Latest trends in climate litigation against fossil fuel companies

The document identifies a rapid increase in climate lawsuits against major fossil fuel producers, noting that annual filings nearly tripled since 2015. It categorizes these cases into primary types—most notably compensation for climate damages, misleading advertising, and emissions reductions—and highlights emerging trends such as criminal liability claims and challenges to project permitting. The analysis emphasizes the role of attribution science in quantifying corporate liability and the potential for landmark rulings, such as the one against Shell in the Netherlands, to set global precedents.

• Since the 2015 Paris Agreement, the number of climate lawsuits filed annually against major fossil fuel companies has nearly tripled, rising from five cases in 2015 to 14 cases in 2023. A total of 86 lawsuits have been filed against the largest oil, gas, and coal producers, with ExxonMobil (43 cases) and Shell (42 cases) being the most frequent defendants.
• Climate litigation against fossil fuel companies is concentrated in the US and Europe, with 58 percent of cases brought in the US and 24 percent in Europe.
• Lawsuits are primarily categorized into three growing areas: compensation for climate damages (38 percent of cases), misleading advertising claims (16 percent), and emissions reduction (12 percent). In misleading advertising cases, all but one of the nine concluded cases resulted in decisions against the companies or the retraction of claims.
• The potential financial liability for the largest 25 oil and gas companies for emissions from 1985 to 2018 is estimated at USD 20 trillion, with ExxonMobil, Shell, and BP each estimated to be responsible for at least USD 1 trillion in climate-related costs.
• A landmark ruling by the District Court of The Hague ordered Shell to reduce its emissions, including Scope 3 emissions, by at least net 45 percent by the end of 2030 relative to 2019 levels. This represents the first time a court has ordered a major fossil fuel company to reduce its emissions.
• A new trend has emerged involving criminal litigation against executives and shareholders. This includes a request to the International Criminal Court to investigate BP executives for 'crimes against humanity' and a 2024 criminal case against TotalEnergies directors and shareholders for offenses including involuntary manslaughter.
• Recent legal breakthroughs in Norway and the UK have established that environmental impact assessments for fossil fuel projects must consider the emissions resulting from the end use of the extracted fuels.

APA

Team, Z. (2024). Latest trends in climate litigation against fossil fuel companies. Zero Carbon Analytics. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/latest-trends-in-climate-litigation-against-fossil-fuel-companies/

Chicago

Team, ZCA. Latest trends in climate litigation against fossil fuel companies. Zero Carbon Analytics, 2024. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/latest-trends-in-climate-litigation-against-fossil-fuel-companies/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=ZCA |title=Latest trends in climate litigation against fossil fuel companies |publisher=Zero Carbon Analytics |date=11 September 2024 |url=https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/latest-trends-in-climate-litigation-against-fossil-fuel-companies/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2024latest, author = {Team, ZCA}, title = {{Latest trends in climate litigation against fossil fuel companies}}, institution = {Zero Carbon Analytics}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/latest-trends-in-climate-litigation-against-fossil-fuel-companies/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }