Climate change and its adverse effects have been on the international agenda for a long time, intersecting science, law, and governance. Climate change litigation in this context plays a unique role in asserting inherent rights, advancing legal accountability, and enforcing local governance while combating the adverse impacts of climate change. This book draws attention to the “emerging and accelerating” concept of climate change litigation by providing comprehensive research, case studies, legal principles, and governance mechanisms from the perspectives of the “Global South”. This unique idea, venture, and vision of the authors is reflected through their six chapters examining the term used as “climate change litigation”; analysing it in the era of the Paris Agreement; exploring the “Global South climate litigation docket” from India, Brazil, and South Africa; engaging with “Global South actors” for their mobilization efforts; and assessing the impact of climate change litigation in Global South countries in recent times.

The book begins with an introduction to climate change litigation, setting out why it matters most for global climate governance and detailing recent climate litigation from the Global South. The second chapter explains definitions, purposes, and future pathways for climate change litigation in the era of the Paris Agreement. The third chapter examines the “Global South climate litigation docket” of domestic cases, their trends, and their features, along with transnational cases decided in international courts and supranational tribunals. The fourth chapter deals explicitly with the emergence of climate change litigations and conditions conducive to flourishing climate-related cases in three “frontrunner” jurisdictions (India, Brazil, and South Africa) from the Global South. The fifth chapter outlines the roles and efforts of major actors and stakeholders in initiating, supporting, and funding the climate change litigations in the Global South. The last chapter concludes by assessing the early impacts of climate change litigation in the Global South, using four case studies (Colombia, Brazil, Pakistan, and South Africa), and suggests future areas for legal development through court litigation under climate change jurisprudence.

Jolene Lin and Jacqueline Peel, both renowned authors, have done exemplary work presenting the legal landscape of climate change litigation for the Global South and beyond. Their book finds a unique place between the contemporary works: Ivano and others (eds.), Climate Change Litigation: Global Perspectives (Brill, 2021); and Sindico and others (eds.), Research Handbook on Climate Change Litigation (Edward Elgar, 2024). Given the book’s in-depth, precise, and high-quality academic contributions, it would be a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, judges, and activists pursuing climate litigation and defending climate justice worldwide.