Courts Protecting The Planet - Is Litigation Overtaking Legislation In The Climate Emergency?

Courts around the world are increasingly becoming forums to mobilise action by governments and organisations on climate change, where domestic legislation and policy-making falls short.

Climate change litigation against governments is on the rise, and the cases are as diverse as the natural environments they seek to protect. This article touches on actions brought by islanders in West Timor relating to an oil spill, and by the inhabitants of the Torres Strait Islands, facing forced migration because the islands are sinking as a result of climate change. In Europe, the UK courts have recently found against the government in the widely reported Heathrow terminal case, where the court found that the planning documents failed to take into account the government's own policy on climate change, including the UK's obligations under the Paris Agreement, a document not transcribed into domestic law.