Climate change in court: cases to watch in 2026

The number of climate lawsuits is growing — at times reaching the highest courts and scoring big wins, too — as politics and diplomacy struggle to coerce countries into climate action.

From Peru to the Philippines, plaintiffs are increasingly turning to the law to win justice where negotiations fail, a trend sent to continue in the year ahead.

“We’re going to see more cases come forward as we just saw with COP30 (climate talks), negotiations are not delivering at the scale we need,” Joie Chowdhury, senior attorney at the Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL), told Context in a phone interview.

What’s the big picture and how did we get here?

Activists, scientists, students, farmers and Indigenous people have all filed lawsuits against governments and fossil fuel companies, aiming to hold them to account for floods, droughts or heatwaves caused or exacerbated by climate change.

Lawyers say the fact that cases are now reaching the highest courts is significant — with rulings and opinions delivering clear interpretations of how governments and companies must limit and adapt to climate change.

“What was a moral imperative 10 years ago has become a legal imperative. Now the courts are catching up,” said Sarah Mead, co-director of the Climate Litigation Network.

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People often see these cases as big fights against companies, carbon or technology, but it’s also people’s immediate needs: putting food on the table, getting your kid to school, when… all the infrastructure has collapsed after a massive storm.

Joie Chowdhury, senior attorney, Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL)