Climate Politics In The Courtroom: Legal Activism Between The Andes And The Global Stage

In numerous countries, lawyers and activists are bringing climate change into the courts. They are filing lawsuits against governments and private companies to limit global warming and seek damages for existing impacts. These cases raise fundamental questions about how societies ought to engage with climate change: how should responsibility be distributed among public institutions, corporations, and citizens?

Who should pay for costly adaptation measures and for existing loss and damage? How can vulnerable marginalised communities access support from international institutional mechanisms? What knowledge and evidence are needed to make informed political decisions about climate change? I address these questions through a long-term case study.

In 2015, the Peruvian farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya filed a momentous climate justice lawsuit against the German energy giant RWE. The claim argues that RWE, one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters in Europe, contributed to glacial retreat and flood risk in the Andes through producing coal-fired power. The plaintiff seeks a financial contribution toward flood safety infrastructure to protect his house.

This case is the first of its kind worldwide to be declared admissible. In a ground-breaking 2018 ruling, the Upper State Court in Hamm, Germany, found that the claim has a solid legal foundation and began hearing evidence. A final verdict is not expected before 2022.

A ruling in Luciano Lliuya's favour could set a significant precedent for holding greenhouse gas emitters legally accountable in relation to climate change. Numerous other jurisdictions around the world have similar legal provisions as in Germany. Legal practitioners in other countries are already building on this case to develop new claims.

My research follows this claim from the perspective of the plaintiff and his legal team, analysing how science comes to bear on legal argumentation and examining the social and political ramifications of climate litigation. My involvement in the claim began as a legal consultant. I previously worked for the environmental NGO Germanwatch, contributing to the lawsuit's scientific and legal argumentation as well as logistical coordination.

I subsequently explored the claim's wider context from an anthropological perspective, conducting 20 months of field research in the Peruvian Andes, at court hearings, and UN Climate Summits. My PhD thesis examines how the lawsuit frames greenhouse gas emitters and those who face the worst impacts of climate change as neighbours, thereby reconfiguring the moral relations at stake in discussions about climate change.

As an ESRC Fellow, I will further explore the political dynamics of climate litigation in collaboration with Prof Lisa Vanhala who leads the ERC-funded Politics of Climate Change Loss and Damage project. While my PhD focussed on science and morality in a legal context, I will use the fellowship explore the political and social impacts of climate litigation based on data I have already collected and limited additional research.

My work is the first of its kind: this long-term qualitative study of climate litigation is made possible through my access to court proceedings, legal discussions, and climate policy forums. This provides me with an unusual perspective on how legal activism affects policymaking. I address major questions of current interest to political scientists and socio-legal scholars such as which institutions should address climate change and how legal activism affects public debates.

For lawyers, my work provides guidance on the concrete challenges of climate litigation including evidentiary hurdles and logistical difficulties. My research appeals to policymakers as I contribute to conceptual debates about how responsibility for addressing climate change can be more justly distributed. As a publicly engaged academic, I feel the responsibility to share my work with those who have the power to enact positive change.