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

One of the most well-known cases of 2023 was the Montana ruling, where a judge sided with young residents who said state officials had infringed their right to a clean and healthy environment. Photograph: Thom Bridge/AP

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 published on Thursday by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.