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Reasons to be Cheerful with Ed Miliband & Geoff Lloyd

Laying down the law: can litigation hold climate culprits to account?

Season 1, Ep. 284
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Hello! Climate change litigation has come on a long way since the 2000 blockbuster film Erin Brockovich. There's been a huge rise globally in the number of cases being filed against negligent governments and corporations, but what does this mean for our efforts to tackle the climate crisis? We hear from Catherine Higham, policy fellow at LSE, and Laura Clarke from ClientEarth about the kinds of climate-related cases being thrashed out in court. We then cross the pond to Canada, where 15-year-old climate activist Sophia Mathur has been busy suing the Ontario government. We find out what inspired her to act, and what her hopes for the future are.


Plus: Where did Ed go for a *bracing* open water swim this week?


Guests

Catherine Higham, Policy Fellow, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, LSE (@CatherineHigha3, @GRI_LSE)

Laura Clarke, CEO, ClientEarth (@LauraClarkeCE, @ClientEarth) 

Sophia Mathur, Climate Activist (@sophiamathur)


More info

Global Trends in Climate Litigation 2022 (Report, Grantham Research Institute, LSE)

Learn more about ClientEarth's work

Learn more about Sophia's journey to becoming an activist

Why 2023 will be a watershed year for climate litigation (Article, The Guardian)

Sign up to The Wave: the newsletter about climate litigation and justice


Links to additional cases mentioned can be found on our website

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