasingly unavoidable. The number of cases has nearly tripled since the Paris Agreement, demonstrating how legal action has become a powerful mechanism for holding corporations accountable.
References
- https://www.quinnemanuel.com/the-firm/publications/evolving-climate-litigation-updates-and-implications-for-business/
- https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/latest-trends-in-climate-litigation-against-fossil-fuel-companies/
- https://thedailyrecord.com/2025/05/28/climate-lawsuit-rwe-germany-global-cases/
- https://www.eco-business.com/news/climate-change-in-court-cases-to-watch-in-2026/
- https://www.oneearthnow.org/p/turn-to-the-courts-report-reflects
- https://eidclimate.org/2025-year-in-review-a-litigation-campaign-losing-momentum/
- https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en/knowledge/publications/674162d1/climate-change-litigation-update-july-2025
- https://climate.law.columbia.edu/news/climate-litigation-updates-october-3-2025
