Climate change is altering much more than the temperature of the earth’s oceans and atmosphere. Companies of all types that have contributed to a warming planet are now operating in a much riskier business landscape in which calls for environmental accountability can increasingly translate into legal action. Climate litigation is an emerging and evolving legal practice, according to environmental law experts.
In many ways, the historic Paris climate agreement that governments began ratifying last month officially put the private sector on notice that business as usual can no longer be accepted if countries are serious about curbing climate change. Companies themselves have been calling on governments to create clear and consistent frameworks, such as through a price on carbon, so that they can adjust their approach.
As those policies continue to take shape, there are also a number of ways that companies are being encouraged to proactively go more “green.” They include civil society-led campaigns and the promotion of the business case for environmental sustainability. A strategy that may put even more pressure on them, however, is legal challenges.
About the author
Naki B. Mendozamfbmendoza
Naki is a former reporter, he covered the intersection of business and international development. Prior to Devex he was a Latin America reporter for Energy Intelligence covering corporate investments and political risks in the region’s energy sector. His previous assignments abroad have posted him throughout Europe, South America, and Australia.