287: Justice for the planet - the case for climate litigation

About this episode

How can litigation, the law, and the courts be used to leverage systemic change in the fight for climate justice?

To understand how it can be used to champion human rights and drive progress, Paul Dickinson is joined by Laura Clarke, CEO of ClientEarth, the non-profit lawyers for the planet who use the law to protect life on Earth.

Laura shares how ClientEarth has successfully challenged corporate greenwashing, from

the Dutch courts ruling against the airline KLM for misleading customers, to forcing a Polish company to change the misleading name of its ‘eco-pea coal’. Yet sometimes, a case doesn’t need to be won to make an impact. Laura recalls a high-profile case against Shell that was ultimately never heard in court - yet still sparked major conversations in boardrooms worldwide.

And beyond corporate accountability, ClientEarth also takes on national governments to ensure they uphold their legally binding environmental commitments.

In this latest in our series on the new levers of change in the climate space, co-presenters Tom Rivett-Carnac and Christiana Figueres join Paul to reflect on the ways in which law, climate and human rights intersect. Christiana shares her excitement on the new ways in which the ‘web of jurisprudence’ is being woven in a field with little legal precedent.

Plus, each share their take on the news that former Outrage + Optimism guest Mark Carney will become the next Prime Minister of Canada. How will he deal with President Trump amid the ongoing US-Canada trade war?

Learn more

💼 ClientEarth case study: KLM Greenwashing found illegal
https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/we-re-joining-legal-action-against-dutch-airline-klm-for-greenwashing/

⚖️ Learn about how young people are taking action in court https://www.kcl.ac.uk/climate-law/assets/climatechangeandyoungpeople-shortversion.pdf

🛢️ Find out more about big oil’s campaign financing for Donald Trump’s re-election
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/23/big-oil-445m-trump-congress
OR More recent -
🛢️ Find out how big oil’s campaign financing for Donald Trump’s re-election may have prevented a congressional investigation
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/06/big-oil-investigation-congress-republicans

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Producer: Jarek Zaba

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning Editor: Sarah Thomas

This is a Persephonica production for Global Optimism and is part of the Acast Creator Network.