The report explores India’s emerging climate litigation, with 14 cases addressing air pollution, deforestation, renewable energy, and constitutional rights, signalling climate change as a human rights issue, amid global trends in developed nations.
Courtrooms across the world are fast emerging as new arenas of climate justice. A recent joint report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University reveals that as of June 30, 2025, more than 3,099 climate-related cases have been filed in 55 countries and before 24 international or regional courts and tribunals. The report, Global Climate Litigation Report: 2025 Status Review, highlights a striking increase in legal actions seeking to hold governments and corporations accountable for their role in the climate crisis.
While most cases are still concentrated in developed countries such as the United States, Australia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Germany, India has begun to carve out a presence in the growing movement. According to the report, Indian courts have now seen at least 14 climate-related cases, a number small but significant in the context of a legal system that has historically relied heavily on public interest litigation to advance environmental justice. These cases span a range of issues — from air pollution and deforestation to renewable energy obligations and the constitutional right to a healthy environment — reflecting the growing awareness that climate change is not only an ecological or economic issue but a fundamental question of human rights.
Surged Dramatically
The Indian judiciary has long been an active guardian of environmental rights, and the recent trends reinforce that role. The Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) have increasingly interpreted Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before the law and the right to life, to include the right to a clean, safe, and sustainable environment. In a landmark judgment earlier this year, the Supreme Court explicitly recognized citizens’ right to be protected from adverse climate effects while balancing India’s ambitious renewable energy expansion with biodiversity conservation. This followed the case of Mk Ranjitsinh and Others v. Union of India, where the Court intervened to address concerns over a transmission line for renewable power projects running through sensitive habitats. The judgment underscored the delicate balance between the nation’s clean energy commitments and the need to safeguard its ecological heritage.
The UNEP–Sabin Center report points out that litigation globally has surged dramatically over the past decade. There were about 884 cases recorded in 2017, around 1,550 in 2020, and over 2,180 by 2022. The number has now crossed 3,000, showing how citizens, communities, and even sub-national entities are increasingly turning to the courts when policy processes fail to deliver. A defining feature of this litigation wave is its growing emphasis on human rights. Courts around the world are treating climate change not just as an environmental problem but as a threat to basic human rights such as life, health, and dignity. The report notes that the framing of climate obligations in rights-based terms has helped drive momentum and legitimacy for climate action, and in several jurisdictions, it has already led to binding orders compelling governments to strengthen mitigation targets or update adaptation plans.
Evolving Jurisprudence
At the international level, the rise of advisory opinions from global courts, including the International Court of Justice, has begun to clarify that states have enforceable obligations to prevent climate harm, regulate emissions, and assist vulnerable countries. Domestically, meanwhile, new forms of litigation are emerging against corporations accused of greenwashing or misleading environmental disclosures. There is also a noticeable shift toward holding financial institutions accountable for funding activities linked to fossil fuels or deforestation.
In India, this expanding legal frontier is accompanied by an evolving jurisprudence on environmental accountability. Public interest lawyers and environmental organisations have increasingly brought cases that test the boundaries of administrative responsibility and constitutional protections. Petitioners have demanded stricter enforcement of emission standards, better forest management, and the inclusion of climate impact assessments in industrial and infrastructure projects. Courts have responded with a mix of bold rulings and cautious deliberation, navigating between developmental imperatives and ecological integrity.
Yet, despite this judicial assertiveness, challenges abound. Access to justice remains deeply unequal, especially for marginalised communities most affected by climate impacts such as floods, droughts, or air pollution. Many potential litigants lack the resources or technical expertise to frame climate-specific legal arguments. Scientific attribution — establishing direct causal links between specific emissions and specific harms — remains complex, limiting the ability to hold individual actors liable. Even when courts issue strong orders, enforcement often falters in the face of bureaucratic inertia or political resistance. Environmental advocates warn that without institutional reform and better monitoring mechanisms, landmark rulings risk remaining on paper.
The report also draws attention to an emerging countertrend: the rise of retaliatory or “pushback” litigation. Corporations and political entities have filed suits designed to delay climate regulations or intimidate activists — so-called SLAPPs, or Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. Such tactics, the report cautions, could slow down progress and discourage citizen participation in climate governance.
Evolving Stance
Despite these obstacles, the legal turn in climate action is transforming both discourse and practice. Even the threat of litigation is prompting governments and corporations to reassess their policies and disclosures. By embedding climate accountability within constitutional and human rights frameworks, courts are reshaping how states conceptualise their responsibilities toward citizens and future generations. The ripple effects are visible in policy: governments have begun incorporating climate risk into urban planning, disaster management, and industrial regulation, while corporations are revising their sustainability reports under greater scrutiny.
In India, the judiciary’s evolving stance aligns with the country’s broader climate goals — achieving net zero by 2070, expanding renewable capacity, and ensuring climate resilience. But it also goes a step further by defining what environmental justice means in the Indian context: equitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens, intergenerational responsibility, and participatory decision-making. The challenge now lies in translating these judicial ideals into effective governance.
As the UNEP and Sabin Center report concludes, the surge in climate litigation is not a passing phenomenon but a fundamental realignment of law and policy in response to the planetary emergency. The courtroom is no longer the last resort for climate action; it is becoming one of its primary engines. For India, as for the world, the message is clear — the era of unenforceable promises is ending, and the age of climate accountability, defined by rights, reason, and the rule of law, has begun.
