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05 February 2020 / Gordon Wignall
Issue: 7873 / Categories: Features , Climate change litigation
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Climate control

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Climate change nuisance litigation: a potential US export, asks Gordon Wignall
  • Common law climate change claims.
  • Displacement by statute: placing limitations on environmental degradation.
  • Public nuisance: the main thrust in the US municipality-led climate changes.
  • Causation: breathtaking theories.

Common law nuisance claims in the US as a species of climate change litigation are little known in England & Wales. Are they likely to have any relevance here?

A symposium at the British Institute of International and Comparative law (BIICL) in January presented a wide range of impressive speakers commenting on various aspects of climate change litigation.

At an early stage, two prominent slides formed part of a presentation by Michael Gerrard, Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law (Columbia Law School). The first showed the number of ‘climate change’ cases being prosecuted around the globe. The US comes in well ahead (in excess of 1,000), with the UK a moderate second (in excess of 50).

The second slide, available for a few seconds, flashed up the titles of

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Bell Yard Kysen—Liz Giles

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NEWS
The Attorney General, Ellie Reeves KC MP, and Solicitor General, Andy Slaughter KC MP, marked the 25th anniversary of Pro Bono Week by joining lawyers, charities, students and parliamentarians at events celebrating voluntary legal work
Possession claims are entering a new digital era, with procedural traps awaiting practitioners who assume familiar rules still govern every step
Witness evidence can be compromised by AI before a solicitor sees the draft, leaving safeguards focused on authorship incomplete
Should a conviction stand when a later ruling reveals that the law underpinning it was wrong? The answer exposes a clash between finality and justice
The Environment Agency can prosecute offences beyond environmental legislation where proceedings support its statutory functions, the Divisional Court has confirmed
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