Climate Change Liability Trends For 2026

Despite a shifting political environment in the U.S., the overarching trend is clear: efforts to hold companies liable for climate change is not going away; it is maturing. 

The Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics recently released its latest report on key trends and evolutions in global climate change litigation during 2025. The report identifies 249 new climate cases filed in 2025, bringing the total number of such cases to more than 3,600 worldwide since 1986, with 75% of those cases brought in the past ten years. 

Companies should be aware of the key trends for the United States, which continues to lead the world in climate change litigation:

• Tort Litigation is Moving Towards Trial, but Suncor Looms Large: While an increasing number of climate cases brought by states and localities are in active discovery and moving towards a trial date, the U.S. Supreme Court's shadow looms large. Last year, the Supreme Court agreed to review Boulder County Commissioners v. Suncor Energy, to address whether federal law precludes state-law claims seeking relief for injuries allegedly caused by the effects of interstate and international greenhouse-gas emissions on the global climate. A decision in Suncor may have ramifications across dozens of active climate cases.
• Greenwashing Claims Slowed, But Risk Remains High: Greenwashing claims (i.e., alleged misleading statements regarding a company's climate contributions, use of renewable energy, or sustainability) remain the most common form of new climate litigation against corporate actors. Although the pace of new filings appears to be slowing, historically, the majority of those decided cases were against companies.
• The Rise of “Do Nothing” Litigation: Litigants are increasingly shifting their strategic focus from challenging specific misleading claims toward addressing cases of "total inaction" by companies. These actions target businesses that lack verifiable plans for a low-carbon transition or continue to invest in high-emitting activities without a social standard of care.
• Retroactive Liability: States continue to consider legislation that would require oil and gas companies to pay billions of dollars into massive state funds for climate adaptation and damage remediation, following examples set by Vermont and New York. Those to state laws are the subject of litigation challenging the constitutionality of the statutes.
• The Federal Backlash: In 2025, the U.S. federal government become an active litigant in climate litigation, filing suits to block climate change tort litigation or enforcement of retroactive liability these state laws, characterizing them as unconstitutional interference with federal policy
• Insurance Litigation: Insurers are entering the litigation landscape as claimants through subrogation suits, seeking to recover massive payouts for climate-related damage from state entities. In a parallel trend, homeowners are also using the courts to seek compensation for rising insurance premiums they argue are directly caused by fossil fuel emissions.

https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Global-Trends-in-Climate-Litigation-final.pdf