Editorial: a short history of the climate change litigation boom across Europe

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to map the most significant milestones in the emergence and development of climate change litigation in Europe. The climate crisis has arrived at the epicentre of the global political agenda and the EU aspires to have a leading role in the efforts to deal with global warming. Along with EU climate action, the number of climate-related court cases on the European landscape, both at regional and domestic level, is constantly on the increase. In this context, this paper unpacks the main elements of the landmark climate rulings across Europe as well as the key challenges relating to climate litigation.