header-logo header-logo

Climate control

05 February 2020 / Gordon Wignall
Issue: 7873 / Categories: Features , Climate change litigation
printer mail-detail
15312
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

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Kingsley Napley—Tristan Cox-Chung

Kingsley Napley—Tristan Cox-Chung

Firm bolsters restructuring and insolvency team with partner hire

Foot Anstey—Stephen Arnold

Foot Anstey—Stephen Arnold

Firm appoints first chief client officer

Mewburn Ellis—Aled Richards-Jones

Mewburn Ellis—Aled Richards-Jones

IP firm welcomes experienced patent litigator as partner

NEWS
Solicitors are installing panic buttons and thumb print scanners due to ‘systemic and rising’ intimidation including death and arson threats from clients
Ministers’ decision to scrap plans for their Labour manifesto pledge of day one protection from unfair dismissal was entirely predictable, employment lawyers have said
Cryptocurrency is reshaping financial remedy cases, warns Robert Webster of Maguire Family Law in NLJ this week. Digital assets—concealable, volatile and hard to trace—are fuelling suspicions of hidden wealth, yet Form E still lacks a section for crypto-disclosure
NLJ columnist Stephen Gold surveys a flurry of procedural reforms in his latest 'Civil way' column
Paper cyber-incident plans are useless once ransomware strikes, argues Jack Morris of Epiq in NLJ this week
back-to-top-scroll