Climate Judiciary Project
Climate-related lawsuits in the U.S. have grown in number from a few, mostly administrative cases before 2015 to scores of cases today. These include not only regulatory claims, but torts, public trust, and fraud and consumer protection cases, among others. With growing public concern about climate change and stasis on the issue in Congress, groups pressing for climate action are seeking a way forward through the courts.
As the body of climate litigation grows, judges must consider complex scientific and legal questions, many of which are developing rapidly. To address these issues, the Climate Judiciary Project of the Environmental Law Institute is collaborating with leading national judicial education institutions to meet judges’ need for basic familiarity with climate science methods and concepts. We are developing and disseminating a climate science and law curriculum and are conducting seminars and educational programs, in collaboration with leading climate scientists and legal experts. The goal of our project is to provide neutral, objective information to the judiciary about the science of climate change as it is understood by the expert scientific community and relevant to current and future litigation.
ELI has a track record of delivering highly-respected U.S. and international judicial education programs spanning more than three decades. This program holds true to ELI’s course of nonpartisanship and nonadvocacy, drawing deeply on ELI’s commitment to high quality, bias-free content. Our collaborators, among them faculty of leading universities, government and private research institutions, and members of the National Academies of Sciences, are likewise known for their impartiality and are at the top of their fields in science and judicial education.
Our shared vision is to make available to federal, state, and local judges the basic science they need to adjudicate the climate litigation over which they preside.
For more information, contact us at climatejudiciary@eli.org.
- Recent News and Events
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In November 2021, ELI participated in the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. ELI’s Climate Judiciary Project brought an important message to the summit: a judiciary informed on the basics of climate science is key to effectively addressing the climate crisis. During the summit week, ELI hosted a roundtable workshop on “Using Science and the Law for Ensuring Accountability and Compliance with Climate Regimes,” as part of Climate Law & Governance Day. Sandra Nichols Thiam also presented on Climate Change Legislation, Litigation, and the Rule of Law in an event hosted by the University of Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance.
