New trends in climate litigation- how do they work in practice?

On 7. September 2023, Halina Jagielska, master student at the Jagiellonian University (Krakow, Poland) held a seminar for the Research Group on climate litigation trends during her stay at the faculty. The seminar is part of the Wicked Waters project, funded by Norges Forskningsråd. Halina has received a scholarship to visit the research group from 13.08.2023 until 10.09.2023. 

As stressed by Halina, there is no doubt that climate litigation is on the rise globally. As of 2021, 1841 cases of climate change litigation were ongoing or concluded around the world. The majority of cases  were filed before courts in the United States, and most of them have been brought against governments. Currently, the Norwegian case of Greenpeace Nordic and Others v. Norway is pending before the Human Rights Court, alongside other climate lawsuits. 

Halina gave us an overview of the different types of climate lawsuits and guided us through landmark cases like Urgenda v. The Netherlands. We also had the pleasure of learning more about Polish climate litigation. The research group found the lawsuit  ClientEarth v. Enea particularly interesting to discuss. ClientEarth filed the lawsuit against the Board of Directors as a shareholder in the Polish energy company Enea. The case is an example of the growing diversity in the arguments being used in climate litigation, targeting the private sector and financial actors. 

Halina’s stay in Bergen has come to an end. We asked Halina of her experience: 

“The aim of my research stay was to start the preparation of my Master's thesis on offshore wind and public participation and I am very grateful for the insights and kindness I have received from the academics of Research Group for Climate, Energy and Environmental Law, especially Sigrid Eskeland Schütz, Ignacio Herrera Anchustegui and Eirik Finserås. I would also like to thank all the people associated with the Research Group for the warm welcome in Bergen and for making my stay enriching.” 
 

Good luck with your studies and thank you for visiting us! 

Contact info for Halina: 

 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/halina-jagielska-9314a5201/

Presentation is attached below.